Social media manager

Social media managers co-ordinate online content and communications strategies for their clients.

Also known as: Social media strategist, social media specialist, social media marketing manager

• Starter salary£25,000 a year
• Experienced£50,000 a year
• Typical hours38 to 45 a week

What you'll do

As a social media manager, you would:

• develop strategies and campaigns to increase audience size and participation
• co-ordinate updates to your social media channels
• create and edit content like articles, blogs, video clips and reels
• respond to social media posts, discussions and customer feedback
• use social media tools to manage multiple sites
• analyse data to check the effectiveness of campaigns and to spot trends
• produce reports, detailing insights and recommendations
• work closely with marketing teams

Working environment

You could work in an office.

Skills and knowledge you'll need

You'll need:

• knowledge of media production and communication
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• the ability to sell products and services
• the ability to work well with others
• the ability to use your initiative
• thinking and reasoning skills
• business management skills
• excellent verbal communication skills
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently

How to become a social media manager

You can get into this job through:

• a university course
• an apprenticeship
• working towards this role

University

Some employers may expect you to have a degree in a relevant subject, like:

• advertising
• marketing and public relations
• digital and social media marketing
• digital content creation
• journalism
• business management

A degree with a work placement will help you gain valuable experience and may be an advantage when you look for work.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an apprenticeship to get into this job.

For example:

• Content Creator Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
• Multi-channel Marketer Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
• Digital Community Manager Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship
• Digital Marketer Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship

These apprenticeships take between 2 and 3 years to complete and are a mix of on-the-job training and classroom learning.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

Work

You could start work with a social media or marketing company as an assistant, digital content creator or SEO specialist. As you get more experience, you could work your way up into a management position.

You could also do qualifications through professional bodies like the Data and Marketing Association and The Chartered Institute of Marketing to help improve your prospects.

Volunteering

Experience of working with social media could help when applying for jobs. You could get experience by:

• volunteering to manage a charity or community group's social media channels
• managing your own social media profiles
• contributing to your school, college or university channels
• writing blogs or creating podcasts and tracking their use and popularity
• getting involved in social media for the company you already work for

You could also keep up to date by joining webinars about social media trends.

You may find volunteering opportunities through Do It or The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) .

Career path and progression

With experience, you could:

• move into a senior post or become head of social media with your employer
• manage social media output for a larger company or organisation
• work in consultancy, advising corporate clients on social media strategy

You could also become an online digital community manager, acting as a link between consumers and businesses supplying online products. For example, working with esports gamers and developers in the online gaming community.

Career tips

Many jobs combine technical duties with management roles, so it can help if you have:

• video, sound and image editing skills
• the ability to write engaging copy and scripts for a target audience
• an understanding of search engine analytics

Guides for this industry

• Marketing & Digital: pay, interviews and getting started →

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