How to Become a Social Media Manager with No Experience

You’re a whizz on social media, so why aren’t are you putting your expert skills to use and getting paid for it?

As many brands around the world look to rely on social media to reach their target audience, there is an increasing need for social media management.

This is where you can step in as a social media manager albeit without having had any previous management experience…

Whether you’ve got a college degree, years of experience in a random entry-level job, or just want a job to put those wasted hours of experience in social media apps on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat knowledge to use — becoming a social media manager is the perfect fit.

This is the only guide you’ll ever need on how to get started and become a social media manager, regardless of your experience level.

Building Up Your Own Social Media Accounts

Firstly, you’ll need to have a thriving social media presence.

Unless you live under a rock — you’ll already have at least Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linked In, and Snapchat, right?

Now it’s time to put them to use.

Through building a strong online presence, you can use your own social accounts to show your skills and social media mastery to potential employers and clients with your own personal twist.

Businesses are going to be looking for proof that you are a social media guru with your own social media platforms before they even consider hiring you to put their public image in your hands.

It may sound weird to want to market yourself as a social media manager, but creating engaging content about yourself, it shows employers your expertise, ability and knowledge with relevant, creative content creation.

To do this, familiarize yourself with:

• Blogging
• Digital marketing
• Search engine optimization
• Graphic design
• Copywriting

This is a way to market yourself in your own posts as a social media manager.

Doing this shows potential employers:

• Your ability to work with multiple social media platforms
• Social media marketing skills (despite posting about your morning coffee!)
• That you can perform digital marketing effectively with time-management skills
• That your content is creative and what brands are looking for
• That you have strong creative thinking and writing skills
• Your research skills are second-to-none

Building Up a Portfolio of Post Examples

So, you’re beginning to build up your online presence   — but to further the impact and find those social media manager jobs, your portfolio needs to be airtight.

What should your portfolio show?

• Not that you’re desperate for a job, but that you’re completely confident in your social media management.
• An extensive brand/company awareness
• That you understand your target audience on social media platforms
• Effective use of social media management tools
• Consistency in tone, and high-quality content.

Here’s an example of how this is done:

This Twitter account shows clarity, as well as professionalism, with little effort required.

This can be as simple as headers with engaging images, icons on your social media footer, or a professional-looking email signature.

Anybody coming in contact with your social media brand should only be able to follow you across a selection of channels that have the same quality approach.

Profile link

Here’s a brand’s Instagram account, looking as if it were a personal account.

You need to be creating content that looks as if it were promoting something more than yourself as a social media manager.

We all know of those brands that have hilarious Twitter or Instagram accounts   — why be different?

So, even if you’re on a smaller scale — but the approach should be the same for you.

• Be on-trend, that’s extremely important for social media management.
• Post content related to your own strengths and knowledge so you look like you actually know what you’re talking about.
• Make it interactive, and engaging no matter how many or few followers you might have.
• Reply to existing brand’s content — engaging in a manner that shows the tools companies hiring are looking for.

The best part of all this is that it can be done from home with little to no experience as a media manager required.

To become a social media manager, you just need to set yourself apart from everyone else’s dreary content.

So, here’s a few questions to think about before a post:

• Have you used hashtags?
• Do you use keywords?
• Is it in the same style or tone as your previous posts?
• Is the tone relevant to the social media platform that you’re using?

If you’re doing this effectively, it shows exactly what you want it to about your own awareness as a future social media manager.

What You’ll Need to Learn

Offering Discounts and Other Freebies

So, you’ve built up your online profile and portfolio, but realistically you’re not going to the top of Facebook’s social media management straight away.

It’s time for you to put yourself out there if you want to become a social media manager – though your experience may be limited- not everyone needs to know that right away.

So you’ve got to start small, offering your services to individuals and companies who need it but at a lower rate. A good way to do this is through platforms like Legiit.

This can include:

• Startups
• Local businesses
• Businesses of people you may know.
• Platforms such as Legiit to showcase your services

In doing this, you will:

• Gain that sweet, essential management related experience that’s needed
• Acquire a portfolio of people/businesses that you’ve worked for
• Find out the day-to-day realities of social media management
• Establish the most effective social media management tools for you
• Experience social media management on a small scale, for a smaller business or individual

But to get this experience, it’s best to offer your social media management services at a discounted rate, at first.

Though your potential gig buyer may not know your experience level, it can show how effective you are at a cheaper rate.

This means you’ll be getting the much needed social media marketing exposure, and can build a client base and get those all-important reviews.

In the long term, this will be extremely effective, and of course, you can put up your rates later on   — a small sacrifice to pay.

Offering Services on Legiit

It can be hard to start from nothing, as we all know.

But, there’s a solution that’s where Legiit comes in.

You can offer your newly-found and highly sought-after services as an avid social media manager on a site with a huge customer base already.

Its already huge number of users, that are growing every day, can be your customers, too — there are literally tons of social media jobs out there if you know where to look.

On The Legiit Blog, there is a huge selection of content to help you on your social media journey.

Each blog offers you the opportunity to build your own skills as a savvy entrepreneur within social media management.

These include:

• How to Become a Web Designer
• How to Increase Brand Awareness
• Digital Marketing 101
• How to Get Clients Fast

Not only can these boost your employability in the social media world by gaining an excess of valuable expert skills, but also are a treat to read.

After you’ve soaked up all this free content, and studied it relentlessly   — you can start offering your own social media services on Legiit.

It’s a great way to make money, and reduce the stress of scouring the internet for customers that you may never find on your own.

Promoting Legiit Monday and Round-up

One great way to get started is to take advantage of both Legiit Monday and their weekly newsletter round-up.

Legitt Monday lets you advertise your social media gig on their popular Facebook page for free. Every Monday you can advertise your gig with a link to try and drive traffic to your gig.

You can ask to be included in the weekly roundup, particularly. if you are offering a discount for that week or month. This goes out to all their customers and other gig providers so it is a great platform to showcase your talents.

Social Media Managers

So, if you are interested in putting your social media skills to expert use, why not use Legiit as a way to not only learn about social media marketing but also as a way of promoting yourself as a social media guru?

Win, win!