An entry-level social media manager’s portfolio should showcase their skills, creativity, and understanding of social media platforms. Here are some elements that could be included:

1. Introduction and Resume:
   • A brief introduction about yourself and your career objectives.
   • Your resume outlining your educational background, relevant coursework, and any internships or part-time positions related to social media.
2. Social Media Strategy Samples:
   • Examples of social media strategies you’ve developed. This could include hypothetical scenarios or real-world examples if you have prior experience.
   • Demonstrate your understanding of target audiences, goals, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
3. Content Creation:
   • Samples of content you’ve created, including images, graphics, and captions.
   • Highlight your creativity and ability to align content with brand identity.
4. Campaign Execution:
   • Showcase any social media campaigns you’ve been a part of. Include visuals, analytics, and a brief description of the goals and outcomes.
5. Analytics and Reporting:
   • Present examples of how you’ve used analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, social media insights) to track performance.
   • Include reports summarizing key metrics and insights gained from your analysis.
6. Community Management:
   • Provide evidence of your ability to engage with an audience. This can include screenshots of conversations you’ve had with followers, responses to comments, and examples of community-building activities.
7. Social Media Platforms Proficiency:
   • Highlight your expertise on various social media platforms. This could be demonstrated through successful campaigns, growth in followers, or innovative uses of platform features.
8. Professional Development:
   • Showcase any relevant certifications, workshops, or online courses you’ve completed related to social media management.
9. Writing Samples:
   • If writing is a significant part of your role, include samples of blog posts, articles, or social media copy you’ve written.
10. Testimonials or Recommendations:
    • If applicable, include positive feedback from colleagues, clients, or supervisors you’ve worked with in the past.
11. Personal Projects:
    • If you’ve managed any personal social media projects or accounts, include them to demonstrate your passion and initiative.

Remember to tailor your portfolio to the specific job you’re applying for, emphasizing the skills and experiences most relevant to the position.

I also asked Claude AI the same question just to see the differences in the answers, and here is what it provided. 

Here are some things an entry level social media manager may include in their portfolio:

• Sample social media plans/strategies – For example, develop a hypothetical social media strategy for a brand that includes goal setting, target audience research, platform recommendations, content strategy and calendar, and metrics/analytics.
• Visual content examples – Create some sample Facebook/Instagram posts, tweets, LinkedIn articles, etc. to demonstrate visual storytelling abilities. Include commentary on why you made certain content choices.
• Social listening reports – Showcase your skills at synthesizing data by creating sample social listening reports, highlighting key trends and insights.
• Campaign recaps – Write up brief recap reports of social campaigns you’ve built for class projects, volunteer work, or personal brands. Share goals, tactics, examples of content, and results.
• Event promotion plans – Share mock plans for promoting events on social platforms leading up to, during, and after conferences, webinars, fundraisers etc.
• Website/blog content – Include links to any websites, blogs or online profiles where you maintain a professional social presence.
• Client testimonials (if possible) – Any positive feedback from classroom peers, colleagues, internship managers etc.

The goal is to create shareable materials that give tangible evidence of critical thinking, writing, content creation, and analytical abilities tied to social media strategy.

After reviewing the results of these two prompts, I actually the responses from Claude. I feel that the answer was more detailed when though my prompt was relatively basic. I decided to continue with Claude and ask a couple more to follow up questions.

Here was my follow up prompt: “What are some ways I can learn about and study different social media strategies?” I used this because I feel that this is one of the most important details when it comes to social media management. 

This is the response:

Here are some effective ways to learn about and study social media strategies:

•  Follow social media thought leaders and read blogs/books – Follow influencers in social media marketing like Gary Vaynerchuk, Neil Patel, or Brian Dean. Read their content and books to stay on top of the latest trends and tactics.
• Take classes or online courses – Enroll in university classes related to social media marketing if possible. Otherwise, take affordable online courses from sites like Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, HubSpot Academy, and others.
• Listen to podcasts – Subscribe to marketing podcasts like Social Media Marketing Podcast, Social Pros, or The Science of social media. Listen to interviews with experts.
• Study social media & brand campaigns – Pay attention to campaigns that intrigue you and analyze what made them effective through a strategic lens. Reverse engineers the content or tactics.
• Conduct competitor audits – Research both competitor and industry leader social media accounts in your niche. Compare and contrast their strategies in an audit report.
• Experiment with personal accounts – Grow your own social media channels to better understand different platforms and functions. Document what performs well.
• Read social media examiner surveys – Social Media Examiner releases an annual report on marketing trends and salaries that offers great insights.
• Network with social media managers – Connect with professionals on forums or social platforms to ask for advice. Offer to interview them for informational meetings.

Immersing yourself in these types of activities will expand your knowledge and reveal the strategic decisions behind great social media marketing.

I also thought it was important to ask how exactly I can include this into my portfolio, so I asked this: