18+ Social Media Skills for Resumes & Examples

Boost your chances of landing your dream job by showcasing your social media skills on your resume! In today’s digital age, social media skills are in high demand across industries. In this guide, we’ll reveal the top 10 social media skills employers value most, share practical examples and show you how to integrate them seamlessly into your resume and cover letter.

What Are Social Media Skills?

Social media skills refer to the abilities and knowledge required to use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter) or Pinterest for various purposes, including branding, digital marketing, community engagement and content creation.

The size of your audience on various platforms and your ability to capture and hold followers’ attention through your posts and presence reflect the strength of your social media skills.

Social media skills are hard skills that require practice, training and experience to develop.

However, good social media skills also involve soft skills –– which are more challenging to prove or demonstrate –– like empathy, interpersonal skills, trust building and communication.

Examples of social media skills include:

• Data analysis
• Computer skills
• Scheduling posts
• Writing skills
• Creativity
• Critical thinking
• Campaign planning
• User engagement
• Building product awareness

Why are social media skills important?

These skills are crucial in the digital age, where social media plays a significant role in advertising, communication, networking, tech and marketing to drive business. Social media skills can also help promote your personal brand to potential employers, increasing your chances of landing a dream job!

Social media abilities are a great example of transferable skills because they can carry over from one job to another, even in highly different industries. So, if you’re changing careers or fields, they’re beneficial.

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Top 10 Social Media Skills For Your Resume

Here are some of the most in-demand social media skills you can include on your resume:

1. Content creation

• Content creation refers to making visually appealing and engaging social media posts in various formats, including text (writing), images, videos, infographics and polls.

Social media content creation examples:
Twitter posts, Instagram stories, Facebook live streams, LinkedIn articles, TikTok videos or YouTube animations

2. Social media analytics

• Tracking your performance is crucial to a winning social media game. It pays to have skills in the programs and tools that measure and analyze social media performance, provide audience insights and track key metrics.

Social media analytics examples:
Hootsuite, Google Analytics, Sprout Social, NetBase, Audiense, Brandwatch or Cyfe

3. Planning

• Developing and implementing strategic social media plans is necessary for business goals and marketing objectives. Employers will want to hire you if you can plan and execute solid social media campaigns!

Social media planning examples:
AirTable, marketing strategy, creating campaigns, posting calendars or email syncing

4. Community management

• For business, it’s critical to build and nurture online communities, engage with followers and moderate conversations to foster a positive brand presence.

Social media community management skills:
Content moderation, message board filters, active user engagement, critical analysis and reporting offensive users

5. Paid social advertising

• Also known as PPC or “pay-per-click” advertising, this refers to using paid ads to attract business. Every social media advertising platform has different ways to create and optimize paid ad campaigns to reach specific target audiences.

Paid social media advertising examples:
Google Ads, SocialPilot, Buffer, Tailwind, Planable, Loomly, BuzzSumo or Curata

6. Influencer marketing

• If you are an influencer or have experience identifying, engaging and collaborating with these professional promoters to plug products or services, you’re of high value to businesses!

Social media influencer marketing examples:
Online events, affiliate promotion, influencer selection, plug negotiation and livestreams

7. Social listening

• This is a crucial part of how businesses understand the reactions and needs of their users. Monitoring online conversations can help identify trends and gather insights for informed decision-making.

Social media listening examples:
User data analysis, message board moderation, applying chat filters, feedback polls or online surveys

8. SEO and social media integration

• Considering YouTube is the second largest search engine, companies value people who can identify keyword opportunities for social media content. Search engine optimization skills can get you hired.

Social media SEO examples:
Competitive analysis, keyword research, content scripting, video titles or hashtag trends

9. Crisis management

Professionals who can respond to negative feedback, handle online crises, and keep businesses in good reputation are essential. Let employers know if conflict resolution and good public relations are in your powerhouse!

Social media crisis management examples:
Negative post removal, crisis monitoring, client retention, brand building or digital PR

10. Adaptability and trend awareness

• Social media thrives on the latest news and stories, so being informed about trends and hot topics can help you appeal to hiring managers! That way, you can surf the waves #trending to notable victories.

Social media trend awareness examples:
Meme culture, meme creation, trending searches, daily data breakdowns or survey assessments

Next, we’ll show you how to add social media skills to your resume and cover letter! However, if you’ve found your top social media skills and want to quickly create your resume and cover letter, use our Resume Builder.

It automates the writing process into a series of easy-to-follow prompts. You can have a resume ready in under 15 minutes. Plus, it also works on cover letters!

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How to Put Social Media Skills on a Resume

There are three main places to list social media skills on your resume:

1. In your professional summary or objective statement.
2. A dedicated skills section.
3. Peppered into your work experience.

PRO TIP

Review the job post or ad before you write social media skills on a resume, and pay close attention to the interpersonal skills cited. That’s where you’ll get clues about the social media skills the employer needs.

Optimizing your resume with keywords from the job description increases your chances of passing an applicant tracking system (ATS).

Here’s an example of social media skills highlighted on the job post for a digital marketing manager:

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategy Development: Create and execute comprehensive Instagram ad strategies aligned with our business goals and target audience.
• Content Creation: Collaborate with the content team to develop visually appealing and engaging ad creatives that resonate with our audience.
• Campaign Management: Set up, manage, and optimize Instagram ad campaigns to maximize engagement and reach and increase conversion rates.
• Analytics and Reporting: Monitor and analyze campaign performance metrics, providing regular reports and insights to the team to drive continuous post improvement.
• Audience Targeting: Utilize advanced targeting options to reach specific audience segments and optimize ad delivery.
• Stay Informed: Stay abreast of industry trends, platform updates, and best practices to ensure our social media strategy remains cutting-edge.

Qualifications:

• Proven experience as a Social Media Specialist with a focus on Instagram advertising.
• In-depth knowledge of Instagram’s advertising platform, algorithms and features.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to translate data into actionable insights.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to generate innovative ideas for ad content.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment.
• Familiarity with relevant tools and software for social media management and analytics.

Here’s an example of a solid resume response to this ad:

PRO TIP

Employers will want to see examples of your work for most social media roles. So, share your social media on your resume and include a link to an online portfolio of social media work you’re proud of!

Find these social media on resume samples helpful? Check out our extensive library of resume examples!

Seeing how competing candidates market their social media skills for jobs will help give you an edge.

Social Media Skills in a Cover Letter

Your cover letter is proof of your communication skills, which are crucial in social media.

So, when writing your cover letter, ensure your message is clear and to the point and reflects the needs the hiring manager has shared in the job post or ad.

Beyond how you list social media skills on resumes, your cover letter should tell a story of your social media skills in action. Explain how your social media skills helped solve your previous employer’s needs and the results they achieved.

Check out this example of social media skills in a cover letter:

Want next-level help writing a cover letter? Create a top-notch, professional cover letter in just a few minutes with the help of our Cover Letter Builder.

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How to Improve Social Media Skills

Sharpen your social media skills, whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out as a social media intern.

Here are some tips to up your social media game:

1. Learn online.

There are many free ways to learn social media, like YouTube videos or trustworthy blogs.

Many professional social media courses exist on sites like edX, LinkedIn Learning, Coursera and Udemy. Some programs offer certification and even help with job placement!

2. Practice social media with a dedicated account. 

Most social media platforms are free, so you can always learn through experimenting. Choose a topic or professional interest and see if you can build a following from your posts!

Best of all, if your social media account produces quality content and gets traffic, you can use it as a portfolio of your work to show employers! Get familiar with the functionality of the social media platforms your ideal employer uses.

3. Try new platforms.

Maybe you’re skilled at generating TikTok engagement, but how many people can you get to retweet a post? Round out your skill to various platforms, and you’ll be more helpful to employers who want to cover all the bases.

The best platforms to devote your time are those most relevant to your dream job. For example, Instagram might be the best venue for the creative arts, whereas LinkedIn is a better place to get skilled if you work in digital marketing.

4. Use social media to sell yourself. 

If you’re ever going to promote your social media skills on a resume, your personal profile must look professional and robust.

So, ensure your LinkedIn profile is current and follows best practices. If you work in a creative industry like graphic design, writing or art — consider making a personal website that shows off your sense of style and self.

5. Understand your audience. 

Being skilled at social media means knowing your online audience. The more you understand what people in your target industry want to read, see or know, the more valuable you are to employers!

Keep your social media focused on topics and niches in which you have a passionate interest and deep knowledge. It will help make your posts more exciting and trustworthy.

Hopefully, you’re feeling ready to create a resume!

Since the key to good social media is looking professional and sharp, consider creating your document using a resume template.

Graphic designers create our templates to look cutting-edge and sharp so that you put your best foot forward!

You’ll find over 25+ professionally designed templates in our Resume Builder. Best of all, you can switch between them with one click, like an Instagram filter!

Make sure employers see you in your best light.

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