Working in social media marketing can be a lucrative career opportunity for trend-savvy professionals. Learn more.
Social media marketers are marketing specialists who use social media platforms to promote a company’s offerings. In addition to advertising, these marketers use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok to reach new customers, engage with current ones, and build a sense of connection and trust.
In this article, we'll discuss how to get started in social media marketing. Afterward, if you're ready to launch your social media career, consider enrolling in the Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate, where you'll learn how to craft effective social media posts and create a strong social media brand presence.
A social media marketer is a marketing professional who contributes anything from strategy to content to a company's social media channels. The role will differ depending on company size. For instance, a smaller company may use a social media marketer to oversee more aspects of its social media marketing, while a larger company may have a bigger team dedicated to this work. In this case, a marketer plays a smaller part and focuses on one area, such as social listening or content creation.
Social media marketers need to be trend-savvy professionals who are comfortable analyzing data to understand the success of their social media efforts. They often also need to be strong writers and communicators and have some familiarity (or expertise) with social media production.
Social media managers and social media marketers have very similar roles, and the two titles can be used interchangeably. However, the term marketer is more commonly used for freelance specialists. While social media marketers can work in-house in a dedicated role within a company, many work as freelancers or contractors, completing social media marketing projects for their clients on a short or long-term basis.
Learn more: 14 Freelancer Jobs and How to Get Started
A social media marketer uses different social media platforms to promote a company’s offerings using text, graphics, and videos. Here are some tasks you might do as a social media marketer:
Oversee an organization’s overall social media strategy
Work with copywriters and designers to create and publish social media posts
Monitor social media analytics to optimize future performance
Stay up-to-date with social media trends, technologies, laws, and best practices
Respond to and engage with user comments and messages
Use social listening tools to understand what people are saying on social media about a company
Generally, the paid ads you might see on Facebook or Twitter are not orchestrated by social media marketers. Other marketing roles like advertising specialists, paid media specialists, and marketing coordinators typically oversee paid ad efforts. However, you may see smaller companies blend the usually distinct roles.
Jobs in social media are projected to grow as social media usage for individuals and businesses continues to increase. According to Sprout Social, there are estimated to be 5.17 billion social media users in 2024 [1].
According to Glassdoor, social media marketers in the US make an average base salary of $64,134 [2]. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates jobs for advertising, promotions, and marketing managers will grow by 8 percent from 2022 to 2032, which is faster than average [3].
Follow the tips below to begin your career in social media marketing.
You’ll want to polish certain social media skills as you begin your job search. These include:
Social media knowledge: It’s crucial to know a variety of social media platforms well. The most commonly used platforms include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but companies may also want WhatsApp, Pinterest, Tiktok, LinkedIn, and others, depending on their audience. You’ll want to know what kinds of posts do well on each platform, as well as the differences in audiences for each and how to capitalize on trends.
Analytical tools: Social media analytics tools are used to track performance, analyze trends, and mitigate digital risk. Commonly used tools include Hootsuite, SproutSocial, and HubSpot.
Content creation: Creating content for social media can look different depending on the platform, but you’ll generally need some design sensibility and a good grasp of writing skills.
Advance your social media analytics skills with the Johns Hopkins Social Media Analytics Specialization. Over four courses, you'll learn how to conduct sentiment analysis to gauge public opinion on social media, informing brand positioning and messaging.
Entry-level opportunities can include marketing jobs, freelancing, or volunteering. Explore different options to see what fits your needs.
Entry-level jobs: An entry-level position generally requires less relevant experience and can provide you with the opportunity to learn about social media marketing on the job. In your job search, keep an eye out for entry-level titles such as:
Marketing intern or social media intern
Social media coordinator
Social media specialist
Social media associate
Social media analyst
Freelance: Consider freelancing to build up your experience. You can build a portfolio on a freelance website such as Fiverr or Upwork.
Volunteer: Volunteer opportunities may have less stringent requirements. Look for local or remote opportunities through volunteer search sites like VolunteerMatch.
Build your own social media pages: Sometimes jumping in and doing it yourself is the best way to learn. Create your own Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, or Facebook business page to learn the ropes of how each works and best practices in content creation. You can also point to these accounts in job applications as well.
Networking can be a good way to learn more about job opportunities, get job-search advice, and gain knowledge about the field. Your network can include friends, family, alumni of your alma mater, or former coworkers.
If you don’t know where to start, join groups for social media professionals on LinkedIn or Facebook. This can expose you to different job postings, make you more familiar with the job landscape, and help you research how people landed the jobs they have. For more advice on networking, check out Coursera’s guide on networking.
Learning the dynamics of social media is the first step in becoming a social media professional. If you’re looking for a place to start, consider the Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate. After learning how to develop successful posts, you'll then evaluate and interpret the results.
Sprout Social. "40+ Must-know social media marketing statistics for 2024, https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-statistics/." Accessed January 8, 2025.
Glassdoor. "Social Media Marketing Overview, https://www.glassdoor.com/Career/social-media-marketing-career_KO0,22.htm." Accessed January 8, 2025.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/advertising-promotions-and-marketing-managers.htm." Accessed January 8, 2025.
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