In the current marketing landscape, social media is an integral part of any brand’s social media strategy, and the demand for social media managers isn’t likely to go away any time soon.
Whether you’ve built up some experience in an entry-level social media role already, or you’re from a completely different background and curious about a career in social media, there are a number of proven best practices you can use to develop your skill set and make yourself more visible to recruiters.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through four crucial steps in how to get a social media manager job online.
1. Review and Hone Your Skills
Before you think about browsing job boards or contacting recruiters, it’s important to review the required skill set for a social media manager, and try to develop any areas where your skills are lacking.
Some of the key skills you should think about when carrying out this self-assessment include:
- Familiarity with industry-standard analytics tools, whether they’re in-built features provided by social media platforms themselves, or third-party tools like Highperformr analytics analytics dashboard.
- Knowledge and experience with AI social media tools, which is becoming an increasingly important part of social media and the marketing industry as a whole.
- Polished communication skills, which will be essential for both framing the messages in social media content and organizing the delivery of campaigns internally.
- Creativity and lateral thinking, which will help you with general problem solving and effective social media ideation to distinguish your personal brand from the competition.
- Customer service soft skills to help with community and reputation management.
By honing these skills, and making sure you can demonstrate them through past achievements and specific items on your resume, you’ll put yourself in a much stronger position for applying for social media positions and performing well in interviews.
2. Show What You Can Do
Having the skills to succeed in social media will lay a strong foundation when you’re looking at how to get a social media manager job online. However, recruiters are going to want to see how you can apply these skills in real-world situations.
If you don’t already have some professional social media marketing achievements under your belt, or you just want to ensure your recruitment profile is looking as strong as possible, there are several ways you can show employers what you can do and help them visualize how you’ll fit in at their organization.
Some good ways to show off your skills on your own social media platforms include:
- Finding a niche in a particular industry or topic where you already have an interest or particular expertise, and intentionally developing social media accounts around this topic.
- Actively growing a following with a well-strategized content calendar, consistent posts, and dedicated time for interacting with your audience.
- Tracking your progress with social media analytics tools, articulating trends and patterns, and making adjustments based on your findings for a stronger campaign.
- Building freelance or volunteer experience with brands in your niche, demonstrating that you can adapt to different brand identities and get them results.
By actively applying your social media skills, you’ll start to develop a portfolio of tangible achievements you can discuss with potential employers, and prove that you’re the right person for the job.
3. Develop a Polished Portfolio
Once you’ve made sure your skills are up to scratch and built up some real-world experience, you’ll be ready to develop a polished, sharable portfolio to support your job search.
Whether you’re hoping to work in-house or as an independent freelancer, developing a strong portfolio is essential when you’re looking into how to get a social media manager job online. This important asset will frame your achievements in a way that’s easy to understand, and show potential employers you take your social media management work seriously.
While there’s no hard and fast rules about the way you structure a social media portfolio, there are certain common elements you might want to consider as you build yours, including:
- “Headline” information that briefly introduces who you are, a summary of your experience, and any other relevant information that might help recruiters understand the value you can offer their business.
- A showcase of your best work, with a short overview of each project and what you achieved. To make these more engaging and “clickable”, you should also accompany them with visuals such as screenshots of your social media content or analytics data on a positive trend.
- Testimonials from clients or previous employers attached to different projects showcasing the positive experiences they’ve had with you.
- An outline of your approach to strategy, based on previous experiences and demonstrating a level of flexibility that enables you to adapt to the needs of different brands and goals.
- A “why hire me” section that lists your core strengths and sets you apart from other candidates.
- Clearly-displayed contact information and social media links so recruiters can reach you easily.
Once you’ve developed a polished, detailed portfolio, you’ll be prepared to start reaching out to recruiters and strengthen your applications with clear evidence that you’ll be an asset to their campaigns.
4. Be Active on Major Social Media Job Boards
Now that you’ve showcased the skills and experience you need to succeed in social media marketing, you’re ready for the final stage of how to get a social media manager job online: getting active on job boards.
There are countless online job boards you can potentially use to find the next position in your career, but some are better aligned for finding a job as a social media manager than others.
Here’s a brief overview of some of our favorite job boards for finding social media manager positions:
LinkedIn: As a social media network itself, LinkedIn provides a unique opportunity to show off your social media prowess and find social media manager jobs from a single platform. LinkedIn boasts millions of active company profiles and has an array of convenient search filters for finding businesses and positions that are a good fit for you.
Jooble: A huge employment search engine that scrapes job postings from a variety of different sources, ensuring you never miss an opportunity that might be a good match for your skills and experience. Jooble covers 67 different countries in its algorithm, making it a great job board if you’re looking to relocate or establish yourself as an international social media professional.
Indeed: A long-established giant in the online recruitment game, Indeed has a strong brand equity that makes it the first choice for many recruiters in the marketing niche. Its user-friendly interface and platform for developing a recruitment profile makes it a great tool for finding any kind of job, including social media management positions.
MarketingHire: A job board made specifically for professionals in the marketing niche, MarketingHire is a great site to check out if you want to skip the work of trawling through listings on sites with a more general focus, and start your search on a platform that’s already aligned towards marketing. It also publishes a lot of quality content on career development and marketing industry news, making it particularly valuable if you prioritize personal development.
Navigating How to Get a Social Media Manager Job Online
Getting a social media job online means diving into a very competitive career niche. However, by following these steps, you’ll be able to maximize the value of your profile, and stand a better chance of catching the attention of great businesses and agencies.
If you want to brush up on your social media analytics skills and get to grips with industry-standard tools, sign up to Highperformr for free today!
