In 2024, an estimated 5.17 billion people use social media. Businesses are trying to connect with their target audience and build a following online, which makes social media management one of the most in-demand skills in this digital world. The job involves managing brands’ social media accounts and helping them achieve their marketing goals cost-effectively.
However, how to become a social media manager without a degree? Thankfully, gone are the days when you need a degree to even apply for a position. Today, brands and companies look at other factors before deciding if they want to work with you. In this guide, we’ll tell you how you can get a social media management job without having a relevant degree, or any degree at all. Let’s dive in.
What is Social Media Management?
To help other businesses with social media management, you first need to know the ins and outs of this role. From a zoomed-out perspective, it involves overseeing a business’s social media presence. The tasks you handle include content creation, community management, tracking, strategy development, and maybe more.
Traditional Education Vs Practical Experience
A degree in communications, marketing, or any related field can help you understand the concepts of social media management, but it’s not necessary. Many social media marketers start with no degree and have successful careers.
A prominent benefit of traditional education is that it provides you with foundational knowledge like marketing principles, communication techniques, and strategy development. However, social media marketing is a dynamic industry, and traditional education is mostly unable to keep up with the trends. As a result, it doesn’t fully equip you with all the necessary knowledge and skills.
Practical experience, on the other hand, gives you the skills and knowledge you need to stay relevant and make yourself valuable in this ever-evolving landscape. Thankfully, getting relevant practice experience is easier than ever; you can get it through free or paid internships, freelance projects, and even volunteer work.
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Online Courses and Certifications
You don’t need a traditional degree to learn the basics of social media marketing. Every piece of information you need to start this career is available online. Explore platforms like HubSpot, Udemy, and Skillshare for relevant courses and certifications. In addition to helping you build a strong foundation, certifications from reputable organizations and instructors can help you build your credibility as a service provider.
Skills Required for Social Media Management
You don’t have to be perfect at everything to get started in this industry. Even if you don’t have the right skills at the moment, you can learn them over time. Here are the most important skills you need to master to become a successful social media manager.
Creativity and Content Creation
Social media managers need creativity to come up with the type of content that targets the right people, grabs attention, engages prospects, and derives actions. Audience retention requires compelling copy and eye-catching visuals, which require a creative mind.
Analytical Skills
Being able to analyze the data and measure the performance of a social media marketing campaign are important aspects of social media management. With analytical skills, you’re able to effectively craft growth strategies to achieve a brand’s ROI goals.
Communication
A social media manager needs to keep other team members in the loop and manage a community of potential and existing customers. Both of these require effective communication skills. The good thing is that with practice, you can develop your communication skills.
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How to Get a Social Media Management Job Without a Degree
Create a Solid Online Presence
Start by creating your online presence on the most relevant social media platforms. Optimize your profiles with the right keywords and position yourself as an expert in a particular niche or platform. For instance, you may want to target clients who are looking to hire Facebook ads managers.
Build Your Portfolio
To get your first job, you can offer your services for free or at an attractive price. As you work on more projects, add your experiences in a dedicated folder or file. This will be your portfolio that you can show to potential clients later on.
Network
Networking is inarguably one of the most powerful ways to get new clients. Join social media groups within your industry. Groups where your target clients are most probably hanging out. Interact with other’s content and publish your own to help your credibility as a service provider.
Create a Job Search Strategy
Having your own portfolio website and a traffic strategy is the fastest way to land high-paying social media management jobs. But, if you don’t want to create a website yet, join a couple of freelance platforms and create your profile. Reach out to potential buyers to maximize your chances of getting a long-term job.
How to Become a Social Media Manager Without a Degree: FAQs
Let’s address some frequently asked questions about becoming a social media manager without a degree.
Do You Need a Degree to be a Social Media Manager?
You do no need a degree to be a social media manager. In fact, many successful social media marketers don’t have a traditional degree. You can learn the basics on platforms like YouTube and Udemy and start offering your services.
What Qualifications Do You Need to be a Social Media Manager?
You don’t need an official qualification to be a social media manager. However, this also depends on the company you intend to work in. Some hiring managers require that you have a degree in a relevant subject.
How Do I Become a Social Media Manager as a Beginner?
To get your foot in the door, start learning the basics on YouTube and course websites. Establish your social media presence and join social media groups for networking and attracting clients.
Conclusion
A successful social media manager practices creativity, has good analytical skills, and communicates effectively. Their technical skills include persuasive writing, knowing the platforms they work on, and creating eye-catching designs, among other things. Thankfully, a professional degree may help you with some of the skills, you can learn all that without it.
Start by learning about your target industry online and get social media marketing certifications from reputable platforms. Next, establish a solid online presence and build your portfolio over time. Lastly, keep using networking to attract long-term opportunities.