I guess you could say I’m on social media. My business has a Facebook page and I post every now and then. But what else should I do?

Sound familiar? You’re not alone. It’s hard to keep up with social media marketing when you’re trying to run a small business. You know it’s important, but who has the time? That’s where online courses can help. You get to learn on your schedule—early in the morning before you open, at the end of the day, or whenever you get a spare moment. And best of all, many are free. 

Social media remains a key way to get (and keep) new customers. In fact, 86 percent of women consult social media before buying. So it’s worth it to invest in learning how to make it work for your business. Here are some free online courses to help you get up to speed on social media marketing. Many are sponsored by social media companies but you don’t have to use their product to benefit from the classes. 

Free Online Classes

Hootsuite Social Marketing Training – This is a series of six classes starting with the basics, like best practices for each social platform. Then graduate to more advanced topics like how to get followers and how paid advertising works on social media. You can also learn how to use their platform to schedule and monitor all of your social media posts.

Hubspot Academy Social Media Certification – A series of eight lessons with over  four hours of video content. You’ll learn how to create a social media plan, generate content, push it out so people will see it, sell using social media, and measure ROI. It includes tips from social media experts in various industries. Watch this interview with the series creator to learn more.

Introduction to Social Media Strategy – Ultimately, you want to increase sales using social media. But to get there, you need to set the stage first. Here’s a quick 45-minute course to help you develop a plan. It includes how to choose the right social media platform, create effective visual content, and monitor your progress. 

Skillshare Social Media Marketing Courses – Skillshare offers a variety of free online classes (many are less than 30 minutes). This is a good bet if you’re already on social media and want to stay up on what’s new. There are always new classes added. Current topics include “Create a Social Media Graphic in 10 Minutes,” “Getting Started with Twitter for Business,” and “How to Use Snapchat to Get Leads for Business Growth.” There are also classes on other topics that may interest you—accounting, leadership, and sales (to name a few). 

Social Media 101 – Social Media Quickstarter – Whether you’re just getting started or not sure what to do next, this series is for you. It features step-by-step instructions to get your business set up on the top social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat). The Facebook lesson covers topics like how to schedule posts, the best time to post, how to avoid common mistakes, and Facebook advertising ideas.

Social Media Analytics – Not sure if you’re getting a bang for your social media bucks? This beginner’s course covers the basic principles of social media analytics and why it’s important to your business. You’ll learn how to pick the measurement goals that are right for you. Then it helps you develop the reporting to track it, automatically. 

Take advantage of these resources to get the most from your social media investment. You set your own schedule and choose what you want to learn—all without breaking your budget.