How to become a social media manager

 

How to become a social media manager

There are many ways to learn the social media skills and concepts needed to become a social media manager, with hiring managers favoring no one path over another.

There are several different ways to become a social media manager

Online Courses: Learn the basics of social media marketing online and at your own pace. Here are 15 courses and resources to learn social media, and when you're ready to dive deeper into each platform, here are 9 Instagram courses.

Certification: Certificate-based courses typically provide more in-depth training than regular courses and test your social media skills to ensure you're job-ready. Hootsuite Academy offers a comprehensive social marketing certification course for starters as well as advanced certification programs.

Bootcamps/Training Programs: Bootcamps offer immersive versions of courses (both online and in-person) that provide a fast track to training as a social media manager, often in 6-9 weeks. Consider these options from Brainstation and General Assembly.

Internships: Internships, ideally paid, are a great way to gain experience when you're starting from scratch. In addition to social media internships, consider internships at digital marketing, communications, PR, and advertising agencies that can make all social media tasks accessible.

Shadowing and Mentoring: If you already work at a company or have a connection with an established social media professional, consider asking them if you can shadow them in their work. Shadowing allows you to observe and learn the day-to-day responsibilities, as well as evaluate whether working in social media is a good fit for you.