Social Media Manager cover letter example

If you’ve ever thought you spend too much time on Facebook, maybe you should make a career of it. 

Social media managers know the ins and outs of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and other platforms in which users upload their own content. Social media specialists keep up with the latest trends to remain on the cutting edge of using these platforms, and they know which ones are the best to use for different purposes.

Social media managers develop strategies to promote their companies’ brands using digital media, coordinating marketing strategy with the rest of the company. And they don’t just post it and forget it, but they follow up on users’ responses, questions and critiques.

Social media managers are responsible for every aspect of managing a company’s digital footprint. They create promotions, constantly post new content and coordinate the company’s overall online marketing plan.

Fifteen years ago, this job didn’t exist. Facebook was founded in 2004, Twitter in 2006 and Instagram in 2010. It took time for businesses to see the advertising and publicity potential of these social platforms, and it took even more time for them to realize that they needed dedicated professionals to manage these accounts.

Today it’s an occupation with a secure future. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks the job outlook for social media managers under “public relations specialists,” for which it projects a 7% increase from 2019 through 2029, while the average for all professions is just 4%. The BLS says PR specialists earned a median annual salary of $61,150 in 2019.

Glassdoor says social media managers make an average of $50,473 a year in the U.S. According to Payscale, they make an average of $51,162. Not bad for a profession where you spend much of your day scouring social media, which in many occupations is considered “goofing off.”

If you’re looking for a job in this competitive field, you’ll need to put your publicity skills to work by promoting yourself, and that starts with a great cover letter and resume. Resume.io has already prepared a guide for resume preparation for social media managers, which we encourage you to review.

But now let’s talk about the cover letter you need to accompany this resume. What we’ll discuss in this guide:

• How your cover letter should be structured
• How your cover letter should be designed
• Tips to writing a winning cover letter
• Common mistakes you want to avoid

Best format for a social media manager cover letter

A cover letter should follow a defined structure, including all of the following components:

• The cover letter header
• The greeting / salutation
• The cover letter intro
• The middle paragraphs (body of the letter)
• The ending paragraph of your cover letter (conclusion and call-to-action)

The comprehensive cover letter guide offers more general advice about  cover letters, but below you will find specific advice for each paragraph and section of your letter.

This social media manager cover letter example is a good foundation to develop your own professional application:

Now, let’s talk about what each section should include.

Cover letter header

The top of your letter should contain an attractively designed header that includes your personal contact info: name, occupation, address, phone and email. As a social media specialist, it may also be advisable to include links to your LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter profiles.

Aside from letting employers know how to reach you, the header serves a secondary function as a design element. It should have an eye-pleasing design and layout, perhaps a splash of color and an appropriate use of white space. 

Social media managers are expected to possess “visual intelligence” to draw readers in with appropriate use of photos, graphics and videos. Although you certainly don’t want to over-decorate your header, you do want a professional but creative presentation that shows you understand the importance of good design.

Take a look at resume.io’s free cover letter templates to get an idea of what attractively designed headers look like.

The goal of this section:   Prominently display your all-important contact information and create an eye-catching design.

Cover letter greeting

“Dear Mr. Carpenter” or “Dear Ms. Baker” are examples of a proper cover letter greeting (also known as a salutation). In formal business letters, these are generally followed by a colon rather than a comma.

If you happen to know the person you’re writing to, there’s nothing wrong with addressing him or her by first name, perhaps with a greeting other than “Dear” such as “Greetings” or “Hello.” But beware of being too casual in a letter where you’re asking for a job.

The goal of your greeting: Start off in a professional manner to set the tone for your letter.

Cover letter introduction

You only get one chance at a first impression, so the first paragraph of your letter should be a provocative, attention-getting statement. You want to identify the job you’re seeking and also provide a top-level preview of your qualifications for the job. And in some cases, it may be appropriate to say why you’re seeking a new job in the first place.

It’s important to establish the right tone of voice — lively, energetic and confident, yet never arrogant, presumptuous or familiar.

The goal of the cover letter intro: Craft your message to fit the needs of the company. Get the hiring manager to sit up and take notice so they want to read on.

Cover letter middle part (body)

In the central two or three paragraphs of your letter, you want to make a convincing case that you are the right candidate for this job. 

You need to emphasize your relevant work experience, not just by saying where you’ve worked but by listing your accomplishments at those jobs. Be specific by using facts and figures wherever possible, and use anecdotes to tell short stories about challenges you’ve faced in the past and how you resolved them.

As a social media specialist, there may be additional figures you can cite to stress how influential your online presence is, perhaps by naming the platforms you use and citing the number of followers you reach.

You can also use the body of your letter to mention your education and/or certifications, especially if you have formal training in advertising, public relations, marketing, communication or sales. 

The goal of the middle part: Explain how you go about developing a social media campaign and your knowledge of the industry.

How to close a librarian cover letter (conclusion and sign-off)

Close with a recap, a thank you and a call to action. Say something about how you are eager to have a continued conversation about this position, or about you would be delighted to come in for an interview.

Again, you want to speak in an upbeat, confident tone, without ever sounding arrogant or presumptuous. Make your reader want to talk to you further.

Close with a simple “Sincerely,” “All my best,” or a similar phrase, and type your name below that. If you’re sending this letter electronically, you can add a scanned version of your actual signature if you like.

The goal of the conclusion: Tell your future employer why they should hire you and remind them you are eager for an interview.

Formatting your cover letter

Social media managers need a sense of visual flair, and your design skills should show in your cover letter. Make sure it looks as good as it reads by following these formatting tips.

• Font: Select a modern font that’s easy to read, nothing avant-garde or strange-looking that calls attention to itself.
• Font size: Try to use a font size of 12 points, again for ease of reading. If your letter doesn’t fit onto one page, you can try a font size as small as 10 points, but no smaller. To make your letter fit onto the page, cut anything that isn’t essential.
• Margins: Use a one-inch margin on both sides of your letter, as well as the top and bottom. Avoid squeezing the margins to make your letter fit, or it will look like you’ve crowded too much onto the page.
• Text alignment: Align text left, not justified from margin to margin, so that every line ends in a slightly different place (like the text you’re reading now).
• Paragraphs: Leave a blank space between paragraphs, and don’t indent them. Don’t make paragraphs too long, either — huge, uninterrupted blocks of text are ugly and unappealing.
• Leave some white space: Good design always leaves some room on the page that contains nothing at all, and this white space should be evenly distributed. This is the reason you need adequate margins, spaces between paragraphs and some air under the header.
• Save as PDF: Unless you’re submitting your cover letter on paper, it will be an electronic file attached to an email or uploaded through a system provided by the employer. Either way, the standard file type for resumes and cover letters is the PDF. PDFs will preserve your formatting so that it looks the same on the recipient’s device as it does on yours. Other file types can make text jump around on the page or even turn it into garble. (Exception: If employers specifically request another file type, like a Word document, follow their wishes.)
• Use a template: The best way to avoid any of the potential design flaws here is to start with a professionally designed cover letter template like those we offer at resume.io. We’ve already designed the letter for you — all you have to do is write it.

Tips to writing a persuasive letter

Always remember that you’re writing to a human being, and your goal is to establish a personal connection with that person. So your letter should read like it was written by a human being, not a corporate robot — and while this is a formal business letter, that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be personal.

Psychologists say people react to stimuli on both an emotional and a rational level, so ideally you want to speak to both the head and the heart. Writing in a professional tone doesn’t mean you can’t have a personality or a sense of humor. 

It’s crucial to find a tone that hits the right notes, with a confidence that suggests competence, but not with an overconfidence that suggests arrogance. You want to come off as someone who is really good at what you do, yet also someone who’s likable. Nobody wants to work with someone they don’t like. 

Put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager as you reread your letter. If you received this letter, would you want to hire the person who wrote it? Don’t just write the letter you want to write; write a letter the hiring manager would want to receive. 

Social media manager cover letter: What not to do

Here are some common mistakes you want to avoid in writing a cover letter: 

• Typos, misspellings, bad grammar: These can be an instant deal-breaker. Nobody wants to hire someone to do their social media who can’t write good English.
• Copy-paste letters: Sending out 50 copies of the same letter is never a good strategy. Though you can obviously reuse some key language, every letter you write should be tailored to each employer you’re targeting.
• Clichés, HR-speak and fluff: Resumes and cover letters have developed their own set of clichés (“thinking outside the box,” “self-starter,” “team player,” “detail-oriented”) that must be strenuously avoided. Write in fresh, original language, and avoid “fluff,” which is fancy language that says nothing.
• Formatting and design errors: Anything that contravenes the advice above about fonts, font sizes, margins, etc., will result in a visually unappealing letter that will be an instant turnoff.

Key takeaways

• Social media managers are in demand, but it’s a competitive field in which you need an excellent job application package to stand out from the crowd.
• It’s crucial to include a cover letter to introduce yourself and showcase your personality and likability in a way that a resume alone can’t.
• Follow proper cover letter structure to make sure you’ve included everything that’s necessary.
• Create an attractive design for your cover letter so it looks as good as it reads.
• To write a persuasive letter, put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re writing to and make it professional but also personal.
• Use a professional cover letter template that’s already designed in an attractive style and sidesteps common design and formatting flaws. Go to resume.io, review our recruiter-tested templates and cover letter examples, choose a design you like, fill in your own information, and your work is done.

Happy job hunting and remember: fortune favors those who are well prepared!