Social Media Career Path: How To Get Started

The social media landscape has changed drastically since we started using Facebook in the mid-2000s.

Nowadays, companies rely heavily on social media platforms to connect with their customers and build communities around their brands.

As a result, many people are getting into social media marketing as new opportunities arise and career paths develop. But it can be challenging to know where to start.

What steps should you take to start your career path in social media? Is it possible to become a professional social media marketer without previous experience or a degree? We will explore these questions and more in this guide.

The good news is that the social media job market is booming. Consider these statistics:

• 81% of organizations use social media to raise brand awareness.
• Nearly half (44%) of internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 rely on social media as a top source of information when researching brands.
• In the US, the number of individuals who work in the “Social Networking Sites industry” went up an average of 14.6% between 2018 and 2023.

With the meteoric rise of TikTok and the continued growth and influence of platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, businesses now understand that to be competitive, they need to have a social media presence.

And in order to do that, organizations need to hire the right people.

How To Get Started

Like with most career paths, it becomes easier once you know what you’re doing.

The first step is deciding which platforms you want to learn more about, researching, and using them. If you’re already comfortable with and have a profile with specific platforms, such as Facebook or Twitter, you should already have a knowledge base.

Once you’ve got the basics down, you should also consider building out your understanding of other platforms like LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram.

The best way to get started with social media marketing is to build your audience on your profiles. It’s the best place for trial and error. And it will help clarify which platforms you actually want to work on within your career.

Once you understand the different platforms, you can start evolving your social media skill set.

Essential Skills

Over the years, businesses have relied upon social networks to gain insights into consumer psychology and gauge public opinion.

This has enabled them to identify trends or changes before they take place. But what skills do you need to identify these trends or create engaging social media posts?

1. Copywriting

Now, I’m not talking about copyright or intellectual property rights. I’m talking about crafting compelling copy to market a brand, product, or service.

Even if you don’t have a background in writing, you can still develop the skills to become an effective copywriter. Pay attention to the ads and social media posts today.

Who’s getting it right, and what brands are clearly missing the mark? You can start practicing copywriting by simply editing brand copy that misses the mark.

While copywriting is a career in itself, it’s important to practice and perfect the art of social media copy.

2. Research And Analysis

Whether you’re researching a brand and its competitors to get the lay of the land or finding the right time to post, becoming a good researcher will save you time and help you with social media marketing.

You’ll also need to be able to interpret the key performance indicators (KPIs) for different brands. This is usually based on the platform’s insights or other programs used to analyze social media performance.

Comprehending and utilizing the insights social media platforms and programs provide are necessary skills to have in this career path.

Things change fast online, and that’s no different for social media, so becoming a great researcher and analyst is a beneficial path.

3. Understanding Brand Personality And Tone

If you’re working as a freelance social media manager or with a marketing agency, you’ll need to be able to understand a brand guide.

These guides usually include the brand tone, colors, fonts, and the target market personality.

Surprisingly, not all brands have this, and sometimes, you’ll need to help establish a brand guide for a company.

Understanding and utilizing a brand guide will help you keep the right tone and personality when addressing customers and creating social media copy for brands.

As brands increasingly focus on personalization and authenticity, understanding how to convey nuanced brand messages that resonate with diverse audiences is essential.

4. Creative Development

You’ll need to develop a creative perspective incorporating the brand identity when producing videos and graphics for a brand’s posts. In addition, staying within the brand’s colors and font types can help create unity across posts.

Now, you don’t need to be an expert graphic designer to create social media posts. There are numerous free platforms out there, like Canva and Adobe Express, that can help you create professional and unique social media posts.

5. Customer Service

If you go the route of social media manager, you’ll also likely be monitoring the comments and direct messages for a brand’s social media accounts.

Customer service generally requires critical thinking and problem-solving, which you’ll also need in this career field.

In addition, it’ll be important to be polite, respond quickly and thoroughly, and know whom to direct your questions to if you can’t answer them yourself.

6. Project Management

No matter what type of social media role you end up in, project management skills will be a key component.

Social media teams are producing new content almost constantly in order to keep a consistent presence across platforms.

Whether you’re working on daily content or a social media campaign, you’ll find yourself needing to do things like create timelines, collaborate with stakeholders from other teams, give feedback on creative development, and more.

Great project management skills go a long way in ensuring you produce high-quality social content while meeting rolling deadlines.

Recommended Education

There are numerous ways to educate yourself on social media marketing – from getting a bachelor’s in social media management, interning, and gaining hands-on experience to taking online courses and using countless free online resources.

If you’re entirely new to the field and are serious about learning about social media management, get a bachelor’s in marketing or social media management.

The courses within these programs can lay the foundation to understand the business world and prepare you with the skills you need to practice and excel in the field.

If you’re not entirely sold on the career field or simply want to expand your knowledge, you can take a seminar or course for social media management or a specific skill.

For example, let’s say you want to get better at copywriting. Try the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy (CCA) or Copy Posse.

You will benefit immensely from learning more about copywriting and dealing with brands from the CCA course.

Usually, online courses like these also allow you to join online communities, like private Facebook Groups. These groups can help give feedback on coursework, answer questions, and even help you land a job.

There are also plenty of certifications offered by reputable brands that can help you develop skills essential in social media – HubSpot and Hootsuite are a couple of examples that offer comprehensive courses on social media marketing.

You can also read online resources such as ours on Social Media Strategy and Social Media Advertising.

There are many excellent and free online articles, tools, and ebooks that can help you stay on top of social media trends and learn more about specific skills and strategies.

8 Social Media Roles & Career Paths To Follow

Today, social media plays a crucial role in advertising, customer service, and brand management. Social media marketers play a vital role in helping businesses scale and grow.

Several career paths are available, from freelance social media manager to social media strategist. Here are a few career paths you might want to consider:

1. Social Media Strategist

A social media strategist will help develop the brand’s strategy for each online social media platform.

Often, the strategist will be responsible for choosing which platforms the brand will activate on and which they will steer away from.

They will ask questions like, “Does it make sense for us to be on TikTok and if so, what should our content strategy look like?”

They will help identify and track the KPIs to ensure the social media strategy stays on track. This could include monitoring incoming followers, likes, shares, mentions, and comments across posts.

They will also think about the role that larger campaigns and tactics will play in their brand’s social media approach – for example, whether you will work with influencers or what seasonal campaigns you might run.

This role will likely work with different teams within the brand to create a cohesive and accurate portal of the brand. They will also need to understand SEO and how to incorporate it into the social media strategy.

On average, social media strategists make anywhere from $51,000 to $94,000.

2. Social Media Manager

A social media manager needs to know how to create content for various social networks such as Facebook, X (Twitter), YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

This includes staying up-to-date with the latest social features and formats across platforms and how your brand can jump on emerging content trends.

The social media manager must also understand how to optimize each platform and use analytic tools to measure performance.

In addition, a social media manager should be able to communicate effectively with both internal and external audiences.

As mentioned earlier, you may need to use your customer service skills to respond to comments and direct messages on each platform (though this can also fall under the role of community manager – more on that below).

It also helps to develop skills in crisis management, as things move fast on social media, and protecting your brand’s reputation is key.

Your income could vary depending on whether you are a freelancer or work for an agency, but salaries usually range from $45,000 to $81,000.

3. Social Media Influencer 

People who create content using social networking sites such as Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok are social media influencers or simply influencers. These are people who have built loyal, dedicated audiences of followers who trust their recommendations.

For that reason, many companies hire them to promote their brand or products through images, posts, videos, and more. In addition, they usually pay influencers to post content on their behalf because they want to reach targeted audiences.

This can be a lucrative and unique career path. Like being a freelance social media manager, being an influencer gives you the autonomy to create your career path and solely work with brands that align with your values.

Thanks to the growth of platforms like TikTok and the video content boom, there are more opportunities than ever for content creators to become influencers and generate considerable revenue. But it’s not a simple path, and you will need a unique point of view to make your mark.

Depending on your following and the brands you work with, a social media influencer could make between $72,000 and $134,000 on average.

4. Influencer Manager

Speaking of social media influencers, another role that has become increasingly common in recent years is that of influencer manager.

These individuals are focused on managing the operations of influencer partnerships. Their responsibilities typically include influencer sourcing and outreach, acting as the relationship manager, negotiating contracts, coordinating brand campaigns, providing strategic direction, and tracking content performance to prove campaign ROI.

Important skill sets for influencer managers include account and project management skills, negotiation skills, a comprehensive understanding of the social media landscape and trends, and, of course, effective communication and relationship-building skills.

The average salary for a social media influencer manager is between $64,000 and $119,000.

5. Social Media Consultant

A brand might hire a social media consultant if it needs someone to evaluate its current strategy or social media profiles.

Sometimes, getting a fresh set of eyes and an unbiased perspective can help take a brand’s social media presence to the next level. They can also help brands set goals and evaluate their SEO for their platforms.

Consultants should be informed about the latest policies across platforms, what’s going on with social media algorithms, and industry-wide trends such as social commerce.

Social media consultants generally make between $45,000 and $79,000.

6. Social Media Analyst

If you’re interested in data and analytics, the social media analyst path might be for you.

This is a specialized role, often found at larger companies, that is responsible for tracking and analyzing data from social media content and campaign performance.

They track social media metrics like follower growth, impressions, engagement rate, clicks, conversions, and more, then use their findings to make recommendations for future improvements.

Important skills for this role include the ability to organize and qualitatively analyze large sets of data, as well as experience in using analytics tools.

On average, social media analysts can expect to make between $44,000 and $72,000.

7. Community Manager

Another specialized role is the community manager, who is focused on all things community. This entails building and growing your social followings through social engagement, interaction, and even focused community campaigns.

By responding to comments, questions, feedback, and concerns from social followers, community managers help to establish trust and connection with a brand’s fans and customers. They also practice social listening to find relevant conversations and areas for their brand to engage proactively.

Given the importance of authenticity and direct connection in building a successful brand on social media, the role of community manager is crucial.

On average, community manager salaries range from $50,000 to $76,000.

8. Paid Social Specialist 

While many of these roles tend to specialize in the organic side of social media marketing, the paid social specialist is an expert in all things paid content.

These individuals are typically in charge of developing and managing paid advertising campaigns across social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, and more.

Often, this involves identifying and targeting specific audiences, developing ad creative that aligns with brand goals, helping social media users convert to paid customers – and, ultimately, making sure that your paid social spending results in a high ROI.

Paid social specialists should be organized, results-driven, and analytical. They must also keep a pulse on new and trending ad formats and advertising strategies across platforms.

As more and more brands start to put serious marketing budgets into social media, this role is only becoming more crucial as it targets users further down the sales funnel and creates a holistic marketing system for your brand on social media.

The average salary for a paid social specialist ranges from $51,000 to $79,000.

Final Takeaways

Social media has changed our world, from how we interact with our friends, family, and followers to how brands market their products and services.

The career opportunities in social media are only expanding. You can move through different career paths if you practice the skills mentioned in this article and stay on top of social media trends.

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