The 8 Best Social Media Marketing Courses (That Aren’t Boring!)

More than half of the world’s population uses social media today for just about every aspect of life. This makes it a staple in any digital marketing strategy, but with multiple rapidly evolving platforms, it’s a bit of a beast to harness for business growth.

The other problem, as you’ll soon learn, is that finding a free social media marketing course that is actually worth your time is harder than it should be.

Which is why I’m excited to share with you my list of eight courses that make for interesting and relevant online learning experiences. Each course covers a slightly different facet of social media marketing, including:

Brand building and SEO
Strategy building and tracking
Social listening and monitoring
Facebook and Instagram advertising
Influencer marketing
TikTok marketing and advertising
Diversity and inclusivity in social media
Paid social strategies

…in two hours or less.

Before we get into the courses, a bit of context.

The problem with Googling “free social media marketing courses”

Google is generally good at providing the best results for queries (because, Google), but there are exceptions. And apparently, “free social media marketing courses” is one of them.

Due to (a) the rapidly evolving nature of social media, (b) something I’m calling “black hat course engine optimization,” and (c) those who replicate lists without doing their own research—the results were wildly underwhelming.

It was the same 10 or so courses in every roundup, many of which were:

Not free: Not okay.
Not fun: An hour of text-only slides with voiceover.
Outdated: Title says 2021 but content is from 2016.
Too long: 18 hours of video or 165 pages of text-only content.
Sleep aids: College lectures w/o visuals.

For such a visual, creative, and rapidly evolving medium as social media, these courses aren’t going to cut it.

Free social media marketing courses actually worth your while

That being said, I came up with this list of eight (actually) free social media marketing courses that recent, short (15 minutes to two hours), and interesting. They are:

Local Social Media Marketing Lab
Social Media Marketing for Business
How to Create an Impactful Social Strategy for Any Business
Social Listening: Your Launchpad to Success on Social media
Facebook Advertising Blueprint
Influencer Marketing 101: From Zero to Hero
How To Use TikTok for Business
Best Practices for Inclusive Social Media
PPC University: Social Ads 101

I do realize that someday this list will be outdated, but not anytime soon given the evergreen tips and information in these courses.

Let’s get started.

1. Local social media marketing course (LOCALiQ)

This course is brought to you by LOCALiQ, a digital marketing agency known for its proprietary technology and deep local roots in over 260 communities across the US.

Title: Local Social Media Marketing Lab
Format: Written with visuals
Length: 38 minutes
Cost: Free

Sure, social media can get you in front of billions of people, but that’s not what you’re looking for (or if it is, it’s time to rethink your strategy). This course by LOCALiQ teaches you how to use social media to get the right kind of reach—as in, not for likes and follows but for sustained business growth.

True to its name, this course covers how to use social media for local marketing, but make no mistake—it also contains a wealth of information fit for anyone looking to grow any size business. The course covers:

The essence and nuances of each of the top platforms.
How to optimize your profiles and posts for local SEO.
(Did you know that Facebook is one of the top three business directories?)
How to create content that differentiates your brand and attracts customers.
What (and what not) to post on each platform, and at what frequency.
Over 131 post ideas and examples.

Who this course is good for:

Small/local business owners/marketers looking to build an authoritative online presence through social media—in their geographic and topic-based communities.

Head to the social media marketing course >>

You can also use LOCALiQ’s Free Online Presence Grader to find out how to improve your social media presence.

2. Social Media Marketing for Business (WordStream)

Title: Social Media Marketing for Business
Format: Written with visuals
Length: 21 minutes
Cost: Free

In this free crash course on social media marketing, we take you through every aspect of the topic, from definitions and stats to strategies and services.

In addition to the definition, benefits, and stats of social media marketing, you’ll learn:

The five core pillars of social media marketing
The essentials of a successful social media marketing strategy
How to create a social media marketing plan
A comparison of the most popular social media marketing platforms
Tips, tools, and services to help you meet your goals.

Who this course is good for:

Business owners and marketers unsure of which platforms to focus on and how to use their time wisely.

Head to the social media marketing course >>

3. Social media marketing strategy course (SkillShare)

This course is brought to you by Living to Roam, an e-learning destination for businesses and marketers of all levels.

Title: Social Media Marketing: How to Create an Impactful Strategy for Any Business
(If you have trouble with this link, open it in an incognito window.)
Format: Video
Length: 2 hours
Cost: Free *with free seven-day trial of SkillShare*

The instructor of this course is Living to Roam’s founder Maggie Stara, a social media and digital marketing consultant with a background in organizational psychology. She uses her big-picture mindset to teach you how to develop a holistic social media marketing strategy based on your long-term business objectives, and to break it down into measurable, achievable steps.

You’ll learn how to:

Audit your current strategy and identify what tactics to amplify, continue, or stop.
Find, assess, and learn from your competitors’ strategies on each network.
Prioritize tactics and allocate resources to drive your marketing objectives.
Tailor your strategy to the unique skillsets of your team.
Document and report on the analytics of your social media strategy.

This course is good for:

Social media marketers and managers of mid-size or larger organizations looking to streamline and scale their social media marketing efforts.

Go to the social media strategy course >>
If you have trouble with this link, open in an incognito/private browsing window.

4. Social listening course (Sprout Social)

This course comes from Sprout Social, a social media management software provider known for its intuitive, easy-to-use web and mobile platform.

Title: Social Listening: Your Launchpad to Success on Social media
Format: Written
Length: 33 minutes
Cost: Free

Social media optimization isn’t solely about looking at your data and making tweaks. Since social media is a vast world where people can express opinions and emotions, there is a lot more to the picture. This is where social media listening is important, and why I’ve included this course on my list.

With this course, you’ll learn:

The difference between social media monitoring and social media listening
How to use social listening for brand health, industry insights, competitor analysis, campaign analysis, and event monitoring
In-depth coverage of social listening strategies and use cases using real brands.
How small businesses can use it to establish thought leadership, reach top audiences, identify the best influencers, increase reach in local regions, and beat big brands

Who this course is good for:

Small businesses and social media marketers looking to build a community around their brand, stay ahead of the curve, and maintain a positive reputation.

Go to the social listening course >>