Looking to land your first social media marketing job?
Throughout this article, our goal is to walk you through the steps you need to take, from developing the right skills and understanding potential roles to searching for jobs and interviewing for the role that you want. We also include a few real-life journeys that current social media managers took to land their first jobs in the space.
Read on to learn more about how to land your first job in the social media industry.
Social media marketing is still a relatively new field, and many businesses are still figuring out how to integrate it into their overall marketing strategy. As a result, you might come across “social media marketer” roles that are somewhat vague, with limited details on the actual responsibilities.
Unfortunately, this can lead to the role being undervalued or misunderstood. So, to clear things up, here’s a look at what a social media marketer typically does:
As you can see, social media marketing requires a mix of creativity, analysis, and organization. If this sounds like the right career for you, start by developing your skill set and learning the basics of these key areas.
When we say “proper training,” we’re talking about learning how to manage social media for business — no matter where you’re starting from. The beauty of a social media marketing career is that there’s no single path. Whether you’re fresh out of school with an unrelated degree, or pivoting from a totally different career, or launching into full-time work after years of freelance experience, there are plenty of ways to build the skills you need.
The good news is that depending the company and the role you’re going for, you don’t always need a four-year degree to break into the field. In fact, as of early 2024, over half (52%) of US job postings on Indeed didn’t even mention formal education requirements. Employers are shifting toward skills-first hiring, meaning they care more about what you can do than where (or if) you got your degree. Whether you’re learning through online courses, certifications, or hands-on experience, what really matters is that you can prove your skills.
And if you have a degree in something unrelated? That’s not a dealbreaker either! Many people have successfully transitioned from far-off fields by building their digital marketing skills and showing they can adapt to the fast-evolving world of social media.
Let’s explore a few ways to start growing those skills and get job-ready.
The best way to get an education in social media management is through on-the-job training like internships, freelance gigs, or simply helping a small company manage their social media presence.
Prioritizing this type of training means you’ll walk away with more than an understanding of social media — you’ll also get to know the behind-the-scenes work of social media. After all, content creation is just one piece of the social media puzzle; there are plenty of responsibilities like project management, data analysis, and stakeholder management that you will need to learn.
Our social media manager here at Loomly, Christie Osterhus, fell into social media while she was looking for a role she could grow simultaneously alongside her acting career. “I started running the social media accounts for a co-working space I was working for.”
After that, she landed a role at a marketing agency before coming to join the Loomly team. She adds that she consumed a ton of social media content, determined to “crack the algorithms,” which helped her learn more about the industry while on the job.
Sammie Jo Concilio, an account manager at Weller Media Agency, had a more winding pathway to social media. While studying culture and media in university, she ended up with a pivotal internship at an arts and music space in Queens.
“I was given the opportunity to run their social media—mostly out of necessity, as it was a small, resourceful nonprofit. Later, my boss from that internship asked me to help develop the social media brand identity for a new music venue he was launching. I was still in university, learning as I went, and while my work in social media was definitely still ‘green,’ the project turned out to be very successful and an incredible opportunity to grow my network.”
There a number of online courses and certifications you can take to learn more about social media marketing as well. An online course isn’t a replacement for real-world experience, but it’s a great place to either build a foundation (and see if you even like social media) or hone specific skills.
There are endless classes available on sites like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, Udemy, and Skillshare.
However, some social media marketing tools and experts have also put together their own resources — and many of them are free. If you want to learn about a variety of social media marketing platforms and skills, check out more of Loomly’s educational content on social media, marketing, and careers — or download one of our free guides!
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You can also go directly to the source to learn about and get certified in a specific social media platform:
Any of these certifications or classes can show potential recruiters that you understand the fundamentals of marketing on each platform.
Another option is to simply take matters into your own hands. Create your own social media profiles and grow your following the same way you would for a business. You can become an influencer with an impressive following or share social media tips with others trying to do the exact same thing you’re doing.
By taking a more hands-on route like this, you can prove to companies you apply for that you have the skills needed to grow an online presence from scratch.
After you decide what training route you want to take, it’s time to learn the basics of the entry-level roles you might be looking for when you start your job search.
When you’re just starting out, keep an eye out for roles that have terms like “intern,” “assistant,” or “junior” in the job title. This can be a good sign that a company is looking for someone brand new to the industry.
Some of the different job types you might find include:
Once you’ve gone through your training and have a basic understanding of the role(s) you might be interested in, you can begin your job search.
There are a few ways to go about this:
As you start looking through job postings, there are some red flags to be on the lookout for. While they don’t always scream “scam,” they can scream “you don’t want to work here.”
Some job description red flags include:
We covered some of the entry-level positions you should look for and where to search for the right job. Now, it’s time to compile a few open roles and start applying. No, we're not throwing you off the deep end here — we actually put together a short guide to tools you can use to make your job search and applications easier.
If there's one piece of advice we'd give you for your application materials, it's to tailor them to the job you're applying for.
Start by creating a resume that shares all of your relevant skills and experience. If you don’t have much work experience to share yet, you can include any trainings, degrees, or certifications you’ve obtained in relation to the social media field. You can also create a list of your skills that will relate to the job.
However, your resume isn’t a one-and-done job. Pay attention to some of the responsibilities and skills listed in the job description. By tailoring your resume (while still remaining completely truthful) to match the wording of some of the skills they’re looking for, you can appeal even more to certain roles.
You should also write a completely customized cover letter to go along with your application. Explain why you’re excited about the position, share why you want to work for the company, and detail why you’re the best person for the job.
While there will be some lines you can recycle from cover letter to cover letter, you still want to fully personalize it for each job you apply to. Here are a few personalization tips:
You should never have ChatGPT full-out write your application materials — but it can help along the way. These tips for your resume and cover letter include some time-saving ways to use ChatGPT.
Before long, your personalized resume and cover letter should land you an interview for a potential social media job. Congrats! Now it’s time to prepare for your interview so you ace it and land that job
To help you out, here are a few tried and true tips to keep in mind as you prepare for your interview:
There’s no shame in preparing some answers ahead of time. By researching some common social media interview questions, you can feel more prepared and confident as you relay your answers.
Some questions to rehearse include:
Regardless of whether you’re interviewing in person or online, having work samples or ideas handy that you can present or share is always a good idea. If in person, print off anything relevant. If online, be sure to have something ready to present if the opportunity arises.
This can show that you’re prepared for the interview and have some ideas to bring to the table as soon as you get started.
Ask your own questions! This is an interview with the company just as much as it’s an interview with you. You want to make sure this is the right fit for you as well.
Some questions to ask include:
Be honest about your experience in the industry—even if that’s no experience at all. However, you can still share things you’ve learned through your own research, education, and training. Plus, talk about the skills you bring to the table that can relate to the job and bring in a different perspective.
So you got the call and the job is yours! Now it’s time to brush up on your social media skills and kill it at your new social media job.
Some marketing skills that you’ll want to keep sharp are:
These six steps should help you find your first social media job, no matter how you decide to go about it — via an internship, getting a certification online, or creating your own social media presence.
To learn more about what it takes to break into social media — and how to be part of a team once you make it — check out the Work Life section on the Loomly blog!