As we already mentioned, social media is a very powerful tool for business professionals – it’s free to use, and you get all of the features for creating accounts and posting content for yourself, not just as a user, but also as a content creator.

By integrating your social media presence into your career portfolio, you are highlighting your skills as a leader, communicator, and influencer. You can even consider it an up-sell opportunity!

Many employers look at a resume as a list of positions that someone has had, so if you have proof that you produced successful results managing X staff member’s account, then they will give you credit for being able to do the same with yours.

And while having direct experience working with social media isn’t essential for every position, most jobs require some level of proficiency in this field.

Make a list of all the social media sites you would like to be a member of

Now that you have determined which websites you want to manage, it is time to get organized!

You will need to make a list of these sites and organize them by position or job field. For example, if your career goal is to work in marketing, then include only those sites in the marketer category such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

If you are looking to advance within an organization, include positions such as administrative assistant, manager, or producer. Or maybe you’d like to be a content creator for one of the sites, so include things like writer, editor, or designer.

Whatever position you choose, make sure it is relevant to your career goals. If you can’t seem to decide where to put this item, try thinking about jobs that are similar to what you hope to do and see what they say about how to prepare a resume.

Identify your favorite social media sites

Now that you have an idea of what kind of social media management services you offer, it’s time to identify which ones are most important to you.

Which sites you include in your portfolio is very much dependent upon your career goals. If you want to be known for being able to run a successful Twitter account, then including this service in your profile is essential!

Likewise if you would like to be known as someone who knows how to use Facebook effectively, add that to your list too.

But if you are looking to make a good living as a consultant, then including these services in your portfolio may not matter so much. You will need to know all three well enough to provide value.

And while developing those skills can help you in the future, doing so now isn’t necessarily going to pay off immediately.

Compile a list of social media management skills

As mentioned before, being able to manage all of your social media accounts is one of the most important things for looking for work as a professional manager. Therefore, it’s very important that you are educated about how to do this professionally.

By educating yourself on different types of social media platforms, features, and strategies, then compiling these insights into good social media managership practices, you will know what makes a strong team leader.

Furthermore, there are many free resources available online to learn some of the basics of managing social media. Some examples include:

Running your own account on a particular platform like Facebook or Instagram can help you hone your managerial skills. Starting off with a limited profile is a great way to gain experience without investing too much money at first.

Practice managing your social media sites

As seen with our ever-growing list of skills, having an online presence is almost a requirement for most professionals in the 21st century.

If you are looking for employment soon, or even if you have a job now, it is important to have at least a moderate level of proficiency in how to manage your social media accounts.

This includes things like updating your profile, posting updates, responding to comments and messages, and creating engaging content that people will want to read.

There are many ways to learn this skill, so instead of just picking one out of convenience, find one that is easy to pick up quickly.

Commit time to gaining social media management skills

As mentioned before, professional social media managers have extensive education that is beyond what most people would consider necessary to be a successful manager. Therefore, being able to refer to some kind of certificate or degree for social media management is not enough.

In fact, many employers look very unfavorably on candidates who only have this as part of their educational background and career portfolio. It was even discussed in a recent podcast how almost everyone has access to a phone now, which makes having an app certification less significant than it used to be!

So what are the best ways to learn social media management? There are several courses you can take, either through traditional universities or via online learning platforms like Udemy or LinkedIn Learning. Or perhaps there’s someone close by you who already does it and you could ask them how they got there!

Any one of these options will help you get your foot in the door as a social media manager, but becoming fully certified takes longer-term investment.

Take a class on social media management

One of the most difficult things about finding employment is knowing how to present yourself professionally. With a career in social media coming more into focus, it’s important to emphasize your skills before you apply for positions.

Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives making it very accessible to everyone. Employers expect candidates with at least some knowledge of this medium so make sure that you are well-equipped with what tools are needed for the position.

By taking some classes or doing some research online, you will know what functions various platforms have and how to use them effectively. You can also learn how to maintain account credentials and settings, as well as how to respond to comments and messages!

In fact, many employers require formal training certification courses or proof of expertise in social media to even consider hiring you.

Read blogs on social media management

One of the most difficult things about looking for new jobs is figuring out what skills and qualifications you have. For many, acquiring new skills and knowledge is made fun through various education systems that are very accessible these days.

For those who already have their degree or professional license, it is easy to add additional skills by reading different material. However, for the average person who does not, there can be times when putting in effort to learn more seems impossible. This is particularly true if you make your living via salary or commission.

As we mentioned before, seeking employment online has become the norm. Most large companies recruit directly from the web so having a good looking resume is enough to get you started. But, how do you know if you’re offering the right information? If you don’t know the answer to this question, then you might want to think about reevaluating your career path.

Create a social media management strategy

As mentioned before, not all employers look at social media with the same importance. Some only consider it as valuable in finding new jobs, while others don’t even include it as an important factor in hiring.

So what are some good ways to position yourself as a social media manager? First off, make sure you understand how different social networking sites work.

Many times people try to be general by saying things like “I manage my company's Facebook page,” or something similar. But really, what they mean is someone who oversees the business' use of its own account.

As such, you should know which features each site has (and if they're free!), how to update content, promote posts, etc. For example, how many followers does your employer have on Twitter? What kind of engagement do their tweets get? If nothing but crickets, that might tell you something about their outreach!

Another part of being a solid social media manager is knowing the differences between them all. Is there one that seems more popular than another? Find out why and learn from that. You can also determine which ones seem to bring in the most traffic to your workplace -- study those!

And lastly, keep up-to-date with the ever-changing landscape of social networks.