Business owners love social media virtual assistants like a fat kid loves cake.
VAs save them time while driving new customers to their business.
After working as a virtual assistant for three years, I can tell you that success requires more than just writing catchy hashtags.
To maximize your hourly rate, you need to treat this like a business (because it is!).
Fortunately, there are both free and paid social media virtual assistant courses that cut down the learning curve.
Recent virtual assistant statistics show that over a quarter of VAs learned their skills through a training program. So if you want a head over the competition, it’s a smart option.
Table of Contents
- Free social media VA courses to get your feet wet
- Best social media virtual assistant courses
- 1. Social Media for Virtual Assistants
- 2. The Social Media Managers’ Toolkit
- 3. The Freelance Social Media Management Roadmap
- 4. Become A Freelance Social Media Manager – Home Business
- 5. Social Media Manager Pro
- 6. The Social Shells Social Media Manager Course
- 7. Social Mums Social Media Manager Programme
- 8. Studio Socials SMM Academy
- 9. WIN at Starting a Social Media Management Business
- 10. SMM Business Bundle Class
- 11. The Freelance SMM Bootcamp
- Best virtual assistant courses (beyond just social media)
These free social media virtual assistant courses don’t get into the nitty-gritty details, but they do give you a helpful overview of how to get started as a virtual assistant.
Become a Booked Out Virtual Assistant Masterclass. This free VA course teaches you what clients are looking for in a VA so you know how to present yourself.
They also show you how to find and connect with these clients.
5 Steps to a Booked Out VA Biz Free Class. Launch your VA business in a weekend by following the 5 steps in this free class.
You also get 2 bonus lessons on how to keep clients lined up at your door.
Live 5-Day VA Challenge. The 5 Day VA Challenge with Hannah Dixon will help you get your first client within just 5 days.
You’ll get live expert feedback and access to a livestream Q&A where you can ask Hannah any questions you might have about becoming a VA.
1. Social Media for Virtual Assistants
Social Media for Virtual Assistants is the number one social media virtual assistant course on the market.
In fact, it’s one of the only courses made specifically for VAs.
The course teaches you 8 of the most popular social media VA service offerings so you can find work ASAP.
You also get an in-depth guide on setting your rates the right way. If you get this wrong, you’ll be leaving money on the table on every single project.
Apart from VA skills, the course also includes customizable templates and trackers that save you time and make you look super professional to clients.
It also doesn’t matter where you live because as long as you have access to the internet, you’ll be able to set up your social media VA business.
The goal is to land your first paying client within 30 days.
If you want to learn other VA skills apart from social media, you can opt for the complete Fully Booked VA program.
This is the whole shebang and teaches other specialities like Freelance Writing for VAs, Real Estate for VAs, Email Management for VAs, Project Management for VAs, and Virtual Assistant Agency. (See my full Fully Booked VA review here).
If you ONLY want to focus on social media, this course is the best bang for your buck, packing in tons of value for less than some of the more expensive courses.
2. The Social Media Managers’ Toolkit
The Social Media Managers’ Toolkit is a bundle course that helps you run the 8 key areas of your business.
You get a pricing calculator and formulas so you don’t undercharge for your services. It also includes a client onboarding process that simplifies your workflow.
Aside from technical biz skills, the toolkit comes with training on Facebook and Instagram ads.
This is one of the most expensive courses, which might be overwhelming if you want a more budget-friendly option.
3. The Freelance Social Media Management Roadmap
The Freelance Social Media Management Roadmap is an affordable social media management course.
It teaches how to become a freelance social media manager or build your own VA business.
The course also includes training on marketing your social media services, hosting a discovery call, and running Facebook ads.
The course is great for VAs who are already familiar with social media. But if you’re a newbie looking for more beginner-friendly training, this may not be the best option.
For that, I’d recommend Fully Booked VA, which covers everything from A to Z.
4. Become A Freelance Social Media Manager – Home Business
Become A Freelance Social Media Manager is a cheap social media VA course with over 1,000 reviews.
But there’s just one HUGE problem…
It hasn’t been updated in over three years. A lot has changed in social media over the past three years, so basically everything you learn will be outdated.
Some of the lessons that cover the business side of things may still be helpful.
But overall, if you’re going to pay for a course, it’s best to choose one that gets updated regularly.
5. Social Media Manager Pro
The Social Media Pro aims to help you become a freelance social media manager in 30 days.
It includes 20 modules on content marketing on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You’ll also learn how to price and package your services as a social media manager.
The course has a decent price, but it’s a yearly subscription, which means you can’t access it anymore after the first year.
This ends up being more expensive than our top recommendation, Social Media for Virtual Assistants, which also offers tons more content and freebies.
6. The Social Shells Social Media Manager Course
The Social Shells Program teaches social media marketing and business skills to help you launch your VA business in 8 weeks.
This course comes with live one-on-one coaching calls, a private membership community, and personalized package and pricing reviews — all valuable services.
But it comes at a steep price.
The Basic bundle costs $997. But if you want more hands-on training, the Signature bundle comes at $1,397.
7. Social Mums Social Media Manager Programme
The Social Media Manager Programme is a beginner-friendly SMM course.
It covers topics like using TikTok for business, creating great content and strategic campaigns, managing Facebook business pages, and learning about being a social media manager.
It’s a decent mid-ranged price course, but you’ll have to shell out $795 for their “Plus” package if you want personalized feedback.
These 1:1 sessions are a big value add. But for that price, you could almost buy the complete Fully Booked VA program, which includes way more than just social media skills.
8. Studio Socials SMM Academy
The Social Media Manager School is a 6-week course to help you build a social media manager business.
You get self-paced modules, social media checklists and templates, and training calls. This course is for women who want to trade their 9-5 jobs for a career in social media.
But it doesn’t come cheap.
The Silver package already costs $997. It goes up to $1,397 if you want 1-on-1 mentorship.
9. WIN at Starting a Social Media Management Business
The WIN at Starting a Social Media Management Business course on Udemy has over 9.7k students with a 4.4 rating.
For $40, you get basic lessons on finding clients, researching competitors, and running social media ads. But that’s about it.
This course is an example of “you get what you pay for.” It comes cheap but so does the content.
If you’re looking for an in-depth social media VA course that sets you up for success, this isn’t the best choice.
10. SMM Business Bundle Class
The SMM Business Bundle Class is for social media managers who want to start their own business.
It includes 3 standalone courses: Pricing & Packages, Getting New Clients, and Setup and Management. You get pre-recorded classes and live sessions to help you land high-paying clients.
One downside is it doesn’t include lessons on social media marketing or content strategy. These come in a separate course bundle, which costs $897 in total.
If you’re a beginner VA with little to no social media skills, the lessons might seem a bit advanced.
11. The Freelance SMM Bootcamp
The Freelance SMM Bootcamp is a social media management course for aspiring and current social media managers.
With 8 modules, you get lessons on inbound and outbound engagement, branding, and content creation to help you land more clients.
The website doesn’t say how much the course costs, which is kinda fishy. You have to book a discovery call to find out.
Social media is just one of MANY skills you can offer as a virtual assistant.
There are also training programs that take a more holistic approach and teach everything you need to know to become a successful VA from the ground up — including high-paying skills that go beyond social media.
Check out this list of overall best virtual assistant courses for the absolute top VA training programs on the market.
✨ Bonus Offer ✨
If you purchase using any link on this page, I’ll throw in my Work from Anywhere Toolkit ($25 value) for free. This mega-resource is packed with 200+ free (or very cheap) tools to help automate your business — and even do it while traveling the world!
Just forward me a copy of your receipt with subject line “WORK FROM ANYWHERE TOOLKIT BONUS” and I’ll give you access to the toolkit.
Mitch is your typical nomadic backpacker. Or at least, he was. But after stopping in Colombia to take “one week” of salsa lessons, his life took a sharp left turn. He met a cute Colombian girl in dance class, fell in love, and got married. Over half a decade has passed since he left his career to travel the world as a digital nomad, and he’s never looked back.
Nowadays, he’s the blogger behind Project Untethered — where he runs an awesome email newsletter and Youtube channel teaching adventure-craved wanderlusters how to escape the rat race, earn money from anywhere, and build an “untethered life”.
His advice has been featured in Forbes, USA Today, Yahoo, MSN, Reader’s Digest, Condé Nast Traveler, and more.
Mitch's Travel Recommendations:
Travel Planning Resources - Everything you need to plan your trip on one convenient page.
Going Cheap Flights Newsletter - Get flight deals from your airport up to 90% off sent straight to your inbox.
Safetywing Insurance - This cheap travel insurance has saved me over $15,000 in medical bills.
Booking.com - Book accommodation without adding your credit card (in case you need to cancel).
Trusted House Sitters - Take care of pets in exchange for free (sometimes luxury) accommodation.
Flexjobs - Find remote jobs without having to sift through crappy ones.
Skillshare - Free trial to take unlimited classes that teach digital nomad skills.
Wise - Send and receive money abroad cheaply (great for freelancers).