Top 10 Courses To Learn Social Media Marketing Online

Taking an online course is a great first step if you want to build job-ready skills and start a social media marketing career. Social media marketing is one of the most in-demand skills today, as businesses of all sizes rely on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok to reach their audiences.

With the right training, you can learn how to create effective social media strategies, run targeted ad campaigns, and profit from social media.

In this post, you'll find a list of high-quality courses worth considering. It includes both free and paid courses with online certificates suitable for all levels.

1. Social Media Marketing Course By Reliablesoft

• Cost: $149 (part of a course bundle)
• Duration: 1 week
• Level: Beginner / Intermediate
• Certification: Yes (Digital Marketing Certification)

The Social Media Marketing Course by Reliablesoft is suitable for beginners and intermediate learners in social media marketing.

This course teaches you everything you must know about social media marketing, from getting organic traffic from Facebook to running paid campaigns.

In particular, you'll learn:

• What is social media marketing, and why is it important?
• How to get started with social media for your blogging or online business
• How to optimize your social media profiles
• How to create a social media marketing strategy
• How to design and execute a successful social media campaign
• How to properly use hashtags to get more exposure for your content
• How to grow your Facebook business followers fast
• How to run successful and profitable Facebook Ads
• How to run successful and profitable Instagram Campaigns
• How to run retargeting campaigns on Facebook and Instagram
• How to connect your website to Facebook
• How to optimize your social media landing pages

Why enroll in this course?

The nice thing about this course is that it uses terminology that beginners can easily understand. So, if you know nothing about social media and want a course to build your skills, this is a great starting point.

Enrolling in this course gives you access to two social media marketing courses (Social Media Course and Facebook Ads Marketing Course) and 12 more courses covering all major areas of digital marketing (including SEO, Content Marketing, and Google Ads).

Upon completing all courses and passing an exam, you can get a Digital Marketing Certification, the most valuable certification you can get, to enrich your CV.

The course includes examples, case studies, checklists, videos, and anything else needed to learn social media marketing. It's a 5-star rating course and risk-free since it comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee.

2. Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate By Meta

• Cost: $245
• Duration: 5 months
• Level: Beginner
• Certification: Social Media Marketing Certification

The Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate is one of the most popular social media marketing courses. Designed for complete beginners, you won’t need any prior experience or degree to get started.

The lessons are delivered by Meta employees, and the certificate is accredited by the American Council on Education (ACE).

Why enroll in this course?

The certificate teaches students how to start a career in social media marketing. It includes 6 courses covering the following topics:

• Introduction to Social Media Marketing
• Social Media Management
• Fundamentals of Social Media Advertising
• Advertising with Meta
• Measure and Optimize Social Media Marketing Campaigns
• Meta Social Media Marketing Capstone

Modules cover everything from defining the right social channel for your campaigns to building ad strategies and content calendars.

Upon completing the courses, you’ll build the skills required to work with all major social media platforms, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and more.

You can also take an additional exam and earn the Meta Digital Marketing Associate certification.

Read our comprehensive review of the Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate for more details.

3. Social Media Marketing Specialization By Coursera

• Cost: $49
• Duration: 1 month
• Level: Beginner
• Certification: Yes

The Social Media Marketing Specialization by Coursera is a series of six courses exploring social media marketing fundamentals.

Each course includes a hands-on project that must be completed to earn a career certificate from Northwestern University.

Here are the course topics that are included in this specialization:

• What is Social?
• The Importance of Listening
• Engagement & Nurture Marketing Strategies
• Content, Advertising, and Social IMC
• The Business of Social
• Social Marketing Capstone Project

Why enroll in this course?

By enrolling in this course, you'll understand what social analytics tools to use and what strategy to follow to become an influencer on social media.

The course material is comprehensive but easy to follow, with quizzes and practical examples of how social media marketing works.

The sixth course in the series is a capstone project allowing you to apply the methodologies, tools, and insights you have learned to a real-life scenario.

On average, it takes students 1 month (studying 10 hours per week) to complete all courses and get certified. Coursera offers a 7-day free trial to review the course material before committing to a paid plan.

4. Social Media Marketing Certification Course By HubSpot

• Cost: Free
• Duration: 5 hours
• Level: Beginners / Intermediate
• Certification: Social Media Certification.

The Social Media Marketing Course by Hubspot will help you build a social media strategy to increase your brand's reach in social networks.

It's a comprehensive training program that covers the following topics:

• Developing a Social Media Strategy
• Social Media Listening and Monitoring
• Building a Content Strategy for Social Media
• Extending Your Reach on Social Media
• Using Social Media to Build One-to-One Relationships
• Introduction to Social Media Advertising
• Measuring Your Social Return on Investment
• Essentials for Continued Success with Social Media

It includes 10 lessons, 38 videos and 29 quizzes to check your knowledge as you progress through the course.

Why enroll in this course?

What I really like about this course is that it focuses on the true purpose of social media marketing, which is ultimately to increase sales. If you are new to social media and have found yourself getting caught up in the follower-counting game, this course will put you back on track.

The Social Media Marketing Certification course also has modules for growing a social media team, so it’s perfect for an individual or a social media team leader. Plus, it’s free to follow the lessons without risk.

5. Social Marketing Training By Hootsuite

• Cost: $199
• Duration:  6 hours
• Level: Beginner
• Certification: Social Media Certificate

The Hootsuite Social Marketing Training Course is ideal for beginners in social media marketing. It covers topics like optimizing social media profiles, paid advertising, and building a social media community.

This comprehensive course will teach you strategies you can implement immediately.

Here are the lessons that are included:

• Introduction to Social Media Marketing
• Optimizing Your Social Media Profiles
• Social Media Strategy - from A to Z
• Growing Your Social Media Community
• Content Marketing Fundamentals
• Social Advertising Fundamentals

The final lesson is a Social Marketing Certification Exam, where you will earn your official certification for completing the course.

Why enroll in this course?

If you want to learn social media marketing, beginning with the basics, this is a great course for you. Although this course is not free, you can view a free demo to get a feel for it before investing the $199.

I suggest watching the intro video (click the 'watch intro video' on the course homepage) to get an even better idea of what this course offers.

6. Social Media Marketing Mastery By Udemy

• Cost: $99
• Duration: 10.5 hours
• Level: Advanced
• Certification: Certificate of Completion

The Social Media Marketing Mastery Course by Udemy is packed with high-quality content. Created by Courseenvy, it covers everything from basic social media concepts to paid advertising on all major social media platforms. It's one of the best-selling courses on Udemy.

It contains 10 hours of video content, 35 articles, and 35 downloadable resources.

Here is an overview of the course lessons:

• Introduction
• Social Media Marketing (What is social media marketing, what content to share, etc)
• Facebook (In-depth Facebook ad training and more)
• Instagram (Optimizing the profile setup, converting followers to sales, sponsored posts, and more)
• Twitter (the basics, hashtags, trends, etc)
• Pinterest (Pinterest 101 and tech setup)
• Google Ads and Google My Business (intro to Google ads and how to get Google business reviews)
• YouTube (optimizing your YouTube account, YouTube ads, how to rank, SEO, and more!)
• LinkedIn (optimizing your profile, LinkedIn groups, LinkedIn ads, etc)
• Other Social Media Platforms (Yelp ads, Snapchat, and TikTok)
• Landing Pages, Web 2.0, and Blogging (covers landing pages, SEO, domain name ideas, etc.)

Lessons are grouped by social media platforms, which makes it easier to decide which platforms you want to master first.

Why enroll in this course?

What’s great about this course is its active discussion group. You can join, ask questions, and get answers from other members or the instructor.

It's also credible, with a 4.3/5 star rating from over 21,000 reviews.

Besides covering basic concepts, this course is ideal for anyone looking to uplevel their social media marketing game with paid ads.

The cost investment is reasonable for the value it provides and has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

7. Facebook Blueprint Free Courses By Meta

• Cost: Free
• Duration: 10-20 minutes per course
• Level: Beginner
• Certification: Yes

Did you know that Facebook (Meta) has a learning center offering Social Media Marketing Courses? It’s free, and if you’re logged into your Facebook account, you can keep track of your progress in any course.

These courses are quick (approx 20 minutes) and include topics like:

• Prepare to bring your business online
• Establish your social media presence
• Attract an online audience
• Build relationships
• Improve your creative strategy
• Optimize your social media strategy
• Facebook and Instagram Ads

Besides the free courses, they offer several Meta Certifications. Preparing for the certificates is free, but taking the exams comes with a small fee.

Why enroll in this course?

Meta Blueprint (formerly Facebook Blueprint) is incredibly user-friendly. You can search for course topics or browse the online social media classes it offers. The courses are short, easily digestible, and include detailed instructions on performing a specific task.

Meta Blueprint is a good option if you are looking for a quick way to learn basic social media and digital marketing skills.

8. Social Media Marketing Course By OMI

• Cost: $859
• Duration: 6.6 hours
• Level: Beginner to advanced
• Certification:  Yes, after the exam

The Social Media Marketing Course by Online Marketing Institute offers a comprehensive introduction to major social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and LinkedIn. The course covers best practices for content publishing, user engagement, and branding through social media, focusing on marketing to millennials.

It also touches on higher-level topics like paid ads and measuring ROI. The program includes video lessons, quizzes, and a final exam for certification.

There are 11 lessons in this course, each packed with detailed and valuable content.

• The Primary Social Media Platforms
• Social Media: Consumer Insights
• Social Media Brand
• Your Business Goals on Facebook
• Facebook Insights
• Best of Facebook Business
• How to Market to Millennials
• Things You Should Know About Advertising on Snapchat and Instagram
• Creating an Influential LinkedIn Profile
• Publishing on LinkedIn Pulse
• Content Marketing for Social Media

Why enroll in this course?

This course is ideal for anyone wishing to develop a deep understanding of social media marketing. With practical tips, you’ll learn how to create effective campaigns on the most popular platforms. Whether you want to enhance your business’s social media presence or target a millennial audience, this course is a good option.

9. Social Media Marketing Course By CXL

• Cost: $299
• Duration: 2.5 hours
• Level: Beginner
• Certification: Yes.

The Social Media Marketing Course by CXL focuses on organic social media. You'll learn what type of content works best on each platform and best practices for increasing your organic visibility.

It includes 10 lessons, and the duration is 2.5 hours.

It covers the following channels:

• TikTok
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Why enroll in this course?

This beginner-friendly course is more suitable for social media managers, content managers, and PPC managers.

Unlike other courses in this list, the CXL course explains how each platform's organic algorithm works in depth. With the continuous rise of paid advertising, exploring ways to get traffic from social media without breaking the bank is more than necessary these days.

The instructor is an experienced marketer, and the course comes with a certification (after passing an exam), which is great for your CV.

10. From Likes to Leads Course By Google

• Cost: $49
• Duration: 28 hours
• Level: Beginner
• Certification:  No.

From Likes to Leads: Interact with Customers Online is a Google course part of the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate.

The course takes 28 hours and includes 5 social media marketing lessons.

In particular, it includes the following:

• Introduction to social media marketing
• Social media strategy, planning, and publishing
• Listing and engagement on social media
• Social media analytics and reporting
• Paid social media

Why enroll in this course?

The course is aimed at beginners and requires no prior knowledge of social media networks. The lessons are easy to consume, and there are various quizzes and assignments to check your knowledge.

You'll learn how to create a social media marketing strategy, how to create engaging content for social media, and how to monitor and measure the success of your social media campaigns.

You can take this course standalone or complete 6 more courses to pursue the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate.

Register for the course and review the material for 7 days free. Then the cost is $49 monthly. If you study 5 hours daily, you can complete the course for free without paying for the monthly subscription.

Compare Free And Paid Social Media Marketing Courses

The table below compares the cost and duration of the most popular social media marketing courses.

Course	Cost	Duration
Facebook Blueprint Free Courses By Meta	Free	20 min/course
Social Media Marketing Certification Course By HubSpot	Free	5 hours
From Likes to Leads Course By Google	Free	28 hours
Social Media Marketing Course By Reliablesoft	$149	1 week (self-paced)
Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate By Meta	$245	5 months (10 hours/week)
Social Media Marketing Specialization By Coursera	$49	1 month (10 hours/week)
Social Marketing Training By Hootsuite	$199	6 hours
Social Media Marketing Mastery By Udemy	$99	10.5 hours
Social Media Marketing Course By OMI	$859	6.6 hours
Social Media Marketing Course By CXL	$289	2.5 hours

Who Should Follow a Social Media Marketing Course?

Learning social media marketing through a course benefits marketers, businesses, and anyone who wants to get into social media marketing.

Social media jobs are in high demand now and are well paid. The salary of a social media marketing specialist is around $62K per year, while the salary of social media marketing managers can rise to $75K per year.

A good course will help you learn social media marketing fast, and a certification will help you secure a job in the industry.

If you're already working as a marketing freelancer, you can build the necessary social media marketing skills through a course and offer additional services to your clients.

Whatever industry you’re in, your audience is on social media. It is essential to learn how to engage with them effectively, build brand awareness, and convert followers into customers. While online courses offer structured learning, giving you the skills to create strategies and run campaigns, real learning happens when you put those skills to the test in the real world.

Once you’ve completed a course, applying what you’ve learned in live situations is where you’ll discover what truly works for your specific audience. You’ll refine your approach through trial and error, gaining insights that no course alone can provide.