As seen with all other areas of life, social media has become integral to how most people live their lives these days. You will constantly run into it at work, you’ll see people using it for personal use, and it will even be part of your daily routine.

It is very difficult to survive without social media these days. It gives us constant exposure to others, keeps us connected, and teaches us about different cultures and ways of living.

Having experience in social media management means having knowledge of the field and how to apply that knowledge to various situations. This could include things like creating an account, running a profile, responding to comments and messages, managing followers and engagement, and developing strategies to grow your audience.

There are many paths to get social media management experience, but no matter what position you are in – whether you are just starting out or have some experience already – there are several things you can do to increase yours.

Make a plan

As mentioned earlier, being able to manage social media is a skill that most people don’t have. It takes someone with experience to successfully run a social media account!

If you are passionate about marketing or if you enjoy working with brands and businesses, then becoming a social media manager is something you can pursue after college. Or maybe you’re already working as a staff member at a business and you want to move up — the best way to do this is by developing your skills as a manager.

The more experienced you become, the higher up the ladder you will climb. A few years under your belt will give you the chance to be a senior team member who sets standards for others to follow.

It’s totally okay to start small though, there’s no need to wait until you’ve got enough career momentum before getting involved. You could even begin freelancing while still studying so that you aren’t limited to working hours and timescales set by other professionals.

Set up a website

A little reminder: If you are just starting out with social media, setting up an online profile is probably your first task!

Having a personal site where you can showcase yourself or your business is a great way to get some experience as a social media manager. You can use this site for any of the different social networks, so it does not matter which one you choose to start with.

Your website should include: Your name (very important!), bio, links to all your other accounts, and proof that you work for your current job. It is best to stick to using only true pictures and videos of you performing your jobs, or doing things such as taking classes or talking about how you do your job.

There is no need to go crazy with features, but making sure your visitors can contact you, see who you are, find out what you offer, and learn something about you is always a good idea.

Create a profile

The next step is creating your first social media account, which you can do through our website! Opening an account with us will keep you as part of the social community while also giving you some experience using social networking sites.

We have several easy-to-access accounts that fit most people’s needs. You can choose from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, so pick one and get writing!

Once you have chosen your preferred site, you will need to create an account there. It’s a good idea to take your time doing this because it takes some minutes to establish yourself as someone who cares about the site.

Don’t worry – we are here to help! We have everything you need within our Getting Started section. Take your time looking around and finding the settings for each platform and then dive in!

General Settings

You will want to make sure these are all correct before posting anything.

Buy a marketing plan

As mentioned before, being able to manage social media is like having a second job that you can do at any time. This is not only helpful for individuals who want to gain experience in this field, but also for companies looking to increase their online presence quickly.

By owning a few social media accounts, you’ll have an additional source of income while helping others grow theirs. Many people start off as unpaid professionals and work their way up through networking and word-of-mouth recommendations.

There are many ways to get started with social media management. Some of the most common routes include becoming a freelancer or independent contractor, offering paid services, or joining an already existing team.

Try advertising

One of the best ways to get social media management experience is by offering your services as an assistant or manager for someone else’s account. This can be done through another person’s profile that you manage, a third-party app like HootSuite, or even creating your own account with these tools!

By offering your services to others, they will need your help managing their accounts, which gives you exposure to many different types of social platforms.

If you are very passionate about social media and want to take it further, this is also great way to gain more knowledge. Nowadays most people have access to some sort of computer so becoming familiar with software such as Photoshop, Microsoft Office, and other similar applications is helpful for advancing one’s career.

What we don’t recommend is trying to do it all yourself. Creating your own profiles, responding to comments and messages, doing editing and re-designing – anything beyond simply liking posts and giving occasional feedback — those things should be left for professionals.

Guest blog

A great way to get experience with social media management is by writing an article for another site! Writing online articles is a very common way to make extra money. There are many ways to gain content expertise through writing.

It’s easy to write about topics you are familiar with, so looking into different areas of social media management that could use an update or review may be perfect opportunities to hone your skills.

Writing for other sites gives you the chance to showcase your knowledge while also improving your own. Not only that, but it can boost traffic and engagement at the new website you contributed to!

There are several websites where you can find free editorial space to publish an article. Some even pay their writers via PayPal per published piece! So, don’t hesitate to look around as there are plenty of opportunities to add some depth to your portfolio.

Generalist writer tip: Don’t worry about being too creative or having enough content prepared – this will not matter when you're publishing high quality, researched pieces. Your writing won't influence others if you aren’t feeling confident in yourself just yet.

Take your time to practice, learn from others' mistakes, and keep developing your writing style - this will all come together in the end.

Be honest with your audience

As mentioned earlier, being authentic is one of the most important things you can be as a social media manager. This means telling people what you really like and who you truly believe in. Your followers will quickly pick up on this fact and know they can trust you!

Your followers are looking out for you by giving you their time and attention. They expect you to put in an effort to keep coming back, so why not reward them with a good experience? If you don’t feel that same motivation to post or interact then simply do not, it will only hurt your reputation.

As much as we talk about motivating others to post and interact, sometimes there just isn’t any inspiration. That’s totally okay though, because there will always be another day.

Gain experience

As mentioned before, social media management is an ever-changing field that requires you to be on top of new technologies, strategies, and skills constantly. This is why it is so hard to find people with professional level social media manager credentials.

Mostly, those who are able to manage their own account’s settings and design them aesthetically do not get paid very much for it. And vice versa, professionals who have to deal with poor quality or non-existent services will not hire someone unless they are confident that their service will work well.

This can easily become tiring if you want to grow your career as a social media manager!

Luckily for you, there are several ways to pick up some valuable experience. You can start by creating your own profile and then sharing it with the world (or at least your local area). Or you could begin managing accounts for others and getting feedback about how you should run things.