Social media marketing courses for CPD

Social media has become a central aspect of everyday life and has completely revolutionised the way people learn, find new career opportunities, and grow their companies. In this article, we will provide a brief overview to social media marketing courses, including the potential career paths, and where to find courses for CPD.

What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing also known as SMM is a form of Internet marketing that utilizes social networking websites to market a business’s products or services, connect with existing customers, reach new audiences, and build their brand. This can be done using organic methods or through paid advertising.

Why take a social media marketing course?

Social media is quickly becoming one of the most important aspects of digital marketing, which provides incredible benefits that help companies reach millions of customers worldwide. With over 4 billion users sharing, interacting via social media, it’s no surprise that businesses and individuals are engaging more and more using these popular platforms.

Whether you are someone who engages in the creation of digital content to advance their career, or a business owner looking to engage with their audience, a social media marketing course is a great opportunity to gain further skills and insights in the digital landscape.

Common topics in a social media marketing course include how to:

• Manage the online reputation of yourself or your business
• Maintain an effective presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media platforms
• Write engaging social media content and get the most out of search engine optimisation (SEO)
• Create and use videos and images to boost social media engagement
• Manage social media strategy and campaigns
• Understand and interpret social media analytics 

What are the benefits of social media marketing courses?

No doubt one of the most rewarding and challenging things about working in the field of social media is that you’re never done learning. Trends are always changing, meaning it is essential to develop the ability to navigate the social media landscape and achieve your marketing goals. With that being said, let’s discuss some of the biggest reasons social media marketing can benefit you:

Broaden your skillset

One of the most important benefits of attending social media marketing courses is that it allows professionals to hone and develop their knowledge and skillset. You will learn how to deliver exceptional content, engage with customers or other professionals through community management, and execute paid campaigns across multiple channels.

Social media marketing courses enable you to become a better professional, improve overall employability, and feel like a more valuable and capable person within your industry. Transferable skills such as creativity and communication provide strong foundations for those thinking about changing roles or looking for their next big career move.

Improve career opportunities

A great benefit of a career in social media marketing is the huge diversity of roles that you can choose from, whether you’re switching to a new role or just getting started in the industry. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn have witnessed a major boom in the past few years and career paths have along with it.

Companies in each sector of almost every industry are able to leverage the skills of talented social media professionals. Common job roles include social media manager, content manager, social media analyst, paid marketing specialist and many more.

Keep up to date with the industry

Social media is a constantly shifting landscape that requires numerous effective marketing strategies and techniques to harness successfully. Technology, social media, and best practices are always evolving, meaning professionals are required to keep learning about the latest marketing trends and industry developments. Attending social media marketing courses can be essential in keeping you up to date with these changes.

Learn from the experts

In the realm of social media marketing, there is always something new to learn. Social media courses often cover a whole host of digital specialisms, designed to give you the knowledge and confidence to implement these strategies for yourself.

Many social media marketing courses are created by experts who have extensive real-world experience in the field, meaning you are receiving up-to-date information, as well any upcoming tends, and best practices and principles which have been applied. Courses are usually concise and easy to understand, and you will be given inspiration, support and advice to help as you grow within the industry.

Learning social media marketing can lead to a wide range of careers

There are a lot of reasons to choose a digital marketing career path. If you’re looking to move into a career related to online marketing, social media marketing is essential and one of the fastest-growing sectors because of the increasing number of businesses looking to grow their online presence.

Remember you don’t need to limit yourself to one specialty - many skills overlap, and so having a solid base in multiple different areas of marketing can increase your career options. Here are a few specialties you may want to consider when planning your social media marketing career:

• Content writer
• Social media strategist
• Brand manager
• Digital marketing specialist
• Copywriter
• Community Manager 

Online social media marketing courses for CPD

As modern day marketing is heavily orientated towards online and digital media, it is only fitting that there many courses available to study social media marketing online. Online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses are suitable for anybody who wants to establish their marketing presence on social media, or develop their knowledge and understanding of the digital marketing field.

The best social media marketing online courses deliver digestible and easy-to-implement content. One of the main advantages of taking an online course is the flexibility that they provide. Online social media marketing CPD courses can be tailored to your own schedule, and there are wide variety of courses to suit all requirements and skill levels. You will learn how to select a social media channel that fits your needs, set goals and success metrics, and determine who your target audience is.

Example social media marketing CPD courses

When first starting out with social media marketing, you may be surprised by the sheer amount of social media and marketing courses available. With so many social media-related topics and disciplines to choose from, it’s not always easy to decide which course is right for you.

Within the CPD Courses Catalogue, you can find a full scope of business and social media marketing CPD courses covering a wide range of subjects. For example, there are social media marketing courses for building a brand, conversion and retention, creating campaigns across social media platforms, content creation, advertising, analytics and more. To find out more about a particular CPD course listed on our website, you can complete an enquiry form and the details will be sent directly to the relevant CPD provider.

Accreditation of social media marketing CPD courses

At the moment there is no central regulatory body for social media marketing, so the educational standards and course materials may differ considerably. A good rule of thumb when it comes to social media marketing CPD courses is to make sure that it has been certified by a recognised organisation. This provides an assurance that an activity has been reviewed for its quality and relevance as being suitable for any CPD requirements.

We hope this article was helpful. Established in 1996, The CPD Certification Service has over 27 years’ experience providing CPD accreditation. With members in over 100 countries, our CPD providers benefit from the ability to promote themselves as part of an international community where quality is both recognised and assured.

If you are interested in offering training courses, seminars, workshops, eLearning, or educational events suitable for Continuing Professional Development, please visit the Become a CPD Provider page or contact our team to discuss in more detail. Alternatively, if you are looking for a free online CPD record tool to help manage, track and log your ongoing learning, as well as store your professional training records and attendance certificates in one simple place, go to the myCPD Portal page.