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Social Media Marketing Foundations

4.7(2,100) on LinkedIn Learning·350K enrolled
Beginner 3 hours English Course Certificate
SkillsSocial media marketingContent strategyPlatform basicsAudience engagementCampaign planning

Is this course right for you?

Our take
A short, practical overview of social media marketing strategy. It comes with a LinkedIn Learning subscription.

Good for: beginners who want a quick, practical overview of social media marketing.

Skip if: you want an in-depth course, or you already work in social media.

Brian Honigman covers what a coherent strategy looks like — goals, choosing networks for an audience, content calendars, platform-specific copy, and measurement — drawing on practitioner experience rather than textbook cases. In about three hours it is a quick primer.

It is a foundations course, so it does not go deep into any single platform or into paid social — pair it with a channel-specific course for that — and someone who already works in social will find it basic. It needs a LinkedIn Learning subscription, and the strategy is durable and kept updated.

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About this course

Social Media Marketing Foundations covers what a coherent social media strategy actually looks like: defining goals, choosing the right networks for a given audience, building content calendars, writing platform-specific copy, and measuring what's working. Brian Honigman draws on practitioner experience to avoid the textbook-case-study feel common in academic social media courses, keeping the focus on what marketers actually do week-to-week.

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Instructor

BH
Brian Honigman
LinkedIn Learning instructor
350K+ learners12 courses4.7 instructor rating

Taught by Brian Honigman, a marketing consultant and educator on LinkedIn Learning specializing in social media strategy and content marketing.

Frequently asked questions

Not outright, but often effectively so. It sits on LinkedIn Learning, which is subscription-based, though there is usually a free trial, and many public libraries and universities give members full access at no cost. Before paying yourself, check whether a library card or institution you belong to already covers it — that quietly unlocks this course and the entire catalogue.

The foundations of running social media as a marketing channel rather than as a personal user. Marketing consultant Brian Honigman walks through setting strategic goals, building audience personas, choosing the right networks, publishing engaging content, running paid ads, and using reporting to prove results to stakeholders. It is a strategy-and-planning overview across the major platforms, not a deep how-to on any single one.

Yes, that is exactly its level. It assumes no prior marketing background and starts from what social media marketing is and why it matters, making it a sensible first step for someone new to the field or handling social for a small business for the first time. If you already run campaigns professionally, it will feel too introductory.

Modestly, as a signal of effort rather than a qualification. You get a completion certificate to add to your LinkedIn profile, which is convenient given the platform, but employers in marketing care far more about demonstrable results — campaigns you have run, audiences you have grown. Treat it as useful profile evidence that you have learned the basics, not as a credential that lands the job.

The tactics do change constantly, and specific platform features date quickly, but the strategic thinking this course teaches — goals, personas, content planning, measurement — ages far more slowly. Take it for that durable framework, then keep up with platform specifics through current sources, because no recorded course can track every algorithm change or new feature in real time.
Paid
Included with LinkedIn Learning subscription
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