Social media marketing is using social media channels such as X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok to connect with a target audience. According to Hootsuite’s Digital 2021 report, more than 4.48 billion people use these platforms daily, making social media marketing a smart career choice. With the internet and online commerce continuing to grow at an astounding rate, social media marketing is critical for global visibility. This is a hot path that is not showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Businesses within any industry can use social media marketing to establish a presence online. And a bonus: those with expertise in social media marketing can be flexible, working in-house, on a small team, or even freelancing from home.
According to Glassdoor, social media marketing professionals can earn a yearly salary between about $42,00 and $140,000. This is quite a wide range of salaries and can also vary depending on factors such as location, company size, and experience. Let’s break it down.
Location
As with any other job, the salaries of social media marketing professionals will reflect the cost of living in the area. One job title that falls under the umbrella of social media marketing is brand management. Brand managers’ expertise is normally in customer experience, messaging, communication, and establishing a company’s persona. Brand Managers ensure the content and messaging for a company, product, or brand is uniform across the board. They work across departments, must be organized and creative, and sometimes be able to wear a project management hat as well.
Across the country, Brand Managers typically earn around $63,000 per year with California being one of the highest paying states. Brand Managers in Los Angles typically bring home around $77,000 per year. eBay, located in Silicon Valley, is one of the top companies in the country for brand management, with employees reporting salaries of around $147,000 for the position. In states with a lower cost of living, such as Alabama, Brand Managers will make around $55,000 per year. Since Alabama has a lower cost of living overall, it tracks that salaries there are not as high as some of the larger coastal cities.
Company Size
Company size is also a component that contributes to salary range. Although creating targeted content and promoting a company’s products and/or services across various social media platforms is the same no matter the size of the company (and sometimes social media marketing efforts are even more important for smaller companies without big name/brand recognition), often the larger the company, the more budget it will have for social media marketing efforts.
Large companies like PwC report paying social media marketing professionals high salaries, such as a Social Media Manager at about $91,000 per year, a Digital Marketer at over $118,000 a year, and a Brand Manager at $254,000 annually. Small but mighty startups and well-funded tech companies may also have more money available for their social media marketing efforts. If working in-house for a larger company doesn’t work for you, consider freelancing. Working as a freelancer in the social media marketing sector may work to your advantage as you can snag clients from all over the country, hopefully bringing in a salary that is commensurate with the cost of living in your area.
Experience
As more companies’ dollars continue to funnel toward this burgeoning industry, professionals with backgrounds in social media marketing are in rising demand. Social media marketing skills can lead to jobs in digital marketing, content strategy, data analytics, social media management, and consulting. Additionally, social media marketing can work to your benefit as an entrepreneur or small business owner. Despite having plenty of digital tools available, social media marketing still requires a human touch. Superior social media marketers find the sweet spot between personal and digital. And the more experience you have, the more you can prove this sweet spot to your future clients. Those just dipping their toes into social media marketing will not earn as much as those who have been in the game for a while. As you build your portfolio, grow your client roster, and keep up with the fast-paced nature of knowledge and information in the social media world, you’ll see your salary going up.
If you have more experience in the field and have worked leading a team, you could snag a job as a Social Media Marketing Manager. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that individuals in marketing management roles earned an average of more than $141,000 in 2021. Those who continue on the path and end up in the highest-paid ten percent can bring home over $200,000 annually.
Niche Positioning
With social media marketing being a large field, having expertise in smaller niches within the field can make you a more desirable employee. One niche career path within the social media marketing industry is digital strategy. Digital Strategists use social media, SEO, and digital marketing to work on projects like websites and apps. They look for opportunities for growth and help clients create content and plan for new website releases. On average in the United States, Digital Strategists can expect to make around $61,000 a year, with numbers ranging higher or lower depending on location.
Wide Knowledge Base and Specific Expertise
Knowing how to use various channels while being an expert in one or two is referred to as a T-shaped model. Leverage all your skills and use them to your benefit in the social media marketing field. With so many different channels, companies and brands may feel overwhelmed with where to focus their efforts. When it comes to social media marketing, knowing how the industry works is important because it provides context and overall understanding. Although the channels within the social media marketing sector are interconnected, it’s not necessary to create and share content in every single one—but being an expert in one or two can work to your advantage. Choose whichever channel you’re most passionate about and run with it.
Content marketing is one important channel that intersects with social media marketing. According to Indeed, Content Marketers in the U.S. earn an average yearly salary of around $60K—though again, that number may change depending on location, company size, and level of experience.
No matter where you’re located, if you’re interested in a career in the industry, it’s a good idea to add social media marketing expertise to your toolbox.
Become a Social Media Marketer
Those ready to launch their career in social media marketing or learn new skills to change up their current position can check out Noble Desktop’s 30-hour Social Media Marketing Certificate. The curriculum gives participants a comprehensive overview of the industry. Students will master various elements of social media marketing with hands-on training over five distinct units. Certificate program participants will learn how to determine the right social media platform for their goals, develop a successful social media strategy, and create content that increases engagement and drives sales. Expert instructors teach participants how to gain a following and underscore the importance of market positioning and using social media analytics to improve results. Noble even offers students a chance to retake the class for free within a year to drill down on challenging concepts or refresh their skills.
If you want to take a shorter course or focus on a specific platform, look into Noble’s wide variety of social media marketing classes. Individuals can attend in-person classes at Noble Desktop’s New York City location or attend live online social media marketing courses from anywhere in the world.
Noble’s Facebook Marketing class provides an in-depth look at creating targeted ads, leveraging Facebook groups, and creating business pages within the platform. The Instagram Marketing class helps students learn about advertising on Instagram as well as how to build a following by creating resonant content. The course delves into the Instagram algorithm and how to use it to develop content and posting strategies as well as increase engagement. The course’s expert instructors go over best practices and tools like Instagram Stories, marketing, and advertising.
With Noble’s LinkedIn Marketing class, you’ll learn how to craft a marketing strategy for LinkedIn, create dynamic content, and advertise on the platform. The course also covers prospecting with LinkedIn search as well as how to use LinkedIn analytics to your advantage. Finally, Social Media Video Marketing: TikTok & YouTube teaches how to use the platforms for video-based campaigns and techniques for creating content. Students will also learn how to monitor video trends, and identify and engage their target audience.
You can also find local and/or social media marketing courses, bootcamps, and certificate programs in your area using Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me tool.