Social media has 4.8 billion users – and this number continues to grow every day. If you want to reach a certain target demographic to sell products or services to, you can be confident that they’re on one of the leading networks.
If you don’t know where to begin with your social profiles, you’re not alone.
But there’s a shortcut to learning the ins and outs of marketing: take one of the best social media marketing courses. You’ll find:
- Free courses from some of the biggest names in social
- Paid marketing coursesđź’µ
- Certifications
Since you’re just starting out in social media marketing (SMM), try the free options and graduate to the paid alternatives if you want to hone your skills further. We also have great resources on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and more.
5 Free Social Media Marketing Courses
Free SMM courses are a great starting point to establish your skills and learn the basic practices for growing followings, content creation and other insights. In no particular order, here👇are five courses worth taking in 2024:
1. Introduction to Social Media Strategy – Buffer
Buffer offers social media tools, such as scheduling tools, that help you manage your content calendar. You can join their course on Skillshare, where you’re taught quite a few things:
- How to find your voice on social media – it’s harder than you think
- Choosing the right platform – because each social network has its own demographic
- Content creation and curation tactics
- Tools that you can use to assist you with social
- A 5-step strategy to begin using Facebook Ads
What’s nice about this class from Brian Peters is that it’s fast-paced and designed for the absolute beginner. Over 43,000 students have taken the course, which spans a mere nine lessons and lasts for just 43 minutes.
If you start the course right now, you’ll be done in the next hour.
2. SMM Specialization – Coursera
Coursera offers a free course from Northwestern, which is one of the most complete free courses on the market. You’ll be joining 100,000 other students who have taken the specialization, which includes six courses:
- Course #1: A 7-hour course on the basics of “what is social.”
- Course #2: An 8-hour course on the importance of listening on social, including big data and insights.
- Course #3: Around 8 hours of content on creating an engagement and nurturing strategy and a blog.
- Course #4: Another 8 hours on content strategy, advertising, measuring and more.
- Course #5: A brief 6-hour course on legal considerations, metrics and performance.
- Course #6: A Capstone Project where you develop a strategy on your own and submit it for peer review.
If you really want to dive deep into SMM, you’ll love this course.
3. SMM Course – Hubspot Academy
HubSpot Academy has a free course that covers:
- 8 lessons
- 38 videos
- 5:13 hours of content
Influencers, business owners and marketing managers will learn a wealth of information with this SMM course, such as: the basics of strategy development, listening and monitoring, content strategy, how to expand your reach, building relationships, advertising and even how to measure your ROI.
If you want a course that fills in the gaps that Buffer’s course leaves behind, HubSpot is a great option for you.
4. Blueprint Marketing Courses for Businesses – Meta
Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, is the world’s largest social media company. You’ll find courses for establishing your presence, attracting an audience on social, building relationships and so much more.
You’ll want to work through the “Blueprint” course outline, which helps you:
- Decide who you want to reach on social
- Map your customer journey
- Set marketing goals
- Choose the right social media channels for you
- Tell a story
- Create and manage a content calendar
Course modules are succent, but there are tons of them to go through.
5. Mastering TikTok – Skillshare
TikTok is huge, and it’s a preferred platform for many creators who want to build a name for themselves. You can join 10k+ students who have taken this course from Taylor Loren. The course is just 1 hour and 16 minutes long, so it’s not long or challenging to finish.
You’ll work your work through 13 lessons that include:
- How TikTok works
- Analytics and clout chasing
- Editing and adding effects
- Co-creating
- Smooth transitions
- How to go viral
- Tons
Students love this course, and within just an hour, you’ll learn so much about TikTok.
If you want to invest in yourself and your marketing skills, paid options exist. You’ll need to judge each of the courses below👇for yourself to find one that’s the ideal fit for you.
3 Paid Social Media Marketing Coursesđź’µ
If you want to learn more about specific aspects of SMM or take a deeper dive, a paid course may be the better option for you. There are many courses out there, and they may be more affordable than you think.
Here are some of the top paid courses for SMM:
6. Social Media Film School: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube & AI – Udemy
Video content is everything on social media. But creating engaging films can be challenging, especially if you’re still a beginner.Â
This course – Social Media Film School: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube & AI – will help you supercharge your videography and editing skills with the help of ChatGPT.
Along with learning how to use ChatGPT for video creation, you’ll also learn how to:
- Plan, script, light, shoot and capture audio for your videos.
- Improve audience engagement.
- Create video content strategies.
- Optimize your content and edit your videos.
You’ll also get a deeper understanding of social media algorithms to help your content get found and expand your reach.
The course is affordable and has more than 17,000 students.
7. Social Media Marketing Crash Course – GrowthTribe
GrowthTribe’s Socia Media Marketing Crash Course comes at a heftier price (995€), but it has its perks.
For starters, you get an internationally recognized certificate, but you also get:
- Access to a huge community of members (30K+)
- Access to live events
- Downloadable templates and guides
The online course spans two days and covers:
- Planning and strategy creation
- Content creation and optimization
- Advertising
- Engaging and managing your community
Whether you’re an influencer or a brand, GrowthTribe’s course will help you understand how to grow your social media followings and create more engaging content.
8. Social Media Marketing – Content Marketing Masterclass – Udemy
This course from Udemy is hugely popular – more than 34K students and 5K+ reviews. And it’s easy to see why people flock to this course. It covers everything you need to know:
- Building a social media schedule to stay on track
- How to build a professional image on social media
- Understanding the buyer’s journey
- Building up a stash of content ideas, so you never run out
The course provides valuable information that you can use to grow your following on social media and start treating it like a business.
3 Social Media Marketing Certifications
Free and paid courses can teach you a lot about social media marketing, but if you want to label yourself as an SMM expert, you may want to get certified.
Taking certification courses will help you not only learn the ins and outs of social media but also give you the skills you need to offer SMM services yourself.
There are lots of SMM certifications out there, but these three are some of the most recognizable.Â
9. Social Media Marketing Certification Course – Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a leading SMM platform, but they also offer certifications. Their Social Media Marketing Certification Course is just under $200 and takes a little more than 3.5 hours to complete.
But in that time, you’ll learn fundamental skills to help grow your following, boost engagement and more. It covers topics like how to build a community on social media, the importance of inclusivity and accessibility, how to measure results and more.
Passing their 60-question exam will get you a certification that you can showcase on your online profiles or website.
10. Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate – Meta
Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, offers a Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate course that’s free. The course will help you prepare for the Meta Certified Digital Marketing Associate exam and also earn you a shareable certificate that you can showcase on your profiles.
The course covers important topics like social media management (building a brand, creating content, etc.), advertising, measuring success and more.
11. Social Media Marketing Crash Course – Semrush Academy
Semrush Academy certifications are recognized by the global search community. Their Social Media Marketing Crash Course can earn you a valuable certification, and you can display that certification on your social profiles.
Semrush Academy’s certification and course is free, and it covers everything you need to know about SMM:
- The fundamentals
- How to conduct competitor research
- How to build a social media strategy
- Measuring results and using analytics
The entire course takes a little over an hour to complete.
Conclusion
These are the best SMM courses in 2024. Whether you want to grow your social accounts or start offering SMM services, these courses will give you the expertise and skills you need to reach your goals on whichever social platform you choose.di
