Social media has definitely become an integral part of our day-to-day lives and has therefore transformed into an essential tool for businesses to connect with their audience. As a result, social media skills have become highly valued by employers across many different industries.
Adding particular social media skills to your resume can definitely make you stand out from the rest of the applicants. That’s because these skills can show your ability to create, execute, and analyze social media campaigns, which is what almost all organizations are looking for nowadays.
That’s why it’s key to understand what social media skills you need to include in your resume, so keep reading to find out how to do just that.
Key Takeaways
- Social media has been on the upward curve for quite some time, so it’s a great time to get a job in the field. That’s where particular social media skills come in.
- Social media skills are the abilities and qualifications you have in the realm of using social media platforms.
- Since social media has made it easier for people to connect and network both privately and professionally, many businesses are now interested in utilizing social media skills to do just that.
What Are Social Media Skills?
Social media skills refer to the knowledge and expertise in utilizing social media platforms to advance certain business goals. These can be applied in various fields, such as marketing, communication, content creation, and networking.
Social media skills usually involve a range of competencies, including understanding the features and functions of specific social media platforms, creating and sharing engaging and relatable content, and monitoring, analyzing, and drawing insights from social media metrics.
These skills are essential for many industries, such as marketing, advertising, journalism, sales, and more. Social media managers, digital marketing managers, and content creators are some of the most common roles that require these skills.
In recent years, the popularity of social media skills has grown significantly with the increasing use of platforms for personal and professional purposes. The pandemic has only boosted the use of social media for communication, networking, and marketing.
As a result, businesses have recognized the importance of social media skills and have therefore increased their focus on social media marketing and communication strategies.
11 Social Media Skills to Include in Your Resume
With the consistent rise of social media, skills related to the field are highly sought-after. Including these skills on your resume can demonstrate your expertise and help you land the job.
To do that, check out some of the best social media skills you should include in your resume:
#1. Communication Skills
Communication skills showcase the ability to communicate effectively with your target audience through social media. This skill usually includes excellent writing skills and the ability to engage with followers by responding to comments and inquiries.
Communication skills in social media, in particular, refer to the ability to communicate effectively through written and verbal means on different social media platforms.
This skill shows your ability to:
- Create compelling content
- Respond to customer needs and inquiries
- Work with a team to execute social media strategies
#2. Analytical Skills
Analytical skills are important for monitoring social media metrics and analyzing data to measure the success of social media campaigns. If you have a good understanding of data analysis tools and software, key performance indicators (KPIs), and data visualization techniques, your analytical skills are top-notch.
Other skills that can be included under the umbrella of this skill are project management, communication, and problem-solving. Analyzing data can help social media professionals make decisions on what content to create, when to post it, and how to engage with their audience.
#3. Creativity Skills
In this context, creativity skills imply the ability to come up with fresh and innovative ideas for social media. It’s a must-have skill, as it includes being able to think outside the box and create content that stands out in a crowded social media landscape.
Social media platforms are highly visual, and users are often bombarded with way too much content. That’s why creativity is essential for standing out and capturing attention.
Additionally, social media professionals with creativity skills are able to create content that is visually appealing while still remaining on-brand.
#4. SEO
SEO (or search engine optimization) is the process of optimizing content so that it ranks higher in search engine result pages. It usually involves a deep understanding of keywords, on-page optimization, and link building.
Social media can play a huge role in driving traffic to a website, and optimizing its content can help improve a brand’s entire online presence.
That’s why SEO skills in the context of social media focus on:
- Keyword research
- Hashtag research
- Optimizing profiles for search engines
- Creating high-quality content tailored to the specific audience
#5. Social Media Tools
Proficiency in social media tools such as Buffer or Sprout Social is necessary for managing and scheduling social media content effectively. Knowledge of these tools shows employers that you have a great understanding of social media algorithms and how you can utilize tools to improve engagement and reach.
These tools can help manage, schedule, and optimize social media content. Since social media platforms provide plenty of data, these tools can make it easier to track and analyze said data. This can then improve social media performance as well as streamline workflows.
#6. Brand Management
Brand management involves creating and maintaining a consistent brand image across all social media platforms.
This includes:
- Developing new brand guidelines
- Creating social media content that aligns with the brand values
- Managing reputation online
Brand management is super important, as a brand’s reputation depends on its representation in various media channels, including social media. It can be used as a powerful tool to build awareness, engage with customers, and establish loyalty.
Additionally, brand management helps create and manage a brand’s identity.
#7. Customer Orientation
This skill refers to the ability to respond to customer inquiries and resolve issues through social media channels. Customer orientation requires excellent communication skills and a customer-centric approach.
Customer orientation prioritizes customer needs and allows you to create content that resonates with a specific target audience. To qualify as a pro in this skill, you need to understand a customer’s journey and create specific content that addresses these points by offering solutions.
#8. Graphic Design
Graphic design skills are essential because they can help you create visually compelling content for social media platforms. When employers see your graphic design skills listed, they will want to know more about your design software proficiency.
When you mention graphic design in your resume, mention your skills in software such as Adobe Creative Suite and showcase what you’re able to create, such as illustrations and images that follow a brand’s guidelines.
#9. Content Creation
This skill involves developing engaging and shareable content, including blog posts, infographics, videos, and images. It requires strong writing skills, visual storytelling, and basic knowledge of content marketing principles.
Content creation also goes hand in hand with social media management, SEO, and graphic design skills. This skill includes researching what needs to be posted, when the right time to post it is, and which platforms/channels should be used.
#10. Digital Media Skills
Digital media skills are another overarching term that implies expertise in the content creation, production, and publishing processes. These types of skills are usually required in industries that work with multimedia, animation, VR (virtual reality), content writing, copywriting, editing, and audio and video production.
To list digital media skills on your resume, you need to mention your knowledge of digital media creation tools such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro.
These skills can also show that you have no trouble staying up-to-date with recent market trends, as they can make experimenting with different content formats possible.
#11. Social Media Manager Skills
A social media manager handles a company’s entire social presence across different platforms. This role requires detailed knowledge of media trends, user behavior, and engagement strategies.
Social media managers develop new strategies that can help businesses meet goals, create and manage a content calendar, and engage with followers to build and maintain relationships.
Some of the most essential social media manager skills include:
- Social media strategy
- Audience targeting
- Analytical skills
- Community and campaign management
- Influencer marketing
- Trend spotting
- Social media marketing skills
How to Add Social Media Skills to Your Resume
Here’s how to add social media experience to your resume, as well as skills:
Summary/Objective Section:
- Social media professional with over 5 years of experience in creating and executing successful social media campaigns for brands such as Gucci and Balmain. Skilled in content creation and social media analytics.
- Results-driven marketing specialist with expertise in social media marketing and SEO. Successfully increased Instagram following by 24% and increased website traffic by 40% by following effective content strategy and optimization.
Skills Section:
- Social media – Created and executed social media strategies across platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin which resulted in a 30% increase in engagement and a 20% increase in followers in the first two quarters. Proficient in using social media analytics tools such as Google Analytics, Hootsuite, and Sprout Social.
Experience Section:
Social Media Manager at GlitchCO, (June, 2019 – March, 2023)
- Developed and implemented a social media content calendar that resulted in a 35% rise in engagement.
How to Improve Your Social Media Skills
Here are five tips for improving your social media skills:
- Define your goals. Determine what you want to achieve through your social media campaign. Are you trying to raise brand awareness, engage with your audience, or drive traffic to a website? Having clear goals can help you establish your focal point.
- Take courses or online classes. There are plenty of online courses available that can help you improve your social media skills like Coursera and Udemy. Look for courses that specialize in topics such as social media marketing, content creation, and analytics.
- Read books and practice. Some popular social media marketing blogs are Hootsuite and Social Media Examiner. Head to their websites and look for books that deal with topics like social media strategy and content creation.
- Keep up with trends. Social media is constantly evolving so it’s important to stay up-to-date with new features, trends, and algorithms. To help you find out what the best practices are, you can try attending industry related conferences.
- Cater to a specific audience. To effectively engage with certain audiences, you need to understand their interests and preferences. Do some research on your target audience and check what content they prefer and what social media platforms they use.
Final Thoughts
In a world where social media is king, you need to include essential social media skills on your resume, from crafting captivating captions to analyzing analytics, and you’ll be able to land a great job in the social media realm!
All you’ve got to do is choose the skills you want to develop, define your goals, read books, and then seek out opportunities to apply your knowledge and practice.
We hope this guide has helped you understand this topic better, and we wish you good luck in your job hunt!
