Have you ever considered spending the rest of your life working from home? There are plenty of positions available, including digital marketing strategist and online social media marketer. And if you want to do some soul searching before you start networking and pitching, you can take the SMM Certification Exam from the Social Media Marketing Institute (SMMi) to become a Certified Social Media Marketer.

The good news is that after you pass the test, get your certification, and begin working, you’ll discover there’s a lot more available to you than you could ever have imagined. You’ll gain so much knowledge and experience in this field that it will become your specialty. And you’ll be able to charge what you’re worth and know you’re providing value.

Before you begin your social media marketing journey, it’s important to consider what you’ll need to succeed. While it is important to have knowledge about the various platforms and tools, it’s also important to know how to navigate and use social media marketing effectively. This article will teach you how to become an SMM marketer and include a basic certification curriculum that will take you from zero to hero in this exciting new field.

Step 1: Choose A Specialty

When you become a certified social media marketer, you’ll be able to choose from a variety of specialties. For example, you could specialize in LinkedIn marketing, Facebook Ads, or Instagram marketing. There are even accredited courses that will help you specialize in PPC (Pay Per Click) marketing, which is a method of advertising on search engines like Google, Bing, and Amazon.

As a general rule of thumb, you should try to become certified in a specialty that you find intriguing and that has a lot of growth potential. Also, you should specialize in a niche that you find fun and challenging. This will help you enjoy the learning process and continue studying even after your certification. Alternatively, you could become a generalist and know how to navigate and use every major social network. This could be a great start if you don’t know which specialty to choose and don’t want to over-specialize. 

Step 2: Decide Which Courses To Study

After you’ve chosen your specialty, you’ll be able to select the courses necessary to become certified. Some of the more popular ones include:

• Digital Marketing
• Marketing Management
• Social Media Marketing
• Online Marketing and Sales
• Pricing And Metrics For Online Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Inbound Marketing
• Content Marketing
• Content Strategy
• Content Ideas And Planning
• Web Analytics
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Google AdWords
• Facebook Ads
• YouTube Marketing
• Instagram Marketing
• LinkedIn Marketing
• Snapchat Marketing

In short, there are many different courses you could take to become a certified social media marketer. You don’t need to specialize in all of them to reach your full potential. For example, learning Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be very useful, but you don’t necessarily need to specialize in SEO to become a successful social media marketer. The important thing is that you choose courses that will help you develop the skills you need to succeed.

Step 3: Get Experience

To begin your professional journey, you’ll need to get some experience. This can be difficult, especially if you’re just starting out, so here’s where you come in. SMMi offers a variety of Certified Associate Programs that you could complete. The good news is that after you graduate from one of these programs, you’ll be able to apply for his or her Certified Social Media Specialist (CSS) designation. With this designation, you’ll be able to significantly increase your earning potential. The choice of programs and the application process are entirely up to you. As previously stated, there are plenty of specialties available and you don’t need to specialize in every course to become successful. That being said, some of the more popular ones are described above.

One of the best things about the SMM Certification Exams is that they’re extremely thorough, yet incredibly user-friendly. The good news is that even if you’re not one hundred percent sure what some of the terms and phrases mean, you’ll be able to find enough information on the internet to get by. Also, you can take the exam through a third-party proctoring company, which can make the entire process much more convenient. If you’re looking to advance in this field, you could consider studying for and taking the exam.

Conclusion

If you’re looking to enter the world of online marketing, social media marketing, or simply want to pursue a career in digital marketing, then you’ve come to the right place. At this point, you should have a basic understanding of what social media marketing is and why you might want to get involved in this type of marketing.

To learn more, you can visit the Social Media Marketing Institute’s website, where you’ll discover more information about this certification and find a list of all the required courses to take in order to become certified. To quickly find the information you need, simply enter your search terms (e.g. digital marketing) in the search bar at the top of the page.