Consumers have more choice now than ever before. That’s why companies are constantly looking for ways to stand out from the rest — to reach their potential customers where they’re at (on social media) and leave an impression that makes them want to do something. This is what social media management jobs are all about: helping companies make connections with customers that leave an impact.

These jobs can be pretty lucrative, whether you’re just looking for a side hustle or you want to build your own social media management agency (which sounds lofty, but is completely doable.)

Read on for:

●     what exactly a social media manager does

●     why you can get freelance social media management jobs without a degree

●     how to build a social media manager resume with zero experience

●     how to get your first gig

●     free social media software to make your job easier

To understand what a social media manager does, you need to understand why companies use social media in the first place — to get potential customers to do something.

Think about your own experience with companies on social media. The good professional accounts are engaging users in creative ways, and they make you want to do something such as:

●     like or share a post, as a way to promote the company

●     tag the company/product in your posts, which shows real evidence that their product is valuable

●     follow an account on social, which grows brand loyalty and organic reach

●     visit the company’s website

●     shop a product — a feature that was just added to Facebook (and Instagram, now owned by Facebook) in 2020

●     get a “freemium” product/service, which leads users to eventually buy the paid version of the product

Social media is a relatively inexpensive way to get potential customers to see, want, and eventually buy a product or service. It’s also a way to show “social proof”, or evidence that their product is valuable, through shared user reviews.

Social media managers are responsible for consistently creating, sharing, and measuring the effectiveness of social media posts on behalf of companies/brands.

You, in your social media management jobs, may:

●     design a social media marketing campaign, where a company tells you what they want, and you figure out a concrete plan to reach these goals through social media posts/engagement

●     create the content that goes into social media posts (photos, videos, copy, etc.)

●     schedule social media posts to go out at a specific time/date

●     respond to user comments/activity

●     monitor for activity that may hurt a business’s brand, such as negative reviews, and remedy these problems

●     measure the effectiveness of social media campaigns using social media engagement tools

●     report on social media campaigns to your clients

●     suggest next steps to increase engagement and, ultimately, sales

Because social media has evolved so quickly, and companies like Facebook and Twitter are changing policies and practices so often, a lot of traditional colleges haven’t quite caught up enough to develop formal social media “programs.”

Marketing degrees can help you understand things like brand management and ad campaigns. But with some self-study and practice, you can land freelance social media management jobs without a degree.

Related: This is how to overcome self-doubt as a freelancer.

1.  Get some experience, paid or otherwise.

Since anyone can post on social media, anyone can call themselves a social media manager. But your future clients want to know that they’re working with someone who can produce results. So show them results.

But how do you actually get that experience?

Grow your own social media following. You can:

●     build your own personal brand on LinkedIn

●     start an Instagram account for about something you care about

●     volunteer your social media management skills to promote an organization or because you feel passionately about

●     manage the social media accounts of a small business that can’t afford to pay a social media manager 

Related: Use social media — and these other tools — to promote your own professional brand and land more clients.

You can even make money in the meantime by:

●     becoming an affiliate marketer for a product you genuinely believe in

●     gaining influencer status and getting brands to approach you

●     selling your own product or service on social — if you make jewelry or cut grass in your free time, now is the time to advertise

Keep track of your following, user engagement, and what exactly you get your customers to do because of your social media posts.

2.  Learn the principles and software you need to effectively manage a brand.

While I highly recommend getting hands-on experience in social media tools and practices, there are just some skills and knowledge you need to sit down and learn how to do before you can start getting paid freelance social media management jobs.

There are a lot of comprehensive free and paid social media management courses on learning platforms, but to get into this field, you absolutely need to know how to:

●     build unique, branded social media posts using graphic design software

●     use the best social media analytics software and practices

●     create and follow brand style guides

●     audit clients’ social media profiles and strategies

●     design social media campaigns and schedules

●     present your clients with concrete results of your social media management campaign: how many users clicked through to your client’s website, bought a product, shared a post, etc., also known as “performance indicators”

My best advice is to learn and practice at the same time — treat the “experience” you’re getting from the step above as “homework” that shows you understand how to employ the theoretical lessons you learn online.

And the performance of whatever social media accounts you use to get experience are almost like course grades.

3.  Translate your experience to a portfolio.

Create a website or online freelancer profile that showcases your work, somewhere your potential clients can go to see what you’re capable of.

Include things like:

●     links to social media accounts you manage

●     sample social media posts from different platforms

●     past social media campaigns and how well they performed

●     skills/software you are well versed in

●     any certifications you’ve earned (from Google Academy, Udemy, etc.)

●     links to your own socials (make sure they’re appropriate)

Keep reading for a more in-depth explanation on how to create a successful freelancer profile in the next section.

A lot of “how to freelance” guides talk about growing your freelance business organically through networking and referrals. And at some point, you should do that. But that’s more for freelancers with a proven track record of success on their social media manager resume.

First, you need some real professional experience.

Luckily, there are websites, like Upwork and Fiverr, specifically designed to connect freelancers and clients without much work on either party’s end. Upwork has more long-term freelance gigs available, while Fiverr has more one-off gigs.

Since profitable social media management jobs are more long-term, start on Upwork.

You will need a stellar freelancer profile on Upwork to attract clients, especially when you’re just starting out.

This freelancing course on the Zero to to Mastery Academy  teaches you everything from designing your profile, to pitching your services, to scaling your freelance business. Start now and get paid social media management jobs in ten hours or less.

Related: Read this for a more in-depth comparison of Upwork and Fiverr.

When you pitch your services to potential clients:

●     make sure to take a good look at their current social media setup

●     ask the right kinds of questions to get a feel for what they expect from you

●     expect clients to have abstract expectations like “grow my following” or “get more people to click on my website”

●     translate those vague desires into concrete goals, with specific, actionable steps that help clients make more conversions

●     tell them exactly how you plan to measure the effectiveness of your social media services

While not as technically difficult as web design or as creatively demanding as graphic design, there are technical and creative requirements in all social media management jobs.

To make your job a little easier, look into these free tools to help you create, manage, and measure social media efforts:

1. Buffer Social Media Scheduler: the simplest social media automation tool to create and schedule posts all at once
2. Canva: the best graphic design software for non-designers
3. Asana: create and share content calendars with your clients for free
4. IFTTT: a slightly more advanced (but most useful) tool to reduce your content creation and scheduling hours by recycling content and completely automating all content marketing efforts