How to Get Into a Career in Social Media Marketing

Jun 17

Social media is now an essential element of any brand’s marketing, awareness and e-commerce strategy. Jobs in social media marketing are therefore both increasingly important and easy to come by in the market, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic having pushed many businesses online. However, the industry is competitive and there are certain skills you need to land you your dream role.

In this article, we’ll cover:

What a job in social media marketing looks like
The key skills you’ll need for a career in social media marketing
The routes you can take to getting your first job in social media marketing
Career progression and opportunities

What does a job in social media marketing look like?

Social media marketing is the use of social media networks to connect brands with their audience. It can be used to help brands reach their goals, such as increasing sales, building brand awareness and driving people to their website.

Social media marketers are responsible for everything from creating and posting content to brands’ social media accounts, listening to and engaging with online communities, tracking and analysing social media performance on multiple platforms, running paid social media campaigns (ads), and more.

Social media marketers can work in-house for a brand (usually managing one account, sometimes with a team of other marketers) or for an agency (usually managing multiple accounts on shorter term bases).

For more information on what’s involved in social media marketing and its key stages, read our What Is Social Media Marketing article here.

What are the key skills you need for a career in social media marketing?

Social media marketers are multi-skilled and are often having to learn new skills as social media platforms and their audiences change and adapt. There are some ‘hard’, digital skills that are required by social media marketers, such as analysing data, proficiency using particular tools and platform features, and project management.

Roles in social media marketing also require many soft skills, such as:

Creativity: social media is a crowded marketplace where uniqueness and that ‘wow’ factor is valued above all else, so creativity is an absolute must-have skill for social media marketers.
Persuasion: social media marketers need to be able to pitch and sell their ideas to employers, colleagues and consumers.
Collaboration: the best social media marketing comes from a collaborative, team approach that involves a diverse range of people and approaches.
And more. Read a full list of the soft skills you need for a career in social media marketing here.

What routes can you take to get your first job in social media marketing?

According to the UK government’s national careers service, there are 3 main routes into social media marketing:

A university course: many universities now offer specific digital marketing and social media-related courses, but that’s certainly not an essential to land a job in the industry. A degree in any relevant or related field, such as English, Design, Computing, Media and Communications, will suffice.
An apprenticeship: you could do a digital marketer advanced or degree apprenticeship, or a digital community manager higher apprenticeship, to kickstart your social media marketing career.
Working towards the role: there’s always a chance you could work with a social media or marketing company as an assistant or digital content writer and work your way up. This may be a more difficult route though, as the industry is saturated with graduates and qualified professionals and so competition is high.

Any of the above routes could - and should - be supplemented with online learning courses too. Social media is a world which is constantly changing, and social media marketers are constantly having to adapt and learn new skills. Taking courses and earning qualifications in order to demonstrate that your knowledge is still relevant and up to date is crucial to working in the industry long-term. There are loads out there to choose from (Google even offers a free Fundamentals of Digital Marketing course), so get browsing!

Career progression and opportunities

A career in social media marketing can be incredibly varied, and there are many directions you could go in. For instance, you could start off working for a small agency and work towards being part of a larger in-house social media team for a big brand. You could progress from being a social media manager for one brand to a senior or head social media manager that manages one brand or multiple brands.

There’s also opportunities to specialise in certain areas of social media marketing and find your niche. For example, community managers are specialists in building online communities around brands and organisations, while ads specialists are experts in running paid advertising across social media channels. You might want to work specifically with influencers and specialise on influencer marketing campaigns. Once you’ve experienced a few years in the industry, you’ll probably get a good idea of what you’re most interested in and most enjoy doing, then you can go from there!

You can find new opportunities in social media marketing by building your network and connecting with industry leaders, experts and communities. LinkedIn is a great place to do this, as well as search for social media marketing jobs and get matched with roles based on your skills and experience.

You can also sign up to SocialDay’s weekly round-up, where we send you the latest and best job opportunities in the industry. Head to the bottom of the page to subscribe!

Summary

Social media marketing is a vast, varied and competitive industry
Social media marketers are responsible for everything from creating and posting content to brands’ social media accounts, listening to and engaging with online communities, tracking and analysing social media performance on multiple platforms, running paid social media campaigns (ads), and more.
Social media marketers are multi-skilled and roles require constant learning and adapting
You can pursue a career in social media marketing with or without a degree, however a degree in a related field may give you a much-needed competitive edge
Sign up to SocialDay’s weekly round-up for the latest and best job opportunities in the industry. Head to the bottom of the page to subscribe!