What is a Social Media Manager?

With social media evolving into the powerful industry it is today, over the course of a single decade, social media management is a promising career option for everyone who does not mind diving deep into this peculiar universe. Social media managers are people who know how to take advantage of user data accumulated by social media platforms for marketing purposes and ride the wave.

Today every business making an effort to be relevant develops a social media strategy, coming up with ways to target consumers with the right ads with mathematical precision. Social media managers find the way to use personalized social media platforms as vehicles to interact with clients and drive up sales as a consequence. They work on building social media presence for brands and businesses by creating engaging content and operating advertisement campaigns through entertainment.

What makes social media revolve around its axis is influence. People deeply affect each other through this intricate web of relations, and a successful social media manager finds the influencers with the largest follower groups to win them over for their sales purposes, provided what they represent and the crowd they engage matches the profile of the product they wish to market. This exciting and challenging profession opens up new horizons to our consumer society, and it is really up to you and your creativity to make your own way in this jungle.

What Does a Social Media Manager Do

There are certain skills that many social media managers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed leadership skills, communication skills and analytical skills.

Learn more about what a Social Media Manager does

How To Become a Social Media Manager

If you're interested in becoming a social media manager, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 78.7% of social media managers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 7.1% of social media managers have master's degrees. Even though most social media managers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Social Media Manager

Social Media Manager Job Description

A social media manager is responsible for the oversight of a client's various social media accounts. Their duties include handling and posting appropriate content, responding to the inquiries and comments of the customers of the client, and implementing marketing strategies to strengthen online brand presence.

Learn more about Social Media Manager Job Description
Top Social Media Manager Jobs Near You

Social Media Manager Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a social media manager can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as marketing director, progress to a title such as senior director of marketing and then eventually end up with the title senior director of marketing.

Social Media Manager

Top Careers Before Social Media Manager

Internship(51,064 Jobs)
18.1 %
Sales Associate(579,849 Jobs)
10.8 %
Marketing Internship(122,135 Jobs)
9.4 %

Top Careers After Social Media Manager

Internship(51,064 Jobs)
10.7 %
Sales Associate(579,849 Jobs)
8.5 %
Marketing Internship(122,135 Jobs)
8.1 %

Recent Job Searches

Average Salary for a Social Media Manager

Social Media Managers in America make an average salary of $70,287 per year or $34 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $98,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $50,000 per year.
Average Social Media Manager Salary
$70,287 Yearly
$33.79 hourly
See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

salary-calculator

Roles and Types of Social Media Manager

The role of a social media manager includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general social media manager responsibilities:

  • Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive digital, social
  • Lead day-to-day management of editorial calendars to ensure successful program development
  • Drive all social media executions for the splat

There are several types of social media manager, including:

Sales And Marketing Manager

Role:

A sales and marketing manager is in charge of generating revenue for their company by marketing a product and cinching sales conversions. They usually supervise two teams of people-the sales and marketing departments. They also develop strategies to attract new audiences through marketing campaigns and generate more revenue through innovative sales plans. A sales and marketing manager needs to be familiar with the latest technologies used in the field, such as Search Engine Marketing (SEM) techniques, management systems such as Delphi, and more. They also need excellent interpersonal skills to build strong client relationships and motivate their team to reach their sales goals.

Sales and marketing managers earn an average salary of $78,019 a year. However, they need to put in many years of hard work before they can be promoted to this position.

Most sales and marketing managers start off by earning a bachelor's degree in business. Some go on to earn a master's. They need several years of experience working in sales or marketing, including some time working in a more junior management position.
  • Average Salary: $81,953
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Merchandising Manager

Role:

A merchandising manager's job is to oversee a store's product inventory to ensure the shelves are well presented. They make decisions related to stocking, pricing, and presenting goods in retail stores.

A big part of your day will consist of analyzing sales and inventory data to determine customer preferences. This will help you decide which items to put on sale. Throughout your day, you'll spend time planning product displays that will attract the attention of customers and encourage them to buy products.

Some other responsibilities you might encounter include conducting demographic research, identifying optimal vendors and making wise purchasing decisions. In order to be the best at your job, you may want to brush up on your communication, organizational, leadership, customer service, disciplined work ethic, and critical thinking skills.

Typically, merchandising managers earn $84,174 per year, translating to $40.49 an hour. The Bureau of Statistics predicts a growth rate of 8% producing 21,800 new jobs between 2018 and 2028. A bachelor's degree in a business-related field is favorable, although it is possible to become one with only a high school diploma.

  • Average Salary: $86,346
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Market Manager

Role:

A marketing manager supervises all marketing operations of the company. It is your job to carry out market research and determine the latest consumer trends. You must also identify new business opportunities, bring in prospective leads and help your organization create a niche for its products. It is almost important that you can decipher the competitor's edge and optimize current branding strategies and marketing solutions. Branding is a key responsibility of your job as well as you must ensure that your company is portrayed in the best possible light at all times. Your job is to ensure that your brand and products are properly positioned, promoted, advertised, and sold across different marketing channels.

Important skills required for this role are creativity, attention to detail, organizational skills, and communication skills. Other skills are business development, customer service, sales goals, market research, and other skills. The most commonly required educational qualification is a bachelor's degree. market managers make an average of $47.29 an hour and $98,373 annually

  • Average Salary: $88,058
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
View More

States With The Most Social Media Manager Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active social media manager jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where social media managers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Social Media Manager Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California6,793$88,236
2New York3,059$78,098
3Texas2,363$61,244
4Illinois2,097$63,848
5Florida2,003$49,795
6Massachusetts1,820$65,527
7Washington1,674$89,087
8Pennsylvania1,414$62,626
9Georgia1,401$56,800
10New Jersey1,282$72,123
11Virginia1,185$58,276
12North Carolina1,072$50,509
13Ohio991$66,513
14Michigan977$62,953
15Maryland911$59,780
16Colorado864$66,251
17Minnesota775$60,777
18Arizona750$78,150
19Oregon744$86,846
20Utah645$75,513
21Indiana580$62,841
22Connecticut570$75,652
23Wisconsin554$69,303
24Tennessee543$62,965
25Missouri473$65,219
26South Carolina347$63,401
27Iowa334$54,431
28Kentucky325$58,058
29Louisiana317$52,040
30Arkansas310$57,595
31Alabama274$58,152
32Kansas261$61,206
33Nevada250$87,105
34Idaho247$71,897
35New Hampshire238$62,023
36Nebraska231$54,182
37Oklahoma231$55,742
38Rhode Island208$63,892
39Delaware203$61,179
40Maine202$66,193
41New Mexico196$81,743
42Montana166$64,614
43Mississippi163$52,681
44Vermont138$58,932
45Hawaii132$62,427
46West Virginia126$55,636
47South Dakota111$54,382
48North Dakota95$57,133
49Alaska90$59,852
50Wyoming62$62,857

Social Media Manager Education

Social Media Manager Majors

Communication
19.2 %
Business
12.1 %
Marketing
10.5 %

Social Media Manager Degrees

Bachelors

78.7 %

Associate

9.4 %

Masters

7.1 %

Top Colleges for Social Media Managers

1. University of Georgia

Athens, GA • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,830

Enrollment

29,474

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Public Relations
Marketing
Political Science

2. University of Wisconsin - Madison

Madison, WI • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,555

Enrollment

30,360

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Psychology
Communication
Political Science
Marketing
Fine Arts

3. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Journalism
Writing
Political Science

4. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Communication
Liberal Arts
Sociology
Political Science

5. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Political Science
Public Relations
Psychology
Business
Marketing

6. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,610

Enrollment

40,329

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Public Relations
Liberal Arts
Psychology
Political Science

7. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Communication
Photography
Public Relations
Psychology

8. Ohio State University

Columbus, OH • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,726

Enrollment

45,769

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Communication
Marketing
Political Science

9. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Political Science
Marketing
Communication
History

10. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Liberal Arts
Communication
Fine Arts

Top Skills For a Social Media Manager

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 8.6% of social media managers listed instagram on their resume, but soft skills such as leadership skills and communication skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Social Media Manager Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Social Media Manager templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Social Media Manager resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume
Social Media Manager Resume

Social Media Manager Demographics

Social Media Manager Gender Distribution

Female
Female
61%
Male
Male
39%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among social media managers, 61.1% of them are women, while 38.9% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among social media managers is White, which makes up 74.6% of all social media managers.

  • The most common foreign language among social media managers is Spanish at 53.4%.

Online Courses For Social Media Manager That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure  

1. Social Media Management

coursera

This course equips you with critical content creation and management skills. You’ll learn how to create effective social media posts and how to create a strong brand to help you build a social media presence. You’ll also learn how to establish an ongoing process to manage your content. This includes setting up a content calendar, managing and moderating your posts, analyzing data for insights and iteration, and how to increase post effectiveness. You will end the course with real-world...

See More on Coursera

2. Meta Social Media Marketing

coursera

Want to turn your passion for social media into a career? In this program, you’ll learn how to create a social media presence on Facebook and Instagram that people want to follow! Social media marketing jobs are amongst the most in-demand skills for organizations of all sizes. Whether you’re completely new to digital marketing or you’ve been tinkering with social media platforms for your own business, you’ve come to the right place. This six-course program designed by experts at Meta and Aptly...

See More on Coursera

3. Social Media Advertising

coursera

Social media platforms are driven by digital advertising. As a result, social media advertising is affordable and can be purchased at almost any budget. Targeting options in social media advertising are also sophisticated. It is possible to tailor ads around a user’s behaviors (e.g., likes, posts and clicks). This course unpacks small business use cases of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter advertising. From basic campaigns, to advanced techniques including lookalike modeling and audience...

See More on Coursera
Show More Social Media Manager Courses
Job type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary

Best States For a Social Media Manager

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a social media manager. The best states for people in this position are Washington, California, Nevada, and Oregon. Social media managers make the most in Washington with an average salary of $89,087. Whereas in California and Nevada, they would average $88,236 and $87,105, respectively. While social media managers would only make an average of $86,846 in Oregon, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Washington

Total Social Media Manager Jobs: 1,674
Highest 10% Earn:
$126,000
Location Quotient:
1.59

$89,087

Avg. Salary

View 1,674 Social Media Manager Jobs In WA

2. California

Total Social Media Manager Jobs: 6,793
Highest 10% Earn:
$127,000
Location Quotient:
1.61

$88,236

Avg. Salary

View 6,793 Social Media Manager Jobs In CA

3. Oregon

Total Social Media Manager Jobs: 744
Highest 10% Earn:
$123,000
Location Quotient:
1.25

$86,846

Avg. Salary

View 744 Social Media Manager Jobs In OR
Full List Of Best States For Social Media Managers

How Do Social Media Manager Rate Their Jobs?

Working as a Social Media Manager? Share your experience anonymously.
Overall Rating*
Career Growth
Work/Life balance
Pay/Salary
Do you work as a Social Media Manager?
Rate how you like work as Social Media Manager. It's anonymous and will only take a minute.

Top Social Media Manager Employers

We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ social media managers and discovered their number of social media manager opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that iCIMS was the best, especially with an average salary of $65,760. Pearson follows up with an average salary of $62,599, and then comes AT&T; with an average of $85,858. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a social media manager. The employers include Veeva Systems, Commonwealth Financial Network, and Creative Circle

Most Common Employers For Social Media Manager

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Meta$138,672$66.6715
2Google$132,827$63.8616
3Microsoft$131,788$63.3622
4IBM$95,266$45.8011
5Sears Holdings$89,814$43.1814
6AT&T$85,858$41.2850
7Tulalip Resort Casino$76,282$36.6710
8Crossover$74,157$35.6526
9The Black Sheep$73,372$35.2714
10Main Street Hub$72,492$34.8528
Show More

Social Media Manager Videos

How to Become a Social Media Manager & Consultant
6 Tasks Every Social Media Manager Should Daily Perform
Become a Social Media Manager For Free | 2015

Becoming a Social Media Manager FAQs

How Do I Become A Freelance Social Media Manager?

To become a freelance social media manager, start by learning about marketing. Since becoming a freelance social media manager is a freelance position, the job starts with you.

There are technically no requirements to become a freelance social media manager other than setting up a website and having basic marketing knowledge. While it may be easy to become a freelance social media manager, actually getting paid for such a job is an entirely different story.

How Do I Become A Social Media Manager From Scratch?

To become a social media manager from scratch, start with marketing experience. While we all may interact with social media daily, becoming an effective social media manager does take some knowledge and experience.

How Much Do Starting Social Media Managers Make?

Starting social media managers starting make $33,000 a year. An entry-level social media manager makes very little money, as the industry relies heavily on word of mouth and proven prior experience. A beginning social media manager can earn anywhere between $15-$50 an hour, which is entirely dependent on the company and the size of the project.

What Degree Do You Need To Be A Social Media Manager?

You do not need a degree to be a social media manager. Even though you may not need a degree to become a social media manager, some knowledge of marketing and social media interaction is required to create an effective social media marketing campaign.

What Does A Social Media Manager Do?

A social media manager is the voice of the brand. It is the social media manager's responsibility to create a strategy for a successful marketing campaign, post content, and engage with customers for the betterment of the company.

Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.

Search For Social Media Manager Jobs

Social Media Manager Related Careers

Social Media Manager Related Jobs

Social Media Manager Jobs By Location

Social Media Manager Jobs By Company

Updated February 6, 2023