What Does a Social Media Strategist Do? 2026 Career Guide

Key takeaways

A social media strategist develops and implements social media campaigns to build a business’s brand. Explore key facts:

• The median total salary for a social media strategist in the United States is $93,000 [1].

• Social media strategists build social campaigns, analyze data, and schedule content.

• You can become a social media strategist by earning a degree in marketing, business, or a related field.

Explore the education and skills needed to start your career as a social media strategist. Afterward, consider enrolling in Meta’s Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate. You’ll have the opportunity to learn how to develop effective social media posts and create a strong social media brand presence. Upon completion, add this shareable credential to your resume or LinkedIn profile.

What is a social media strategist?

Social media strategists develop and execute a company’s online presence through its social media platforms. In this role, you will develop content strategies, track analytics, and attempt to identify and reach your employer's target audience. The role requires performing many functions in collaboration with multiple departments, such as sales and finance. Unlike social media managers who focus on day-to-day tasks, as a social media strategist, you'll take a broad view and consider the long-term picture.

Read more: What Is a Social Media Marketer? And How to Become One

What does a social media strategist do?

Social media strategists have various responsibilities, from creating content to monitoring social media metrics. One of the most significant is developing social media campaigns that promote your business’s brand. You'll most likely spend some time analyzing data to determine how your audience behaves and how to best reach them. You can even connect directly with potential consumers by answering their questions and speaking to them through direct messaging. Once you uncover this information, you can design strategies to connect with this audience. That might include determining which social media platform to use and finding the best ways to keep customers engaged with the company and its products online.

Social media strategist tasks and responsibilities 

The main goal of a social media strategist is to get consumers to engage with your company or organization via social media channels, as well as to create content that keeps your employer ahead of its competition.

Other tasks and responsibilities that a social media strategist may have include:

• Building a social media campaign: Building a social media campaign involves defining your goals, determining which platforms to use, creating a content calendar, and determining which metrics you'll use to measure its success.

• Analyzing data: You'll spend much time analyzing data in this role before, during, and after a campaign. Before a campaign, you might use data mining to determine which customers you want to reach. Engagement analytics track how many users viewed your content and if they interacted with it directly by clicking, liking, or tagging. Once you analyze this data and bring it to your employer, you can begin to strategize what to do differently for the next campaign.

• Scheduling content: Part of your job as a social media strategist is scheduling the content you create for release. This allows your content to go live, even when you're not available to post it, so that you reach your audience, no matter when they're online. It can also help you lay out your posts so that you can see how they look for your audience and whether they fit within the narrative of your campaign.

• Watching for trends: In addition to developing and managing the brand's social media content, you must be knowledgeable of current social media trends, such as hashtags or popular keywords, so you can incorporate them into your campaigns. 

Social media strategist skills

As a social media strategist, you must be familiar with social media platforms and how to use them, often including X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. That's just one of the skills that will benefit you in your career. Others include:

• Creativity: Creativity is essential in making a business stand out from another company that sells or does the same thing. As a social media strategist, your ideas need to be new and unique so the business can experience social media growth and have a distinct voice that matches the brand.

• Copywriting: Social media strategists may write copy to connect with certain audiences and need to be able to do so on multiple platforms. Social media copywriting includes writing in the business brand’s voice and using hashtags and other keywords to promote the product on social media sites that utilize different mediums, such as images or videos.

• Communication: Communication is essential for social media strategists when working with their colleagues and users who interact with content online. Communicating with users by responding to their comments is a great way to build a community among your customer base, resulting in a more personal experience.

Social media strategist salary and job outlook

According to Glassdoor, the median total salary for a social media strategist in the US is $93,000 [1]. This figure includes base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that public relations specialists, who play a similar role to social media strategists, will grow 5 percent between 2024 and 2034, with approximately 27,600 job openings each year [2]. Similarly, advertising, promotions, and marketing managers will grow by about 6 percent from 2024 to 2034, with approximately 36,400 job openings annually in those fields [3].

How to become a social media strategist

While your job requirements will vary depending on your employer, you'll likely need some education and training before working as a social media strategist. This could include earning a bachelor's degree in marketing or a related field, as well as building a portfolio of your work.

Education and training

To become a social media strategist, you'll typically need a relevant bachelor’s degree in communications, business, or marketing. An internship is a good way to begin working in the field and enhance your skills before starting your career as a social media strategist.

Do I need a portfolio?

In addition to a bachelor’s degree and internship, it’s important to build a portfolio with examples of your work for a potential employer. A portfolio will show employers you have experience and knowledge in your desired career path and may help them determine if you’re a good fit for their company.

Discover resources for social media careers

Subscribe to our Career Chat newsletter on LinkedIn to connect with other social media strategists and gain career tips. Then, explore free, digital resources:

• Watch on YouTube: Are You a Natural Social Media Strategist? (Career Guide)

• Take a quiz: Which Digital Marketing Course Should You Take? Find Out in 1 Minute

• Expand your vocabulary: Social Media Terms: A to Z Glossary

Whether you want to develop a new skill, get comfortable with an in-demand technology, or advance your abilities, keep growing with a Coursera Plus subscription. You’ll get access to over 10,000 flexible courses. 

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