Most people don't know where they're going
When we asked respondents how clear their career path feels, the majority said not very, or not at all. Only a small handful described their path as "very clear," and almost all of those had gone freelance and built their own structure.
For everyone else? It's largely improvised. And the reason isn't hard to find.
"I don't think there's a career ladder. Social media professionals had to create their own ladder, educate their companies, senior leadership and themselves, all while also doing their job." Mags, Head of Marketing:
That pattern, building the map while navigating the territory, came up in responses from people at every level.
"The hardest career decision I made was choosing to continue as a Social Media Manager four years ago. I genuinely enjoy the work, but I knew the career path wasn't clearly defined, especially given how broad the role is and how much companies expect it to cover, often without the same level of recognition." Luís Fernandes, Social Media Manager, Acolad:
Inna, Content and Social Media Officer at Richmond American University London, raised something that cuts even deeper: whether a linear career ladder is the right model for this profession at all.
"Perhaps the career ladder is becoming somewhat an outdated term. I have recently come across 'career garden' as an alternative, which is perhaps a more suitable approach, especially in a field like social media, where the skills you gain are so diverse and applicable across different departments." Inna, Content and Social Media Officer, Richmond American University London:
Moving companies is the main way people get promoted. And some roles are disappearing altogether.
When respondents who had been promoted told us what drove it, "moving company" came up alongside performance and manager support. For those who haven't been promoted, the single most common blocker isn't performance; it's the absence of a clear path, or a company that simply doesn't value social enough to create one.
Several people noted that promotion tends to happen despite the system, not because of it. Mags added: "I've never met anyone who got promoted because there was a clear career path for them."
"I have seen a lot of jobs lately where the job spec describes a whole marketing team, but they are paying for a junior." Simone Mardell, Freelance Arts Marketing Professional:
But there's a harder version of this story emerging too. Tracy Rosowski, Social Media Manager, described being blindsided when her senior social role was cut entirely:
"I was performing above expectations quarter after quarter and was completely blindsided when my role was eliminated." Tracy Rosowski, Social Media Manager:
Strong performance, consistent results, and still no protection. For a growing number of social professionals, the question isn't just how to progress; it's how to stay.
The work is invisible. And everyone knows it.
Almost every respondent touched on some version of this: the real work of social media is the part nobody sees.
"Social isn't a content function. It's a business function that happens to use content. Every time you post, you're managing risk and making all the dots connect. Most of this work is invisible, and thus can go undervalued." Demi Donohoe, Social & Content Manager, IDHL:
Filipa Hilario, Head of Content and Social Media at London Business School, put the full scope of the role in terms that should give any organisation pause:
"Social media is brand, reputation, creative, strategy, insights and analytics. All in one pot together. The social media role is the most comprehensive role within the sector." Filipa Hilario, Head of Content & Social Media, London Business School:
And yet, she said, the industry at large still hasn't caught up: "To this day they still don't understand social media and what we do, but still deal with us as if we were a desk service."
It also has workload consequences. Julia, Social Media Specialist in professional services, described managing social across five brands on five different platforms, entirely alone, while simultaneously running paid ads for all of them.
"It's not realistic. But it's the expectation." Julia, Social Media Specialist:
Mentoring is the gap everyone points to
Ask any respondent what they wish had existed earlier in their career, and mentoring comes back almost universally. Not formalised programmes necessarily. Just people they could learn from, ask questions of, and reality-check their experience against.
"I relied on marketing Twitter and experts across the pond. As most SMM roles were pretty much solo, it took a lot to convince employers that what we do was worth it and would work." Jaysica Marvell, Social Media Consultant:
"Social always sat under marketing, so most of the guidance wasn't really built for the day-to-day reality of the role. Most of the time it felt like a solo quest, figuring things out on your own and constantly having to prove your impact." Luís Fernandes, Social Media Manager, Acolad:
"Just having people you can ask „is this normal?" or learn from without overthinking it would've made things a lot easier." Saumya Singh, Social Media Community Manager, Olsam Group:
The irony isn't lost on anyone. Social media is a profession built on connection, and yet the professionals in it often feel isolated in their careers.
Everyone's confident in craft. Almost no one feels supported on commercial skills.
We asked respondents which skills they felt most valued in their progression, and which they most needed support with. Craft skills (content, platforms, execution) showed up strongly in the first answer. Commercial skills (strategy, ROI, business alignment) dominated the second.
The gap is striking. People arrive in this industry through content. But the skills that drive progression, building a business case, aligning social to revenue, talking to a CFO, often have to be self-taught, if they're taught at all.
Nick Barbosa, Social Media Specialist at Akamai, named commercial thinking as the skill he most needs to develop, while simultaneously noting he'd been "denied a promotion time and time again" despite consistent praise and awards.
"Craft skills from what I've seen are skills that creatives are already expected to have; they mean nothing to leadership. They want to see my work making them more money." Julia, Social Media Specialist:
There's a structural issue underneath this that rarely gets named. In most organisations, progression is linked to people management. For social media specialists whose real value is depth of expertise, that creates a ceiling: manage people or stop growing. Until organisations create paths that reward specialism as much as seniority, the commercial skills gap will keep compounding.
On AI: taste and judgement, not panic
The industry isn't catastrophising about AI, but it isn't dismissing it either. The prevailing view is nuanced and, frankly, more sophisticated than the headlines.
Entry-level roles are seen as most at risk. The administrative and executional tasks that used to build junior experience (basic copywriting, content scheduling, research) can now be done faster with AI. Several respondents worried about what that means for the people who are just starting out.
But for experienced practitioners, the mood is watchful rather than afraid. The word that kept coming up, unprompted, was taste.
"AI can churn out content and ideas, but it can't decide what actually matters commercially, nor can it make judgements based on nuance and bigger-picture thinking." Demi Donohoe, Social & Content Manager, IDHL:
"I fear there is a risk of a homogeneous, sauceless social media space if overused. It might affect brand voice and dilute originality and authenticity if not kept in check." Inna, Content and Social Media Officer, Richmond American University London:
That word "sauceless" feels apt. The problem isn't just practitioners relying on AI too heavily. One Creative Director at an agency described watching junior staff approach AI without the foundational context it needs to be useful:
"They type in 'content ideas for X' with no context on the business, the goals, the audience, any relevant nuance. So two things happen: they're outsourcing their thinking and no longer exercising their creative muscles, and the output is low quality because the input lacked depth." Creative Director at an agency (anonymous):
The agency is now building internal workshops and policies to get ahead of it. It's unlikely they're alone in needing to.
The skills nobody talks about
Perhaps the most interesting thread running through responses is what respondents named as the hidden skill that actually moves careers forward. Not content. Not data. Not platform expertise.
Filipa Hilario pointed to something that rarely makes it onto any skills list: self-promotion.
"No one will do it for you, and it's usually how you get seen." Filipa Hilario, Head of Content & Social Media, London Business School:
"A lot of people can execute, but not everyone can take ownership, make calls, and connect what they're doing to the bigger picture." Luís Fernandes, Social Media Manager, Acolad:
Tracy Rosowski named stretch projects and taking on responsibilities beyond the current role as the thing that drove her own promotion. And Nick Barbosa noted that reliability and being known for getting things done matters as much as any formal skill, even when organisations aren't rewarding it with progression.
These aren't soft skills in the dismissive sense. They're the competencies that separate someone who executes from someone who leads, and they're almost never named in a job description, never assessed in an interview, and rarely taught anywhere.
What this tells us
These early findings are painting a consistent picture: a profession that has scaled rapidly, without the infrastructure that other disciplines built around them. No standard career ladder. No mentoring culture. A persistent gap between what social professionals actually do and what the organisations they work for think they do.
The people responding to this survey aren't struggling. Many are doing excellent work, progressing despite the friction, advocating loudly for the value of what they do. But they're doing it largely alone, without maps, without mentors, without the structures that make career development something other than a matter of luck and hustle.
That's what this research is here to change. As Filipa Hilario put it: "Organisations are not ready to deal with senior and C-suite social media. Bring us into the room."
This article draws on early responses to the Social Day Career Survey. The survey is still open. If you work in social media and haven't shared your experience yet, we'd love to hear from you. https://socialday.live/career-survey
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it hard to progress in a social media career?
Most social media professionals progress without any formal structure to support them. There are no standard career ladders, few mentoring opportunities, and companies often don't understand the role well enough to create meaningful progression pathways. Many people advance by moving companies rather than being promoted internally.
What skills do social media managers need to get promoted?
Commercial skills are the most commonly cited gap: being able to build a business case, demonstrate ROI, and connect social activity to wider business goals. Craft skills (content, platforms, execution) are largely taken for granted. The hidden skills that actually drive promotion tend to be things like ownership, judgment, managing up, and being someone people trust to get things done.
Is social media a good career in 2026?
It's a career with real depth and growing strategic importance, but also with structural challenges: unclear progression paths, pay that often doesn't match responsibility, and persistent undervaluation from employers. Professionals who develop commercial thinking alongside their craft skills, and who build visibility within their organisations, tend to do well.
How is AI affecting social media jobs?
The consensus is nuanced. Entry-level roles are most at risk as basic tasks like copywriting and research become automated. For experienced practitioners, AI raises the bar rather than replacing the role: taste, judgment, and the ability to brief and direct AI effectively are becoming the differentiating skills. The bigger concern is poor AI adoption driven by decision-makers who don't fully understand what gets lost.
Why do social media professionals burn out?
Primarily because the scope of the role is consistently underestimated. It's common for one person to be responsible for strategy, content creation, community management, paid advertising, and reporting across multiple brands or platforms simultaneously. Without adequate resource, recognition, or support, the workload becomes unsustainable.
What do employers get wrong about social media?
Almost universally: that it's a content function rather than a business function. Social media is where brand reputation, strategy, storytelling, audience insight, and commercial intent all intersect. Treating it as a posting schedule, a junior role, or something AI can simply take over misses the depth of what skilled social media professionals actually do.