Social media is now a required marketing channel, not an optional one.
You will not automatically see results from social media just because you use it. How successful you are depends on how much effort you put in.
Social media marketing can be extremely successful for businesses, but many are not seeing any results from their efforts. It’s time for this to change.
Many people use social media primarily as a means of self-promotion, creating content and sharing it in the hopes that it will be seen and shared by a large number of people. As a result, they often have nearly identical profiles across different networks.
This will not produce results. In reality, Facebook currently has a system that automatically lowers the ranking of posts containing links, and Instagram almost never allows users to share links.
If you’re not excited about promoting your content on social media, then you’re doing it wrong. Posting content on social media platforms without a strategy is just spamming.
Social marketing is a lot of work that requires time investment to be successful. This includes listening and responding to customers or clients.
How to Learn Social Media Marketing: 40 Free Resources
Social Media Marketing Blogs
social marketing involves using special communication skills to influence people’s behavior for the greater good. The landscape is constantly changing, so marketers have to be adaptable.
One of the best ways to develop your social media prowess and to stay up-to-date is to follow experts in the field. These blogs are always fresh with actionable information you can use to improve your marketing:
1. Social Media Explorer
The SME agency provides strategic services and is also a blog with many social media and marketing experts. The SME blog is often considered to be very insightful, and some of the authors have written popular books on various aspects of digital and social marketing.
2. Scott Monty
If you want to stay up to date with all the news on social media and digital marketing, you should check out Monty’s “this week in digital” posts.
3. Social Media Examiner
The Examiner is one of the top blogs in the world for social media. It is filled with valuable tips and data that social marketers want. If the author had to pick just one social media blog to follow, this would be the blog he would choose.
4. HubSpot Marketing Blog
You can find breaking news and actionable how-to guides on every social network there is right here on the HubSpot Marketing Blog.
Social Media Publishing Templates
5. Social Media Content Calendar Template
You should organize your social media content in an offline calendar before you load it into a publishing tool. The free template linked above allows you to sort your social media content in a spreadsheet that’s designed to help you track the day, time, and social media channel on which everything you create is being promoted.
6. Social Media Calendar Templates
This social media template allows you to track your social media campaigns and see which ones are getting the most engagement, which holidays they are aligned with, and which ones have paid promotion behind them. This can help you better focus your efforts on the campaigns that are most effective and get the most return on investment.
7. Airtable’s Content Calendar
You can use a project management platform like Airtable to track the progress of your social media content calendar in real time. Airtable comes with a content calendar format so you don’t have to force the platform to work for your business.
8. Social Media Image Templates
Images on social media garner more engagement than text. Use these social media image templates to ensure your designs are eye-catching from the start.
9. Instagram Templates for Business
If you want to be successful on Instagram, you need to post images that will appeal to your target audience. To make sure your images stand out from the rest, use Instagram templates to create posts that are in line with your brand.
Social Media Marketing Ebooks
The ebooks will go into more detail about certain networks and subjects.
10. How to Use Instagram for Business
The guide will show you how to set up your business account and start using Instagram to grow your business.
11. A Visual Guide to Creating the Perfect LinkedIn Company Page
This guide will show you how to do everything from crafting an engaging company description to creating an eye-catching banner image, whether you’re building a company page for the first time or trying to upgrade your page.
12. How to Attract Customers with Facebook
This ebook will show you how to use Facebook to drive business results for your organization.
13. How to Get More Twitter Followers
Twitter experts have provided some tips to help social media managers who are starting new accounts to build a following quickly.
14. The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
This guide from Moz is really helpful. It’s filled with tons of information that every marketer should know. Be sure to bookmark it, since you’ll want to refer back to it later.
15. How to Create High-Quality Videos for Social Media
Ensuring that your company’s social media accounts are regularly updated with both images and videos is key to driving engagement from your followers. Although it may seem daunting to produce high-quality videos, the process can be simpler than you might expect. The guide mentioned above provides instructions on how to quickly set up a production studio in your office.
Social Media Marketing Courses
16. Developing an End-to-End Instagram Marketing Strategy for Your Business
This course will teach you how to stand up an Instagram marketing strategy. The course consists of 3 lessons, 13 videos, and 3 quizzes.
17. Putting Social Media to Work for Your Coaching Business
Even consultants need consultants to learn how to be a consultant. The free Udemy course linked above will teach you how to use social media to market your business as a coach or consultant in your industry.
18. Developing an End-to-End Facebook Marketing Strategy
This hour-long course teaches the basics of Facebook marketing, which is opposite the Instagram marketing course linked in #16.
19. Social Media Influencer Course
If you’re not familiar with influencer marketing, it’s a form of marketing that involves working with someone who has a large following on social media to promote your brand. This course by Captevrix will teach you how to find an influencer who aligns with your brand and how to work with them to get the most out of your partnership.
Social Media Marketing Videos
I tend to learn better from videos than I do from books. I like being able to see the person who is talking and get insights into why they are doing certain things. These videos will help you learn not only how to do social media, but also why it is important.
20. The #AskGaryVee Show
Can’t discuss social media w/o mentioning Gary Vaynerchuk. On Gary Vee Show, he answers questions from his audience. Got a question about social media marketing? Send it to him.
21. TED Talks: Social Media Marketing
If you aren’t excited about TED, you might want to check if you’re still alive. This is a playlist of videos from TED Talks on social media. There may not be a lot of practical advice in these videos, but if you want to become an expert on social media, these videos will give you an idea of the deeper subject, like “the hidden influence of social networks.”
22. Learn Social Media Marketing
If you’re new to social media and you want to learn through a structured lesson experience, consider courses from Lynda’s massive library on social marketing.
23. Free Social Media Certification
The HubSpot Academy provides a wide range of video courses about inbound and digital marketing. You can learn the basics of managing a social media campaign for your business by taking their free social media course. Plus, you’ll earn a Social Media Certification.
Social Media Podcasts
If you’re looking for a way to learn while you’re doing something else, like working out or commuting, podcasts are a great option. These podcasts will help you improve your social media skills.
24. Social Media Marketing Podcast
Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner interviews social media marketing experts to bring listeners success stories and advice.
25. The Social Toolkit
This podcast is great for people who want to stay informed about digital tools, apps, and software for social media marketing.
26. The Social Pros Podcast
The Social Pros Podcast features interviews with successful social media marketers from a variety of companies. Jay Baer of Convince and Convert is a regular guest on the show, providing insights and advice based on his own experience.
Slideshows & Infographics About Social Media
If you’re a visual learner, you can learn social media by looking at slide decks and infographics.
27. The B2B Social Media Palette
This SlideShare illustrates the different channels and tools that are necessary for successful B2B social media marketing. It is important to use the correct tools and channels that will reach the intended audience.
28. The Complete Guide to the Best Times to Post on Social Media
It is important to time social media posts correctly or the update may go unnoticed due to the number of other updates in the audience’s feed. Being able to time social media posts well is essential to successful marketing.
29. 58 Social Media Tips for Content Marketers
This deck from Content Marketing Institute shows the proper methods for promoting your content over social media. This is a must-read for any social marketer who wants to use those channels to promote content.
30. The Best and Worst Times to Post on Social Media
The timing of your social media posts is important. This infographic shows the best and worst times to post on each major network. Save it so you can reference it when you are planning your social media posts.
Social Media Marketing Books
If you want to learn more about marketing, experts say that reading a book on the subject matter each week for five years is equivalent to having a PhD. Though this may not be entirely accurate, it’s certainly not harmful to read books written by experts in the field. The following are some titles to get you started.
31. The B2B Social Media Book
The book demonstrates how social marketing can be used to effectively drive leads and revenue for B2B companies.
32. The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users
This book by Guy Kawasaki is a must-read. He is one of the pioneers of social and content marketing, and the book is filled with expert advice from him.
33. The Tao of Twitter
This book is designed for busy marketers who need to understand the basics of Twitter quickly. It takes you through how to connect and start building meaningful relationships in less than two hours.
34. The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising
This book will show you how to get the most out of your Facebook advertising by targeting a specific audience and optimizing your ads.
How to Start Social Media Marketing
- Go where your customers are.
- Be helpful. Period.
- Set realistic and measurable goals.
- Maximize your existing resources.
- Have conversations.
1. Go where your customers are.
It’s not necessary to be on every social media platform. A common mistake when beginning is to try to be present on too many platforms. If you don’t have much marketing material, determine which platform(s) your audience is most likely to be using and then focus on creating worthwhile content and experiences for that platform. You can always branch out to different platforms later.
2. Be helpful. Period.
Audiences generally don’t watch TV or use social media intending to view commercials. If your only goal with social media is to promote yourself, you likely won’t get very far, because people typically don’t log in intending to be sold to.
The 80/20 Rule is a guideline that suggests that 80% of your content should be focused on your audience and their needs, while only 20% should be about your company. By creating content that is relevant and interesting to your target audience, you can earn their attention and engagement.
This principle suggests that in order to be successful in social media marketing, you should provide your audience with content 80% of the time, and promote your brand 20% of the time. If your audience enjoys your content, they will be more likely to see your promotional messages as well. However, you should be careful not to overload your audience with too much promotion.
3. Set realistic and measurable goals.
If you start your social media marketing without knowing where you want to go, you might not achieve anything. Figure out what you want to get out of your social media marketing, so that you can set goals and track your progress.
For example, if you want to increase your brand awareness on social media, you would look at your posts’ reach and how your audience is growing. However, if you want to drive traffic from your website, you would measure click-throughs.
It is important to set a benchmark so you can set realistic goals. Having goals that are achievable will help you measure performance and make accurate predictions for strategic planning.
4. Maximize your existing resources.
Think about how often you want to publish content, and plan your resources accordingly. Creating content can be demanding, so it’s important not to overdo it. Instead, look for ways to adapt and reuse existing content to get the most out of your resources.
5. Have conversations.
Don’t forget to include the social aspect in your social media marketing. Social media marketing isn’t just about broadcasting your message; it’s about communicating with your audience. You can increase brand awareness by interacting with your audience online, and this engagement is usually more memorable and enjoyable than impersonal interactions.
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