Social Media Club Global (SMC)

What Social Media Club Global (SMC) does

Social Media Club Global (SMC) is a 501c6 nonprofit professional organization founded in March 2006 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It operates a chapter-based global network with 12+ active chapters spanning the United States (Atlanta, Charlotte, Columbus, Des Moines, Hawaii, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix, St. Louis), Bahrain (serving as the MENA regional headquarters), and Tunisia. SMC serves social media managers, digital marketers, content creators, communications professionals, students, and nonprofit practitioners, addressing the professional isolation experienced by sole practitioners through local meetups, workshops, panels, and the annual Global Social Media Day on June 30.

SMC's core offerings consist of tiered membership subscriptions priced from $25/year (Education) to $2,499/year (Corporate, 10 seats), with Professional at $100/year and a one-time Lifetime tier at $1,000. Memberships unlock access to member-only events, white papers, a book club featuring publishers such as McGraw-Hill and Wiley, and inclusion in speaker and business directories. The underlying platform is built on commodity SaaS: WordPress for the website, MemberMouse for membership management, Stripe for payment processing, Eventbrite for event ticketing, and MailChimp for email communications. There are no proprietary AI or ML capabilities; all technology is third-party.

The business model combines membership subscriptions, multi-tier event sponsorships (with partners including Hootsuite, Creative Commons, GaggleAMP, emfluence, Social Media Today, and VenueLabs), and nominal chapter-level event fees (e.g., $5 Atlanta coffee meetups). Growth is volunteer-driven and community-led, with a 1-10 employee team led since January 2019 by Executive Director Caroline A. Jones and Global Chairman Ali A. Sabkar. The organization is independently operated with no venture backing, parent company, or equity investment, funded through dues, sponsorships, and donations.

Name

Social Media Club Global (SMC)

Legal name

Social Media Club, Inc.

Website

https://socialmediaclub.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Social Media Club Global (SMC) is a 501c6 nonprofit founded in 2006 operating 12+ chapters worldwide, serving social media and digital marketing professionals through tiered memberships, networking events, speaker directories, and educational programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association / Membership Organization

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (813920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK)

Keywords

• Professional networking
• Membership organization
• Community events
• Digital media professionals
• Professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: SMC generates primary revenue through tiered membership subscriptions with annual billing. Membership tiers range from $25/year for education members to $2,499/year for corporate members. The membership model provides recurring annual revenue with flexible payment options available.
2. Event Sponsorships: SMC offers event sponsorship packages to brands looking to reach the marketing community. Sponsorship levels are available with benefits including discounts for SMC community members and recognition on SMC channels.
3. Chapter Event Fees: Local chapters charge fees for events such as the Atlanta chapter's $5 coffee catch-up meetups, processed through Eventbrite.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Social Media Club Global (SMC) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit professional association that sells tiered memberships (Professional, Lifetime, Education, Nonprofit, Small Biz, and Corporate) giving social media practitioners, educators, nonprofits, and corporate sponsors access to networking events, business and speaker directories, white papers, and a global chapter network. Its secondary offering is event sponsorship for organizations seeking visibility among the social media professional community.

Product overview

Social Media Club Global (SMC) operates as a 501c6 nonprofit professional organization offering a unified membership-based platform for social media professionals. The core offering consists of tiered membership programs (Professional, Lifetime, Education, Nonprofit, Small Biz, and Corporate) that provide access to networking events, business and speaker directories, white papers, a book club, and a global chapter network. SMC facilitates connections between social media professionals through local chapters worldwide and organizes events including panels, workshops, and casual networking meetups. The organization also runs an event sponsorship program and maintains member directories as part of its professional development ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Professional Membership
• Lifetime Membership
• Education Membership
• Nonprofit Membership
• Small Biz Membership
• Corporate Membership
• Event Sponsorship

Quantifiable outcome

• Professional development through networking at local and global events
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Creative CommonsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCreative Commons is shown as a sponsor logo on the SMC Sponsorships page, indicating partnership support for the organization.
• emfluenceminorGTM or Marketing Partneremfluence is shown as a sponsor logo on the SMC Sponsorships page, indicating partnership support for the organization.
• GaggleAMPminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGaggleAMP is shown as a sponsor logo on the SMC Sponsorships page, indicating partnership support for the organization.
• HootsuiteminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHootsuite is shown as a sponsor logo on the SMC Sponsorships page, indicating partnership support for the organization.
• Social Media TodayminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial Media Today is shown as a sponsor logo on the SMC Sponsorships page, indicating partnership support for the organization.
• VenueLabsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVenueLabs is shown as a sponsor logo on the SMC Sponsorships page, indicating partnership support for the organization.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• 4A's (American Association of Advertising Agencies): The trade association for advertising agencies with member events, training, and advocacy — providing a comparable professional association model for adjacent marketing services professionals.
• International Association of Business Communicators (IABC): A global membership association for business communication professionals with regional chapters, networking events, and accreditation programs — comparable to SMC in mission, member base overlap, and chapter-led delivery.
• Social Media Examiner: A leading publisher of social media marketing content, podcasts, and the Social Media Marketing World conference serving social media professionals — overlapping with SMC's audience and event-driven community model.
• Content Marketing Institute (CMI): A content marketing education and community organization producing the Content Marketing World conference and training for marketers — parallel to SMC in delivering events, education, and community to marketing professionals.
• MarketingProfs: A marketing training and community company offering PROfs conferences, webinars, and online courses for B2B marketers — a direct comparable to SMC's professional development and educational content offerings.
• Social Media Today: An industry news and insights publication serving social media professionals, and also an SMC sponsor — comparable in serving the same professional audience with content, events, and thought leadership.
• Public Relations Society of America (PRSA): A 30,000+ member professional association for PR and communications practitioners offering chapters, events, certifications, and a Code of Ethics — closely parallel to SMC's structure for serving communications professionals.
• SocialMedia.org: An invitation-only membership community exclusively for senior social media leaders at large brands, with flagship events and research — directly comparable to SMC's social media professional community focus.
• American Marketing Association (AMA): The largest professional association for marketers in the US, with local chapters, tiered memberships, conferences, and professional development programming — directly mirroring SMC's chapter-based professional society model serving marketing professionals.

Emerging players

• Online Geniuses: A volunteer-run global community of digital marketers organizing free local meetups and online forums — closely mirroring SMC's volunteer-driven, chapter-based community-led approach, but serving a broader digital marketing audience.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/socialmediaclub
• Facebookfacebook.com/socialmediaclub
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/socialmediaclub
• Instagraminstagram.com/socialmediaclubglobal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Social Media Club Global (SMC)