15 Great Social Media Training Courses and Resources

Taking a social media course will increase your skill level, but there are hundreds of options online. Choosing which one is right for you is not easy.

If you are in this situation, then you have come to the right place! Keep reading for popular social media tutorials and resources.

Some classes are for beginners, others for more experienced professionals.

There are also options for specific social media platforms. They are perfect if you need a refresher or a deep dive into the platform’s capabilities.

Choosing the right course can give you the confidence to run a social media campaign for your business. What’s more, it could be just what you need to take your marketing career to the next level.

And the best part is that many of the courses and resources on this list are completely free.

Ready to dig? Let’s do it.

Social media training for beginners.

Social Marketing Training | Houtsyut Academy

An industry-recognized certification will surely look impressive on your resume.

The Hootsuite Academy Social Marketing Training was developed by social media marketing strategists and practitioners.

The result is a certification course that gives you the practical skills you need to start seeing results on social media.

Cost: $199

Duration: 6 hours

Skill level: beginner and intermediate

Recommended for: Marketers who want to develop basic social media skills in strategy, community, content, and advertising.

You will learn:

• Optimizing social media profiles
• Creating a social media strategy
• A growing community of loyal fans
• Content Marketing Best Practices
• Fundamentals of advertising in social networks

Social media marketing funds | Learning on LinkedIn

The course is divided into 7 sections, each of which has its own quiz, confirming your level of language proficiency. The videos are fast and to the point – the longest video is only 3 minutes 25 seconds long.

However, it leaves a lot to be desired if you were looking for something more detailed.

Cost: free

Duration: 52 minutes

Skill Level: Beginner

Recommended for: People who are looking for a basic social media marketing overview and are not interested in a recognized certification.

You will learn:

• Development of a social media strategy
• Defining your audience
• The right choice of channels
• Publication of best practices
• Building and Maintaining a Community
• Selling on social media
• Activity measurement
• Social Media Marketing Innovations

Specialization in social networks | Northwestern University

The Social Media Specialization consists of 6 courses. It covers everything from strategy, listening, content, and advertising.

This program is led by Randy Hlavak, an instructor at Northwestern University. In this course, you will complete a final project to demonstrate the practical skills you have gained.

If you choose to view the course for free, you will not be able to earn a certificate.

Cost: $59 per month (or choose Audit to view it for free).

Duration: Self paced, but most take 6 months.

Skill Level: Beginner

Recommended for: Professionals who want to learn more about effective social media strategies.

You will learn:

• Using social analytics tools
• Become an influencer
• Developing engaging content
• Creating a Complete Social Media Marketing Strategy Plan

Fundamentals of Social Media Marketing | Email Marketing Institute

Most courses use video as part of their format, but eMarketing only provides an eBook for their curriculum.

This is a great option if you learn better by reading rather than watching videos.

There are 25 chapters including a glossary and sample exam questions. It covers both basic topics like what social media is and more advanced content like social analytics.

Cost: free

Length: 165 page eBook.

Skill Level: Beginner

Recommended for: People who prefer to read rather than watch videos.

You will learn:

• How to reach your audience
• Engage your audience in your content
• How to include blogging in your strategy
• Creating a social media strategy
• How to evaluate the effectiveness of social networks
• Social media management tools

Social Media Marketing | acadian

This course contains 35 beginner lessons on how to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, Yelp and LinkedIn.

You can also subscribe to Challenges to help you build a portfolio of your new skills.

The course is quite simple and is intended for people who are not familiar with social networks.

Cost: free

Length: varies

Skill Level: Beginner

Recommended for: People who want to get started with social media and are completely new to it.

You will learn:

• Setting up social media profiles
• Creating and publishing posts on social networks
• Development of a social media strategy
• Tips and tricks to stand out from the crowd
• Automating your messages
• Measuring Engagement
• User feedback management

Fundamentals of Digital Marketing | Google

Digital Marketing Fundamentals covers all aspects of marketing your business online.

SEO, social media, content marketing, and web analytics are just a few of the topics this course will teach you.

While there are some deep dives, most of the content only covers the basics. Passing the 40-question exam earns you an industry-recognized certification.

Cost: free

Duration: 40 hours

Skill Level: Beginner

Recommended for: Social media managers who want a comprehensive overview of digital marketing.

You will learn:

• Analytics and data analysis
• Business strategy
• Content Marketing
• Display advertising
• E-commerce
• Advertising mailing
• local marketing
• Web and mobile optimization
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
• SEO
• Social media
• video

Social Media Marketing Courses: Intermediate to Advanced

Expanded social advertising | Houtsyut Academy

Organic social media and paid advertising are two different strategies. If you need to develop your social media advertising skills, then this course is for you.

It teaches you how to use advertising tools, track your campaign, and social advertising best practices.

Cost: $249.

Duration: 4 hours 30 minutes

Skill Level: Intermediate

Recommended for: Social media managers who want to master the art of running paid advertising campaigns on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

You will learn:

• Setting Campaign Goals
• Using Remarketing and Lookalike Audiences
• Creation and testing of advertising in social networks
• Measuring the effectiveness of advertising campaigns

Advanced social media strategy | Houtsyut Academy

This course is designed for managers, strategists and leaders. This will give you a complete understanding of how to build and scale social networks in complex organizations.

The program was developed by Syracuse University’s SI Newhouse School of Public Communication, which means you will receive an academically recognized certificate.

Cost: $999

Duration: 20 hours

Skill Level: Advanced

Recommended for: Experienced professionals interested in developing strategy skills to lead corporate organizations.

You will learn:

• What to Research to Build a Social Media Strategy
• How to create strategies that support social media goals
• How to tell your brand story on social media
• How to Develop an Influencer Guide
• Best Practices for Listening and Monitoring Social Media

Social Network Management Courses: Individual Networks

facebook courses

Social Media Marketing Specialist Certificate | Meta

The Social Media Marketing Meta Course for Facebook (and Instagram) consists of 6 courses.

It covers everything from social media management to paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram.

While the focus is on meta tools, you will be able to apply your strategy skills to platforms outside of the meta.

You will also complete a final project to demonstrate the practical skills you have gained.

If you choose to view the course for free, you will not be able to earn a certificate.

Cost: $59 per month (or choose Audit to view it for free).

Duration: Approximately 100 hours, but at your own pace.

Skill Level: Beginner

Recommended for: Professionals who want to learn how to build a social media presence for a business with a focus on paid advertising.

You will learn:

• Create compelling content
• Interact with social media users
• Content calendar management
• Measure the success of your posts
• Create effective social media ads
• Creating ads in Meta Ads Manager
• Measure the success of advertising campaigns

Additional Resources: Meta also offers free Facebook courses for beginners.

Instagram courses

Instagram Training Course | hubspot

This course from Hubspot is designed to teach you how to create and execute a successful Instagram strategy.

There are 6 courses, each with its own quiz. You will not receive a certificate upon completion of this course, but you will gain knowledge on how to use Instagram for business.

Cost: free

Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes

Skill Level: Beginners

Recommended for: Social media marketers who want to learn how to create an effective Instagram marketing strategy.

You will learn:

• Elements of a Successful Instagram Strategy
• Creating great content for Instagram
• How to get more followers
• Setting up ads on Instagram
• Creating Content for Instagram Ads
• Assessing your Instagram ad campaigns

Additional Resources: Meta offers free Instagram courses for beginners. You can also check out our Instagram course guide to improve your skills.

LinkedIn Training Courses

LinkedIn Marketing | Learning on LinkedIn

LinkedIn shows you how to organically reach your audience with the LinkedIn platform.

This training shows you how to use LinkedIn for personal branding and marketing your business.

This is a great option for anyone learning how to create compelling content for LinkedIn, whether it’s your personal profile or your business page.

Cost: Free for a trial month or $29.99 for lifetime access.

Duration: 57 minutes

Skill Level: Beginner

Recommended for: Professionals who want to use LinkedIn to reach their target audience.

You will learn:

• Creating an effective profile or business page
• Share relevant content
• Networking on LinkedIn
• Leverage Employee Support to Grow

TikTok Courses

How to build your personal brand on TikTok | Marketing influencer

This is for influencers and businesses.

It covers everything from how to use TikTok to how influencers and brands work together.

Creating a successful TikTok marketing strategy is work, but it can be rewarding.

Cost: free

Duration: about 3 hours

Skill Level: Beginner

Recommended for: People who want to become content creators on TikTok or marketers who want to learn how the creator economy works.

You will learn:

• TikTok Basics
• Creating your personality
• Building your audience
• Increasing Engagement
• Brand Collaboration
• Make more money as an influencer

Additional Resources: TikTok offers several free modules for those new to TikTok.

Free courses on Twitter

Twitter Flight School | Twitter

Look no further than the Twitter Flight School where you can find free Twitter courses.

It offers several icons for people to learn about the basics of the ad manager. You’ll also learn how to get started on Twitter and how to use Twitter to be creative.

Each course consists of several comprehensive lessons based on a theme. To earn a badge, you must pass an assessment exam with a score of 80% or higher.

Cost: free

Duration: 2-4 hours, depending on the course

Skill Level: Beginner

Recommended for: Social media managers looking to strengthen their Twitter marketing skills.

You will learn:

• Creating your first advertising campaign
• Measuring the success of an advertising campaign
• Creating a content strategy for Twitter
• Using your brand voice

Pinterest course

Pinterest Marketing Mastery | Udemy

Pinterest Marketing Mastery will teach you how to use Pinterest to drive traffic to your website.

It’s perfect for beginners as it walks you through how to create a pin and develop an overall marketing funnel. He also shares the tools you can use to create optimized pins.

Cost: $16.99.

Duration: 1 hour 12 minutes

Skill Level: Beginners

Recommended for: Social media managers who are using Pinterest for the first time as part of their marketing strategy.

You will learn:

• Building a Pinterest Funnel
• Creating quality Pins
• Automation for Pinterest
• Looking for pin inspiration

Additional Resources: Pinterest offers several guides for using the platform for business and advertising.

Youtube courses

YouTube Creators | YouTube

YouTube Creators is almost a one-stop-shop for everything you need to create content on YouTube.

While it’s aimed at content creators, businesses and social media managers new to YouTube marketing can also benefit from this resource.

They often post new and updated content on how to develop a YouTube strategy.

Cost: free

Length: varies

Skill Level: Beginners

Recommended for: Social media creators and managers who want to start a YouTube channel and accelerate its growth.

You will learn:

• Getting Started on YouTube
• Building your community
• How to make money on youtube
• Development of your channel
• Policy and recommendations
• Understanding YouTube Analytics

Mark Cuban once said, “Learn, learn, learn. The biggest competitive advantage is knowledge.”

It’s time to invest in yourself because that’s the highest ROI you can get.