What is a social media internship and how to become one

Q: How do I become a media intern?

To become a media intern, you should have good grades and a decent work portfolio. Most media interns are recent or soon-to-be graduates of bachelor's degrees. Having a good resume with relevant experience plays a big part in landing your dream media internship.

Q: How do I start a social media career?

To start a social media career, it's important to educate yourself and start small. The good news is that there isn't just one right way to start a career in social media; there are many. It's good to consider your timeline and your short and long-term career goals before you get started.

Q: How much do social media interns get paid?

Social interns get paid $15 an hour. However, there is some range in what social media interns can earn - from as low as $5.77 an hour to as high as $18.99 an hour. Factors such as the company type and location impact how much a social media intern can make.

Q: How to get a job in social media

You get a job in social media by growing your own social media presence, completing a social media certification, and making your resume stand out. The job of a social media specialist or manager looks very different based on the company and industry.

Q: How to get a social media job?

To get a social media job you should build your social media presence, do your research, complete educational training, gain experience, and search for job openings. Unlike more traditional careers, the road to success in social media isn't quite as cut-and-dry.

Q: What questions should I ask a social media intern?

There are several different questions you should ask your social media intern. When interviewing social media interns, the ideal candidate should demonstrate experience with social media and a creatively curious mindset. Avoid candidates who seem interested in learning about industry innovations and tools.

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Steve Boddy,

Michelle R. Eubanks

A social media internship is a temporary position within a company that involves managing and creating content for the company's social media accounts. The intern's responsibilities include developing strategies, creating posts, responding to comments, and analyzing campaign metrics. Additionally, social media interns collaborate with other departments to ensure consistency in brand messaging. This role allows individuals to gain valuable experience in social media marketing and build a portfolio that can help them further their career.

What general advice would you give to a social media internship?

Steve Boddy

Content Director, WorldatWork

Graduates should expect fewer full-time employment opportunities. In some cases these opportunities will be accompanied by enhanced well-being benefits but lower salaries. There may be more contract and seasonal opportunities in the short term, which typically will not offer highly valued benefits like health insurance, retirement, and paid time off.

Full-time employment opportunities and competitive hiring wages are expected in high growth industries like technology, health care, logistics and distribution, and other essential jobs. These are most often accompanied with full benefits, which most recently has included increased offerings in well-being, remote work opportunities, and flexible schedules. However, most other organizations will offer fewer full time employment opportunities and potentially lower wages in job offers (due to supply of jobs and abundance of grads). Other reasons for downward pressure on salaries may include the graduates willingness to accept lower rates in favor of the option to work from home or desired geography. Lastly, more college grads are taking seasonal/contract roles, and may miss out on critical benefit offerings that are reserved for employees only (which often account for ~25 - 35% of their total rewards package).

So why does it matter? In all likelihood, new graduates may not start on the career path they envisioned for themselves, and will likely see slower wage growth over time. According to the WorldatWork 2020-2021 Salary Budget Survey released in August of this year, "The national total salary budget increase average fell this year - dropping to 2.9% - notably sudden, and somewhat expected, due to economic uncertainty. This decline represents a pronounced departure from the anticipated increase to 3.3% projected for 2020 a year ago." This is a tough time to be entering the workforce. The key is to be flexible in their job search. Graduates may have to sacrifice some benefits like healthcare and retirement in order to get "their foot in the door." The current reality is new college graduates are facing the worst job market in over a decade with more competition and lower salaries.

ScoreSocial Media InternshipUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $31,145

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.59%

Asian 5.31%

Black or African American 10.13%

Hispanic or Latino 12.02%

Unknown 5.10%

White 66.86%

Gender

female 68.76%

male 31.24%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a social media internship?

Pros

Potential for future job opportunities within the company or industry
Ability to develop skills in content creation, analytics, and community management
Possibility of receiving academic credit
Flexibility in scheduling and remote work options
Chance to work in a dynamic and creative environment

Cons

Often unpaid or low-paying
Heavy workload and long hours during peak times
Limited opportunity for creativity or autonomy in decision-making
Risk of burnout due to high demand and fast pace of work
Limited job security or stability after internship ends

Key steps to become a social media internship

Explore social media internship education requirements

Most common social media internship degrees

Bachelor's

84.0 %

Associate

7.4 %

Master's

4.5 %

Start to develop specific social media internship skills

Skills	Percentages
Instagram	17.66%
Facebook Insights	14.66%
Twitter	13.86%
Social Media Marketing	5.62%
Linkedin	3.66%

Complete relevant social media internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New social media interns learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a social media internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real social media internship resumes.

Research social media internship duties and responsibilities

Manage accounts for clients by monitoring, engaging, digital copywriting, and generating content.
Create posts on company's Tumblr blog, manage to gain dozens of notes on posts and followers
Reach minimum requirement in sales every month, run social media accounts, and develop and manage online marketing campaigns
Develop and manage social media program leveraging Facebook and Pinterest.

Prepare your social media internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your social media internship resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a social media internship resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable social media internship resume templates

Build a professional social media internship resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your social media internship resume.

Apply for social media internship jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a social media internship job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do social media interns rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Social media internship reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019

Pros

Content management.

Cons

I love my work. I don't love who I work for. They do not understand the steps involved in social media. And keep asking for analytics. I send them in a thoughtfully presented report. And they just don't get it. Sales thinks I jack around all day on social media. That is my job. Then there's the fact that I have to be paid to monitor the work and campaigns I shoot down the feeds. Ugh. Run for your life unless you work for a corporation.

What is a social media internship and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a social media internship?

What are the pros and cons of being a social media internship?

Social media internship career paths

Key steps to become a social media internship

Explore social media internship education requirements

Most common social media internship degrees

Start to develop specific social media internship skills

Complete relevant social media internship training and internships

Research social media internship duties and responsibilities

Prepare your social media internship resume

Choose from 10+ customizable social media internship resume templates

Apply for social media internship jobs

How did you land your first social media internship job

Average social media internship salary

How do social media interns rate their job?

Social media internship reviews

Social media internship FAQs

How do I become a media intern?

How do I start a social media career?

How much do social media interns get paid?

How to get a job in social media

How to get a social media job?

What questions should I ask a social media intern?

Search for social media internship jobs

Social media internship jobs by state