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Are you interested in becoming a social media marketer? It can be an exciting and fast-paced career path, with lots of opportunities for future growth and development. 

You could work for a brand as a social media manager or social media strategist. You may prefer to work for a social media or digital agency, working with several brands at the same time. Alternatively, another popular option is to start your own small business. Plus, as social media is so widely used, you can find work in virtually any industry, from education and retail to hospitality and manufacturing.

If you like variety, you’ll certainly get that as a social media marketer too. One day you may find yourself creating a social media competition or setting up Facebook ads, and the next, you may be developing a social media strategy and writing Instagram posts.

To become an effective social media marketer, you’ll need several essential skills. Here are just a few skills for social media marketing that you’ll need to master, to take the next step in your career:

1. Computer skills

Much of your work will be carried out on a computer, so being proficient using the Internet, emails, and basic software (such as Microsoft Office) is vital. Having excellent typing skills is important, along with the ability to use more advanced software and social media tools (such as Buffer, Canva and Hootsuite).

2. Creativity

To make a brand stand out, you’ll need to come up with new and exciting ideas regularly. You’ll also need to demonstrate creativity in every social media post you write and the images you source, so you can capture people’s attention and keep your audience engaged.

3. Communication skills

As a social media marketer, communication skills are essential. Every day, your written, verbal and listening skills will be put to the test. You’ll need to interact effectively with marketing managers, business owners, other team members, clients as well as communicate professionally on social media with customers.

4. Organisation

You’ll be responsible for a wide range of tasks and projects. It’s therefore vital you’re organised and can prioritise work, so everything is completed on time and customers are responded to promptly.

5. Attention to detail

Your role is customer-facing, so you will be representing a brand. Strict attention to detail is therefore crucial. This means making sure any information you post is accurate, that you avoid spelling mistakes, and your messaging is consistent.

6. Analytical

You will need to know whether your efforts are having the desired effect. You will therefore need to be able to review metrics (such as Facebook Insights and Google Analytics), pull out valuable insights and create reports.

7. Learner

Understanding the fundamental principles of social media is vital, but as social media is continuously changing, your knowledge needs to be updated too. You’ll need to enjoy attending social media manager courses, listening to webinars, and be comfortable self-learning through reading industry articles and following trends.

8. Social media skills

To perform well and progress, you’ll need to learn the fundamentals of social media marketing. You’ll need to understand how to create effective marketing content, how to develop a social media strategy, how to convert social media followers into paying customers and much more.

How can you improve your social media skills?

While you may be comfortable managing your own personal social media platforms, managing a business’s accounts effectively requires more advanced knowledge and experience. Enrolling in a course designed to take you from beginner to expert can help you get started in this field. Open Colleges’ 10118NAT Diploma of Social Media Marketing can help you do just that.

We’re also excited to be working in partnership with Social Media College, to bring you four exclusive short courses – Facebook Advertising, Instagram Marketing, LinkedIn Marketing and Social Media Strategy. These are perfect if you’re just getting started in social media or if you want to develop your existing skills.