How to Become a Social Media Manager in Australia with a Salary Guide
Do you have a passion for social media management, online community development, or digital marketing?
Can you establish a credible online presence?
If so, working as a social media manager may be the perfect choice for you.
In this blog, we will discuss the scope of this career and how to become a social media manager in Australia.
Overview of Social Media Management in Australia
A social media manager is a professional who creates, designs, and manages the online presence of an individual, company, brand, or influencer. Their sole goal is to make a company successful, productive, and profitable through social media platforms.
Social media management is a highly sought-after profession not only in Australia, but around the world.
This profession is primarily concerned with developing a strong and active online presence for businesses or influencers through the application of necessary marketing and communication skills and strategies.
There are now over 98,000 advertising and marketing professionals including social media managers employed in Australia, and there is still a high demand for this profession, as well as projected growth in the coming years.
Size of the industry
There are over 98,000 advertising and marketing professionals including social media managers now working in Australia.
Statistics also show that there is a massive-projected growth of 11.4% of these professionals by 2026, making this a good career to pursue.
Popular Locations
About 58% of social media managers are living in the Capital Cities in Australia.
New South Wales and Victoria have the largest share of social media managers in Australia.
Here is the percentage of social media managers in different areas of Australia by state and territory:
- New South Wales 26.1%
- Victoria 17.6%
- Queensland 7.3%
- Southern Australia 2.8%
- Western Australia 1.9%
- Australia Capital City 2.6%
- Tasmania. 0.7%
This is why it is very important to consider a possible career path when choosing a city to study. Click here to find out more about how to choose a city to study in Australia.
Industries where Social Media Managers are needed
A massive 44% of social media managers are employed in the Professional and Technical service industry.
These following industries employ the remaining 56% of these professionals:
- Manufacturing Industry 5.9%
- Retail 11.0%
- Finance 7.2%
- Entertainment. 12%
- Other industries. 20%
Hours of work
In Australia, approximately 66% of social media managers work full-time hours across all their jobs. Full-time employees work 40 hours per week on average.
This is similar or close to the average working hours for all jobs in Australia (i.e. 44 hours per week).
Most of these professionals regularly work extra hours or overtime (either paid or unpaid).
Age
The average age of social media managers is 34 years, which is lower than the all jobs average age of 40 years.
A large share of these professionals are within the age bracket of (25 to 36) years.
Gender
With more than 98,000 social media managers in Australia, women account for 61% while men account for 39%.
This is 13% above all jobs average for women (48%) and 9% below all jobs average for Males.
What are some skills needed to become a social media manager?
Being a good social media manager requires many unique skills and the ability to thrive and evolve with change.
Here are some essential skills needed to become a social media manager in Australia:
- Great attention to detail
- Creative writing
- Good sense of humor
- Good communicative skills
- Ability to keep up with social media trends
- Good marketing skills
- Great understanding of different social media platforms
- High interest in internet and social media
- Multitasking ability
- Good Analyst
- Ability to engage Audience
- Good grammar and spelling
What are the tasks and duties of a social media manager in Australia?
Here are some tasks and duties performed by a social media manager:
- Examine the effectiveness of social media marketing and make any necessary updates.
- Check the effectiveness of marketing initiatives across all online platforms and internet traffic.
- Manage social media accounts, pages, and sites by speaking with suppliers and clients to make social media jobs easier.
- Create and support an organisation’s or business’s online reputation and brand.
- Support brand coherence across all digital channels.
- Present top management and sales staff with documentation and reports outlining the results of your digital marketing activities.
- Create marketing plans with caution and specificity for every social media outlet.
- Calculate the result of social media operations using data and analytics.
- Discover, create, and optimise content for search engines.
- Use tools for posting and scheduling content, such as Late, Hootsuite and Buffer, to plan articles for publication on multiple social media platforms.
- Analyse social media trends to boost sales, entice prospective clients, and give fresh sales leads for the business.
How much do social media managers earn in Australia?
The earnings of social media managers are determined by their level of experience and qualifications.
On average, the full-time earnings of a social media manager is $70,000 to $90,000 per year.
The average hourly pay for social media managers is $30 to $35, which is lower than all jobs average hourly pay of $41.
Essential Steps to become a social media manager in Australia
Becoming a social media manager in Australia does not require any specific certifications and qualifications, but a degree or a diploma in social media marketing or any closely related course does give an edge in the industry for employment.
Here is a step-by-step guide to becoming a social media manager in Australia.
Step 1: Take Relevant Courses
Although a formal degree is not required, getting a suitable certificate can give you the information and abilities you need to further your career in social media management.
The following social media manager credentials can help you stand out throughout the hiring process:
- Professional Certification in Digital Marketing
- Certificate IV in Marketing and communication
- A Diploma in Social media marketing or closely related course
- Degree in Social Media Marketing or
You can also think about completing a university degree in communications, journalism, public relations, or social media marketing. It will give you the knowledge you need to thrive in this line of work, including crucial copywriting, research, and SEO techniques.
Step 2: Build a strong Online Presence
To create a focused social media strategy, you need a solid grasp of the most used social media platforms.
The first step in learning how to handle social media without a degree is to create a profile on many well-known platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat.
Read blogs and watch YouTube videos to learn more about the various platforms and engagement strategies to increase your fan following and engagement.
Follow market-leading companies and brands across all sectors. Take note of how often they post, the kinds of content they post, and how much interaction each post receives.
Make sure to follow market-leading companies on all their social media channels since they provide different material on various platforms. By doing this, you won’t miss any of their postings or social media updates.
Step 3: Completing a diploma or a degree in social media marketing or any close-related course.
To complete a diploma or undergraduate degree in social media marketing or closely related courses (public relations, digital marketing) in an accredited university or training institution in Australia, you must have completed your secondary school education.
Having courses such as English, Mathematics and Marketing gives you a great advantage when applying to your university.
Certificate IV in Marketing and Communication
This is a great stepping stone for those students who want to start a career in social media marketing.
This course provides a basic knowledge of marketing and related digital aspects of the marketing, especially if you haven’t studied marketing previously.
The course is usually 6 months long and costs around $5,000 to $7,000 to complete this course.
Diploma of Social Media Marketing
The Diploma of Social Media Marketing is one of the most popular programs that many students undertake to become a professional social media marketer.
The course is developed by the team at Social Media College and taught around Australia via various institutions and universities.
The course teaches various skills around social media marketing, including planning and creating content, strategies for social media, influencer marketing, email marketing etc.
The course is 1 year long and costs $6,000 to $10,000 for completing the whole course.
Bachelor of social media marketing
You must have finished your secondary education and studied the relevant topics required for your desired university to enrol in a Social Media Marketing or related undergraduate program at a recognised Australian institution.
However, before attempting to enrol in a university in Australia, here are a few things you must have in place:
- You must have completed grade 12 or an equivalent program.
- An English proficiency exam with a band score that the targeted university has specified (IELTS, TOEFL, PTE).
- Meet your college admissions criteria
If you’ve met all the requirements, you could be accepted to study social media marketing at a recognised University or Institution.
A Bachelor’s degree in Marketing requires 3 years of full-time study.
In Australia, a Bachelor’s degree in social media marketing typically costs between AUD 18,000 and 33,000 per year.
Masters of Social Media Marketing
A bachelor’s degree in social media marketing or a closely related field is required before you can pursue a master’s degree.
A Master’s degree in social media marketing can be obtained after one to two years of full-time study and provides specialisation in this field of study.
If you want to apply for an Australian master’s program in social media marketing, you must meet the following requirements:
- An English proficiency exam with the band score required by the institution where you want to study (IELTS, TOEFL, etc.).
- Good CGPA (3.0)
- Knowledge of basic SEO and marketing principles is a plus.
- 1 to 3 years of work experience (Not mandatory but recommended).
The annual tuition range for a Master’s degree in Australia is between AUD 29,000 and 60,000.
Step 4: Apply for Entry level positions or Industrial Training programs.
While studying for your diploma or degree, you should apply for industrial training programs and entry-level positions to gain experience and a competitive advantage in the industry.
Industrial training and entry-level positions not only help one gain experience, but also a good understanding of how the industry works and which trends to follow and which ones to avoid.
Step 5: Get membership from the Australian Association of Social Marketers (AASM)
This is the pinnacle body for social marketers in Australia and offers help to social media marketers all through the nation.
They are a focal asset for those participating in or keen on social media marketing practice and examination.
An annual fee of $150 (incl GST) is required to join this association.
What are the popular universities to study social media marketing?
Some of the most popular institutions to study social media marketing or closely related fields (both diplomas and degree programs) include:
- Curtin University
- Macquarie University
- James Cook University
- University of Adelaide
- University of Sydney
- Swinburne University
- Stanley College
- Australia Pacific College
- Tafe Queensland
- IHBC
- Box Hill Institute
Future growth of social media management career in Australia
As many businesses strive to maintain a strong and active online presence on social media platforms, there will be a high demand for social media managers in the coming years, making this a great career path to pursue.
Social media managers, with their extensive knowledge of marketing and effective communication, are the lifeblood of any online business.
A good social media manager must be hired to do the heavy lifting on social platforms for a business or company to thrive in the digital space.
To pursue this career path, you must have a strong passion for managing social media platforms as well as the necessary experience.
And that’s everything you need to know about how to become a social media manager in Australia. Let us know which career you want us to cover in the comment section below.
