How to Build a Social Media Portfolio: 5 Tips with Examples 🤳

Find out how a social media manager portfolio can boost your career, with essential elements, expert tips, and real-life examples from Contra.

Are you a social media manager struggling to stand out in a saturated market? Your traditional CV may no longer be enough. 

To get the attention of hiring managers and potential clients, embrace the power of a social media manager portfolio — it’s an excellent way to showcase your expertise and project results. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down the concept of a portfolio, its formats, and essential elements you need to know about. We’ll also share actionable tips and real-life examples from Contra’s Independents to get you started.



What is a social media portfolio? ✨

This portfolio is a curated collection of an Independent’s best social media work demonstrating their expertise and accomplishments. This is a dynamic digital showcase that goes far beyond the limitations of a traditional CV. 

A portfolio offers an interactive overview of a social media marketer’s skills, creativity, and ability to generate results. It provides potential clients or employers with visually engaging, informative insight into their capabilities, making it easier to evaluate whether an Independent is suitable for a role.

Creating a digital portfolio allows social media marketers to highlight their unique strengths and tell a story about their passions. It's a wise avenue for standing out in a tight job market. 

How to make a social media manager portfolio: format and key elements 👇

Combining an engaging format and a handful of key elements creates a powerful display of who you are and what you have to offer in a hire. To capture the attention of potential clients, consider using one of the following formats:

• Presentation. A slideshow visually displays your work and accomplishments and is an easy format to share with potential clients.
• PDF. This portable document format can be attached to emails or downloaded from your website and provides a comprehensive view of your portfolio in a single file.
• Personal website. A portfolio website is a customizable online platform highlighting your work, experiences, and unique selling points. It’s interactive and visually engaging.

Today’s market is competitive, and creatively leveraging technology is one way to stand out from other Independents. Our experts recommend launching a personal website as your unique digital portfolio. Personal websites are customizable and easy to update; to kickstart your portfolio design, use Contra’s Portfolio tool, which provides various social media portfolio templates. 

What exactly should you include in your portfolio? Here’s what you need to have: 

• Your story. Describe your motivations, passion, and unique selling proposition in a concise bio. This personal touch lets potential clients understand who you are and what drives you as a social media manager.
• Your services. To demonstrate your expertise add a breakdown of the social media services you excel at, such as content creation, community management, and paid advertising. 
• Skills and tools. Include essential skills and social media tools you’ve mastered. Highlight a few crucial skills for the role, such as storytelling, strategic planning, content strategy, copywriting, and management, and showcase the top tools you’ve used, such as Buzzsumo, Sprout Social, and Hootsuite to demonstrate your proficiency in using industry-standard platforms.
• Case studies. Present your most successful campaigns. Don’t forget to include critical details, including the social media strategy, creative process, metrics, and results for each. Doing this allows potential clients to understand the breadth of your experience and the impact of your work.
• Client testimonials. Include glowing reviews from previous clients or coworkers. Social proof adds authenticity and personality — sometimes, it’s the thing that gets you hired. 
• Awards and recognitions. Feature any industry awards or notable achievements — these accolades don’t lie. 

5 tips for creating a winning social media manager portfolio 🌠

Building a stand-out portfolio for social media management is challenging but well worth it. Best practices include respecting your clients’ confidentiality, concision in your presentation, relevant work, emphasizing results, and leveraging your own social media presence — more on that below: 

Be aware of Non–Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) 📁

When you’re crafting your portfolio, keep NDAs you’ve signed with past clients top of your mind. You may need permission to use tangible visual assets from a project — why not reach out and ask? If showcasing some of your past projects is prohibited due to NDAs, consider crafting anonymized or fictionalized versions to demonstrate your skills without violating an agreement.

Be concise ✅

Potential clients may glance over your portfolio, so focusing on quality over quantity is essential. Include only your best work and add a short, informative overview of each project to ensure your portfolio highlights your strengths and capabilities without overwhelming the viewer.

Only include relevant work 💡

As you curate your portfolio, be mindful to include relevant projects. For freelance work in social media management, display projects that demonstrate your expertise in that field. Tailoring your portfolio to your specific audience increases the likelihood of capturing their attention. 

Focus on results 🚀

Potential clients want to know what you can accomplish for their brands, and your portfolio is the best platform to highlight the fantastic results you’ve achieved for others in the past. For concrete proof of the value you bring to the table, provide quantifiable results to emphasize the impact of your work — think increased engagement, followers, and conversion rates. 

Enhance your social media profiles 📱

Social media managers live and breathe social media — so spruce up your profiles and include them in your portfolio. Even if you’re not an influencer, your presence on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others is a testament to your skills. Optimize your profiles by showcasing your expertise, sharing relevant content, including up-to-date contact information, and engaging with your audience. Including these links allows potential clients to see firsthand how you manage and grow your online following.

Social media manager portfolio examples 😊

Are you just starting on your portfolio journey? Take a look at these inspiring examples from Independents at Contra:

Riana Alexa 🌟

This portfolio is an excellent overview of Riana’s services and diverse clientele. She indicates that a link to her full portfolio is available by request, where users can access in-depth case studies that detail her approach, goals, and results by clicking on individual projects. She uses high-quality visuals, clearly presents her achievements, and emphasizes her versatility. 

Jeck Louh Isidor 💫

Jeck’s portfolio is neatly organized, with a professional photograph and an informative “About” section. This Contra portfolio links to Jeck’s Canva portfolio, which provides more detailed information about his services and background. Jeck concisely demonstrates the value he intends to bring to his clients.

Brenida Thompson ❤️

This Contra portfolio is a prime example of a clean, simple overview of social media work and services. It includes Brenida’s recent projects, a short, straightforward services list, and an engaging “About” section. Brenida’s professional headshot lends credibility and adds a friendly tone to her portfolio. It includes a link to her full portfolio.

Embrace the power of Contra 🫶

A well-crafted social media manager portfolio can be the game-changer you need to land more jobs. Showcasing your expertise and project results elevates your brand and increases your chances of landing that dream project. To further boost your digital marketing business, join Contra Pro! We’re a commission-free platform designed for freelancers like you. We empower Independents by providing an avenue for collaborating, networking, and managing projects and payments, and our Portfolio tool makes getting your work online a breeze.



How to Become a Social Media Manager📱

Social media management is an exciting, fast-paced career. Read on to learn how to become a social media manager and what’s involved in the job.