How to Get into Social Media Marketing

If you are looking for a change in your career, or you are just starting out, then social media marketing may just be what you are looking for, especially with the rise in digital platforms and new marketing efforts.

Social media marketers are always looking for modern ways to reach target audiences through a variety of social media channels using digital marketing techniques.

If you are someone who wants to be part of this industry and adaptable landscape, then becoming a social media marketer may just be the right path for you.

What is Social Media Marketing?

This type of marketing is where businesses will use a variety of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, to promote products as well as brands and services that they offer.

What Will It Involve?

It falls under the umbrella of digital marketing and will incorporate social media posts and social media campaigns through a well-planned and placed social media marketing strategy that they have agreed upon to build on communities and get people talking online about what they are doing.

What Does a Successful Social Media Strategy Include?

Social media marketers will need to make sure that any strategy they put into place is successful enough to drive businesses forward and create the desired effect.

This Can Occur By Putting Into Place Steps Such As –

• Setting goals for the business as discussed with a social media strategist
• Researching audiences such as what social media platforms they use and what type of social media accounts they respond to (business or personal)
• Research of the competitors
• Choosing the best social media sites to work from
• Planning to create content that fits in with the data collected
• Managing social media platforms and engaging with the community
• Grow a following by seeing how people react to the campaigns

All of these are important for a social media strategy to work so that a business can reap the rewards.

What does a Social Media Marketer do?

As a marketer, you may work with an in-house marketing department with other social media professionals, and a social media management team so that you can put in place effective strategies for services and products.

The role of a social media manager need not be bound to an organization as you could take on the role of a freelancer as well. There is also an option of working with a digital marketing agency where you can use your own expertise to create campaigns for businesses that drive traffic and revenue. You should remember, however, that you need to be up to speed with the trends and developments in the marketing world in order to be a successful marketing manager.

Common Tasks That Social Media Marketers Do

There are quite a lot of things that will fall under your label as a social media specialist, so you will need to make sure that you know what you are doing and are capable of handling these requirements.

• Planning and implementing campaigns across social platforms
• Creating meaningful content for social media and monitoring its progress
• Building and maintaining a brand’s/business’s social media presence
• Reporting on successes and failures of how campaigns have worked within the chosen social media space
• Stay up to date with trends and insights into social media (you can do this through your own social media profiles as well)
• Collaborating with other social media managers as well as similar industry experts such as web developers and graphic designers
• Manage a social media calendar

These are just some of the tasks that will need to be done by a social media marketer, and they will grow depending on what they do and how big the campaign is.

How Much Do Social Media Marketers Earn?

If one of the first things you want to know after you have Googled how to get into social media marketing is the salary, then you may not be happy to know that straight away there isn’t a high price tag for this career.

Gaining Experience Is Essential

Entry-level social media marketers will earn around 18,000 initially which can go up to 25,000 as the years go on.

However, as your expertise grows as a marketer and you show how many valuable insights you have about content creation and running campaigns, that salary will grow, and if you decide to become a social media manager then you are looking around and over 50,000 per year.

It’s also possible that you might earn more if you join a Digital Marketing Agency Los Angeles (or elsewhere) first. This would likely give you more experience in diverse digital marketing tactics that could build your skill set and make you more valuable.

What Skills Are Needed to Get Into Social Media Marketing?

There are quite a few skills that you will need to become a social media marketer, which you can gain from learning, but also hands-on experience, for example, if you run a social media account you can see first-hand what needs to be done to be noticed.

You can take note of the time and effort that goes into being on these social channels and how they interact with others.

Creativity and communication are key skills, as constant engagement is a necessity for people to respond.

Here Are a Handful of Skills That Will be Useful to You

Copywriting

A copywriter who knows how to write thoughtful and engaging posts will help influence people into clicking links as they feel a connection.

Design

Basic design skills will always come in handy with social media marketing. Design will tell a brand’s story and how they want to connect with its target audience.

Data Analytics

Making effective decisions through analysing data will help campaigns make their mark and appeal to those they are creating this for. It can help with improving sales as well as customer service.

Project Management

Taking ownership of all the little pieces that come together and form a campaign is important for a digital marketer to do. This skill can show leadership and help them move up.

Creative Thinking

Being creative is the mark of a marketer, they need to connect with audiences and come up with plans that will inspire and intrigue people to keep reading and looking.

Time Management & Organisational Skills

Making sure campaigns are organised and on time by sticking to a calendar so that they are completed to the right specifications without delay.

How to Become a Social Media Marketer

You don’t really need a degree to get into social media marketing.

There are many organizations out there that will take people on who show strong skills like the ones above and can prove their knowledge of social media and the trends it has.

You can start a portfolio by setting up your own social media account and build a following through there, implementing trends that appear at the time and monitoring it as you would as a social media marketer.

This can show them your skills in real time which may help your application.

Using Educational Resources

If you really do want to have some education behind you, then there are college courses and online courses you can take or university ones that are linked with the social media side of things.

This has the potential to give you the edge when applying for jobs, but it is not a guarantee, so if you think you can get your foot in the door through work experience and building on your knowledge your own way, then go for that.

Formal qualifications can help if you are truly new to this and need more assistance.

What Do Employers Look For?

You will find that many employers in the social media industry have some of the same requirements that they want from potential employees.

These include –

• Creative ideas
• Experience with social media platforms
• Capable of handling analytics and putting them into practice
• Excellent communication skills and time management
• Excellent writing ability
• Able to work in a fast-paced environment

Obviously, this will change with each employer, but they want to know that you can show these skills and use them where necessary.

Conclusion

So, do you believe that you have it in you to get into the social media marketing industry and become a social media marketer? If so, then what’s stopping you?

As time goes on you will be able to build on your skills a lot more and move your way up the ladder for better job opportunities and salary. It’s worth a shot.