What Is a Social Media Specialist? 2025 Career Guide

Social media specialists support businesses with their social media accounts by creating and sharing content as part of a wider marketing effort. With expertise in social media platforms, a social media specialist may work with a single business or multiple businesses, promoting brands on platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. 

Social media can be an inevitable part of life, and companies know the value of using it to market and advertise to their customers. Experts predict global advertising spending on social media will reach $345.76 billion by 2029 [1].

Learn more about the role of a social media specialist, the responsibilities you can expect, the average salary and job outlook, and the steps to make a start in this career.

What does a social media specialist do?

As an expert in social media, a social media specialist takes responsibility for the social media accounts belonging to an individual company, organization, or portfolio of companies. In this role, you create content for use across social media profiles, design ads, respond to and engage with followers, and generally work on brand recognition and enhancement. 

Social media specialist tasks and responsibilities 

The exact duties and responsibilities of a social media specialist vary depending on who you work for and their overall marketing strategy. However, in general, you are likely to be responsible for the following:

• Keeping up to date with social media trends 

• Planning, creating, and scheduling content 

• Creating and adhering to a social media content calendar

• Producing images, videos, GIFs, and reels

• Developing and managing social media campaigns 

• Creating captions and copy for social media posts

• Aligning content with a company’s brand and values

• Responding to comments, mentions, and direct messages (DMs)

• Collaborating with other brands and influencers

• Collecting and analyzing data to determine social media post performance

Social media specialist skills

To work as a social media specialist, you need to develop a range of skills. These include skills specific to social media marketing as well as a range of workplace skills important for working with others. 

Technical skills:

• Storytelling

• Content creation

• Analytical skills

• Web traffic metrics

• Brand awareness

• Knowledge of social media platforms (X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn)

• SEO

• Buyer persona

• Audience research

• Project management

Workplace skills:

• Time management

• Organizational skills

• Creativity

• Communication

• Flexibility

Social media specialist salary and job outlook

Social media’s popularity as a medium for engaging with customers means you’ll find numerous employment opportunities. The job outlook for professionals in advertising, promotions, and marketing will grow by 8 percent between 2023 and 2033; this equates to an average of 36,600 job opportunities per year [2]. The average annual base salary for a social media specialist is $53,539, rising to $73,820 with experience [3]. 

How to become a social media specialist

Social media marketing is a popular way for brands to reach customers and promote brand awareness, so you’ll find opportunities with companies and organizations spanning industries. To work in this field, it’s important to develop your skills in social media, gain experience, and back yourself with a solid education. Degrees in business, marketing, or a relevant major are popular. Consider the following steps.

1. Education and training

Most employers look for a bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, journalism, public relations, communications, or similar. 79 percent of social media specialists have a bachelor’s degree, with a further 7 percent completing a master’s degree [4]. 

In addition to earning a degree, you might consider taking on other forms of training and development to bolster your resume such as self-directed learning from books, podcasts and webinars by industry experts, and online courses.

2. Certifications and certificates

Certifications and certificates are excellent ways to demonstrate your social media knowledge and skills. Not all employers ask for a degree, and if you don’t have one, a certification—along with experience—can be a great addition. 

Many social media platforms offer certifications and certificates relating to their platforms that can prove useful in demonstrating to employers your proficiency in a specific platform. Examples to consider include:

• Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate 

• Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate

• Hootsuite Social Media Marketing Certification

• AMA Professional Certified Marketer (PCM)

3. Experience 

Experience is essential in the field of social media, as employers want to know how you can help them grow and promote their brand. If you are studying for a degree, choose one that allows you to take an internship to gain some industry experience. You may also be able to secure some volunteer or freelance work for a charity, college, or an organization that needs help growing a social media following. 

4. Building your social media presence

Working in social media is often as much about the skills you have as the qualifications you earn. To prove you have the skills, an important step is to be on social media. By building your own social media presence, gaining a following, and producing content in an area you have an interest in, you can demonstrate your skills to an employer. 

Career advancement

Social media marketing is a wide field, and you’ll find it possible to move between careers and level up. Depending on your specific skills, you may have options to work in marketing in general, content writing and editing, and even consultancy and management. Below, find some examples of positions you may work toward once you have experience as a social media specialist and the salaries for each:

• Marketing consultant: $79,046

• Digital marketing manager: $90,010

• Marketing strategist: $83,878

• Project manager: $90,419

• Marketing communications manager: $91,972

• Brand manager: $111,043

• Event manager: $64,862

• Head marketing manager: $99,588

*All annual base salary data is sourced from Glassdoor as of February 2025, and does not include additional pay, such as commission and benefits. 

Getting started as a social media specialist with Coursera

Social media specialists work with businesses and organizations to manage their social media presence, including engaging with customers and followers, running ad campaigns, and promoting brand awareness. If you’d like to learn more about social media management, you might consider taking an online course or a Professional Certificate. Check out the Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate, available on Coursera.