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how to learn social media marketing skills

How to Learn Social Media Marketing: 39 Resources for Beginners

marketing student learning from social media marketing resources

Social media is no longer an optional marketing channel — it’s a necessary one.

But that doesn’t mean results are a given. When it comes to social media, you’ll either have a lot of success interacting with your customers, or you’ll see little results — and that depends on the level of effort you put into it.

For every business that has found success in social media marketing, there are at least two more spinning their social wheels with no tangible results. It’s time to change that trend.

For many, social media is simply a place to post links to content they’ve created in hopes that thousands will see it, click through, and share with their followers. So they have profiles on every network, and every network looks exactly the same; line after line of self-promotion.

This is not going to bring results. In fact, Facebook’s algorithm now penalizes link-based content, and Instagram has made it all-but-impossible to share a link.

Half-heartedly sharing your content on social media is not social media marketing. It’s spamming.

Social marketing is a lot of work, and it takes time listening and responding. After all, it’s social, and anything social takes an investment of effort and skill.

To hone these skills, check out these resources that will help you develop the skills needed to be effective on social media. (You may want to bookmark this post so you can easily refer to it again later.)

  • Social Media Marketing Blogs
  • Social Media Publishing Templates
  • Social Media Marketing Ebooks
  • Social Media Marketing Courses
  • Social Media Marketing Videos
  • Social Media Podcasts
  • Slideshows & Infographics About Social Media
  • Social Media Marketing Books
  • How to Start Social Media Marketing

Social Media Content Calendar Template

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How to Learn Social Media Marketing: 40 Free Resources

Social Media Marketing Blogs

Social marketing is a science involving special communication skills. And the landscape changes constantly.

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

SME is both a strategic services agency and a blog with a bevy of social media and marketing experts. The SME blog is consistently considered one of the most insightful in the industry, and several of its authors have written popular books on several aspects of digital and social marketing.

2. Scott Monty

Monty is a marketing guru who covers a ton of subjects. However, his social media articles are always eye-opening. If you haven’t heard of him yet, check out his “this week in digital” posts — these will keep you up-to-date with all the news on social, and every other aspect of digital marketing as well.

3. Social Media Examiner

Not to be confused with Social Media Explorer, the Examiner is one of the top blogs in the world for social media. Its social media reports are filled with all the important data social marketers want, and the blog posts are filled with valuable tips, as well. If I had to pick just one social media blog to follow, this is the one I would choose.

4. HubSpot Marketing Blog

Right here on the HubSpot Marketing Blog, you can find breaking news and actionable how-to guides on every social network there is.

Social Media Publishing Templates

5. Social Media Content Calendar Template

Before you load your social media content into a publishing tool (HubSpot has one, when you’re ready for it), you’ll want to organize it all in an offline calendar. 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 helps you track your social media campaigns not just by social network, but by how much engagement they get, which holidays they’re aligned with, and which ones have paid promotion behind them.

7. Airtable’s Content Calendar

Once you’ve organized your social media calendar into a spreadsheet — like the one linked to #6, above — you might also want to load this content into a project management platform so you can track its progress in real time. Airtable is one such platform to help you do that, and it comes with a content calendar format so you don’t have to shoehorn the platform around your business.

8. Social Media Image Templates

It’s well-known that visuals get more engagement on social media than just text. Get your designs off on the right foot with this collection of social media image templates.

9. Instagram Templates for Business

Instagram is the most image-focused social network out there, and because of that, not just any image will reach your audience. To cut through the crowds, use this collection of Instagram templates to create brand-aligned posts that resonate with your audience.

Social Media Marketing Ebooks

These ebooks will provide deeper information on specific networks and topics.

10. How to Use Instagram for Business

This step-by-step guide explains the reasons to create a business Instagram account and how to execute on Instagram to drive results.

11. A Visual Guide to Creating the Perfect LinkedIn Company Page

If you’re building a company page for the first time, or trying to upgrade your page, this guide will show you exactly how to do everything from crafting an engaging company description to creating an eye-catching banner image.

12. How to Attract Customers with Facebook

This multi-page ebook will show you how to use Facebook to drive real business results for your organization.

13. How to Get More Twitter Followers

HubSpot partnered with the experts at Twitter to provide actionable tips for social media managers starting new accounts to build a following, and fast.

14. The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media

Here’s an amazing guide from Moz. The 12 chapters in this book are filled with valuable information that every marketer absolutely needs to know. Bookmark this guide, you’ll refer to it more than once.

15. How to Create High-Quality Videos for Social Media

Like images, videos drive a ton of engagement on social media. And although the idea of shooting a quality video for your social channels sounds daunting, it’s actually easier than you think. Grab the free guide above to learn how to quickly turn your office into a production studio.

Social Media Marketing Courses

16. Developing an End-to-End Instagram Marketing Strategy for Your Business

This free course in the HubSpot Academy will teach you how to stand up an Instagram marketing strategy in just 95 minutes. 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, well, 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

Opposite the Instagram marketing course linked in #16, above, take this hour-long course to learn the basics of Facebook marketing.

19. Social Media Influencer Course

You’ve probably heard of influencer marketing — it’s particularly common in the context of social media. Take this course by Captevrix to learn how to work with an Influencer who resonates with your audience to promote your brand.

Social Media Marketing Videos

Videos are my second favorite medium to learn, behind books. Being able to glean from the brightest minds on any subject as if you’re face-to-face is powerful. These videos will give you valuable insights, just how to do social media, but you’ll get insights into the why and what as well.

20. The #AskGaryVee Show

You can’t talk about social media without talking about the speaker, author, and social expert Gary Vaynerchuk. On the Gary Vee Show, he takes questions from his audience and answers them as only he can. If you have a burning question on social media marketing, send it to him.

21. TED Talks: Social Media Marketing

If you aren’t in love with TED, you might want to check your pulse. This is a playlist of videos from TED Talks on social media. There may not be that much actionable advice in these videos, but if you want to become an expert on social media, these videos will give you insight into the deeper subject like “the hidden influence of social networks.”

22. Learn Social Media Marketing

If you’re really new to social media, and you want to learn through a structured lesson experience, consider Lynda’s massive library on social marketing courses.

23. Free Social Media Certification

HubSpot Academy has a breadth of video courses across inbound and digital marketing. Their free social media course is an eight-step video curriculum that teaches you the fundamentals of managing a social media campaign for your business. It also earns you a fresh Social Media Certification.

Social Media Podcasts

If you like to learn while you chill, work out, or commute to and from work, podcasts are one of the best ways to do it. And these podcasts will help you develop your social media expertise.

24. Social Media Marketing Podcast

Michael Stelzner, from Social Media Examiner, brings you success stories and expert interviews from leading social media marketing pros.

25. The Social Toolkit

If you like to stay up-to-date on digital tools, apps, and software for social media marketing, this is the podcast for you.

26. The Social Pros Podcast

Every episode of the Social Pros Podcast shines the light on real pros doing real work for real companies. You’ll get insights from Jay Baer of Convince and Convert when you tune in.

Slideshows & Infographics About Social Media

If you’re a visual learner, these slide decks and infographics provide great ways to learn social media.

27. The B2B Social Media Palette

This SlideShare walks you through the channels and tools you’ll need to be most effective at B2B social media marketing. Sometimes, success can be found by using the right tools and channels for the right audience.

28. The Complete Guide to the Best Times to Post on Social Media

Timing is very important when it comes to social media. Post it the wrong time, and your update can go completely unnoticed because of the flood of updates in your audience’s feeds. Being able to master the timing of social media is critical to effective marketing.

29. 58 Social Media Tips for Content Marketers

This slideshow is from the folks at Content Marketing Institute. This deck 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

Again, timing is everything. This infographic lays out the best and worst times to post on each major network. You should save this infographic for referencing when you schedule your social media posts.

Social Media Marketing Books

Books are my favorite way to learn. Many experts agree that if you read a book a week, on your area of expertise, for 5 years, you will have the equivalent of a Ph.D. on the subject. That may or may not be true, but reading books from the experts definitely doesn’t make you a worse marketer. Here are some books to get you started.

31. The B2B Social Media Book

This book covers the specific application of social marketing to B2B companies, to leverage social media to drive leads and revenue.

32. The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users

You’ve got to read this book by the legendary former Chief Evangelist of Apple, Guy Kawasaki. He’s one of the pioneers of social and content marketing, and this book is filled with expert advice from one of the best.

33. The Tao of Twitter

This book is supposed to be for busy marketers who need to get the basics of Twitter down quickly. It shows you how to connect and start creating meaningful connections in less than two hours.

34. The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising

Facebook is one of the most effective advertising and PPC platforms available. You can target a plethora of metrics, allowing you to drill down and advertise to a very specific audience. This book will show you how to optimize your Facebook ads.

35. Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World

Gary Vaynerchuk gives insight into how he uses a conversational, reactionary approach to engaging his audience. He gives concrete, visual examples of great social marketing, as well as not-so-great ones.

36. The New Rules of Marketing and PR

David Meerman Scott’s book on digital marketing is an international bestseller, and worth every penny. Some argue that it should be required reading for any marketer — and in this marketer’s opinion, “Just read it.”

37. Likeable Social Media

Dave Kerpen claims the secret to viral social marketing is to be likable. When someone likes you, they’ll recommend you. But being likable on social networks is easier said than done. This book will help you crack that code.

38. Social Media Marketing for Dummies

One of my mentors taught me to read children’s books on a subject if I just couldn’t grasp a concept. That principle gave way to movements like “Explain It Like I’m 5.” And, sometimes you just need it broken down like you’re, well, less than an expert on the topic, to put it gently. If that’s you, this book is valuable. Go ahead and buy it — we won’t call you dummy.

39. Contagious: Why Things Catch On

This book by Jonah Berger provides a strong foundation to understand how content goes viral — and how to create ideas on social media that are so catchy, your audience won’t be able to help but click them.

Now that you’ve reviewed the top social media marketing resources, it’s time to create your action plan for getting out there and actually doing it.

How to Start Social Media Marketing

  1. Go where your customers are.
  2. Be helpful. Period.
  3. Set realistic and measurable goals.
  4. Maximize your existing resources.
  5. Have conversations.
  6. Listen to your audience.
  7. Don’t get trapped by #followback loops.
  8. Focus on quality, not quantity.
  9. Never copy/paste the same message into every social profile.
  10. Never stop learning.

1. Go where your customers are.

You don’t have to be on every network. It’s a common mistake when starting out to overextend across platforms. If you’re running short on marketing resources, identify which platform (or two) your audience is most likely to be found and then double-down on creating meaningful content and experiences on that platform. You can always expand your efforts into different platforms later.

2. Be helpful. Period.

Audiences watch TV to be entertained, get informed, or unwind, not to view commercials. The same is true for social media users. Chances are, if you do nothing except promote yourself, you won’t get far with social media because signing into social media is not indicative that they’re ready to be sold to.

So how do you meet audiences on their turf in a way that’s earns you meaningful awareness and engagement? The 80/20 Rule.

This “rule” states that successful social media marketing means providing something for the audience 80% of the time and promoting your brand 20% of the time. If your audience is hungry for your content, they’re much more willing to also accept promotional messaging as long as it’s not too overwhelming or obtrusive.

3. Set realistic and measurable goals.

If you begin your social media marketing efforts with no destination in mind, you may find yourself floundering. Get clear on what you need from your efforts so that you can set goals and measure your progress towards them.

For example, you might be using social media to increase your brand awareness, which means you’d look at your posts’ reach and how your audience is growing. On the other hand, if you want to drive traffic from your website, you might measure click-throughs.

It’s important also to begin with a benchmark so that you can set realistic goals. Shooting for the moon is nice, but you’ll also want to measure against achievable milestones to gauge performance and make accurate (within reason) predictions for strategic planning.

4. Maximize your existing resources.

Sit down and decide on a publishing schedule that is appropriate for the network you’ve chosen and the resources you have for content creation. Creating content can be arduous, even if you choose just one or two platforms, so it’s important not to overtax your resources. Instead, consider ways that you can utilize, adapt, and repurpose existing content to make your resources stretch even further.

5. Have conversations.

Don’t forget the “social” in “social media.” Social media marketing isn’t about broadcasting; it’s about communicating. By interacting with your audience online, you can increase brand awareness by increasing engagement. In addition, this engagement tends to be more memorable and delightful than non-personalized interactions.

6. Listen to your audience.

Customer feedback, direct mentions of your brand, and even industry chatter can all inform your social strategy. By listening to the conversations your audience has on social media, you can come up with new ideas for content based on real-time industry trends, shifting your social media marketing strategy to fit their needs. Social listening tools such as HubSpot and Sprout Social can streamline this process and lead to amazing insights.

7. Don’t get trapped by #followback loops.

You may notice trends such as #followfridays as you’re establishing your platform. It may be tempting to participate, but these follow chains can often lead to a large audience of unengaged followers who aren’t interested in your brand. This isn’t an ideal way to grow. The best thing you can do is check out these follow trains and see if there are any individuals that you or your business wants to follow based on their perspectives rather than simply as a reciprocal act of increasing numbers.

8. Focus on quality, not quantity.

This tip can be applied to so many things in the social media space:

  • Quality, not quantity, of followers
  • Quality, not quantity, of posts you create
  • Quality, not quantity, of promotions

The fact of the matter is, even though it may seem like slow growth over time, quality matters on social media and will drive more meaningful results and better ROI, which is the foundation of successful social media marketing.

9. Never copy/paste the same message into every social profile.

If you’re on multiple platforms, it’s best to adhere to best practices for that specific platform. While it may be tempting to create the same message and promote the same way to save time, this can actually hurt the experience for social media users. Each platform has different native browsing behavior, image thumbnail formats, character counts, best practices for hashtags, and more. For optimal experience (and performance), understand what works best on each social media channel and tailor your messaging to fit.

10. Never stop learning.

No matter how many social networks you set out to master, or how long you work in the social marketing field, there is one secret that will ensure you’re successful: Never stop learning.

Social media constantly changes, so it’s impossible to master this topic with a once-and-done approach; it requires continual education.

The list above is massive, I know, and there’s no way to consume all these resources in the next week. But if you set yourself to learning every day, every week, every month, every year, you’ll eventually be the one writing the books that help others learn social marketing.

Top 12 Social Media Marketing Skills You Need in 2022

Top 12 Social Media Marketing Skills You Need in 2021

Table of Contents

The demand for social media skills and social media marketing pros is growing exponentially, and if a brand doesn’t exist on social media today, it is likely going to fall behind and lose out to competitors. 

Over 2.45 billion population is using Facebook, with millions also using social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, and 1 billion users on YouTube, it’s obvious that ignoring social media skills will lead to lost opportunities for revenue and brand building. This makes social media marketing skills critically important. If you’re considering a job in social media marketing, or you need to add social media skills to your repertoire as a digital marketer, a certification is an excellent way to get a solid foundation in the field. In addition to the skills you can learn through a certification program, however, there are other skills you must have to succeed in the marketing arena. 

Post Graduate Program in Digital Marketing

With Purdue University & co-created with Facebook

Post Graduate Program in Digital Marketing

Top 12 Social Media Skills

1. Excellent Communication

The first social media skill you must have is – communication. It goes without saying that if you want to represent an organization and engage with their customers, then you need to have strong communication skills. You also need good communication skills for getting along with colleagues, putting your ideas and campaigns into words, and to be the voice of your brand on a global stage!

2. Creativity 

One of the most important attributes of social media marketing skills is creativity. Social media users tend to unfollow a brand if the content shared is repetitive or boring. To keep followers engaged and hooked, social media marketers need to consistently come up with new and engaging ideas, creative initiatives, and campaigns. From interactive content to contests to viral videos, social media marketers will need to think of innovative ways to stand apart from the millions of others on social media. 

3. Writing Ability

Although images and videos dominate much of social media skills, writing also plays a critical role. Whether you’re creating a post or crafting a tweet, writing stands as an essential part of a social media marketer’s job profile. If headlines aren’t magnetic or captivating enough, it’s likely people are not going to be motivated enough to click.

Free Course: Instagram Marketing Basics

Master Instagram Marketing Basics in One Go

Free Course: Instagram Marketing Basics

4. Content Curation 

Content curation has always been a major part of social media marketing skills, primarily for those businesses that do not have the time to create a steady flow of content on their own. Content curation is an important social media marketing skill since they will need to know when to share, what to share and how to share, in addition to being familiar with content sources and audience preferences. 

5. Project Management

As multi-taskers extraordinaire, social media marketers need good project management skills. They need to create publishing schedules, track contacts, and maintain social media profiles. They will need to run reports, meet with designers and writers, manage ad budgets, and much more. With strong project management skills, the best social media managers will stay on top of all tasks as well as know when content needs to be published, what to plan for, and how to keep track of all the different social media conversations going on.

6. Aptitude to Learn

You already know technology changes constantly and new social media platforms appear while and new features are regularly added to the existing platforms, be it Instagram reels or LinkedIn stories. In addition to that flux, consumer expectations can change on a whim as well. A good social media marketer willingly learns on-the-fly as needed. 

7. Marketing 

Although you’re using social media as the tool, you’re still marketing, which means a must have social media skill is marketing and you need a solid understanding of basic marketing principles. You don’t need a marketing degree, but you do need good foundational knowledge about how marketing works.

Social Media Foundation – Free Course

Learn the Basics Of Social Media Marketing

Social Media Foundation - Free Course

8. Flexibility

Change is a constant in social media, and the best social media marketers are those who can quickly adapt to a new situation or respond to something that is happening in the social media environment, whether good or bad. This makes flexibility another must have social media skill!

9. Strategic Thinking

Next in the list of top social media skills comes strategic thinking. Social media might seem like it’s all fun, but successful social media marketing requires strategy. You can learn social media strategy as part of your training, but it helps to have a mind that works that way too, and a natural aptitude for strategic thinking.  

10. Relationship Building 

Social media marketers also need to reach out to influencers and that makes relationship building a crucial skill to develop. 

11. Community Management 

Take a close look at the brands with a big social media presence and you’ll see they all have one thing in common: community, a must-have social media skill! Social media marketing requires building connections and an online community to succeed.

12. Analytical Skills 

Finally, at the end of the day, you need to know if your marketing is working. And that’s why analytical skill is one of the most important and advantageous social media skill. You can learn how to check metrics and reporting, but having an analytical mind will help you make sense of all that data—so you can make informed decisions instead of relying on assumptions.


Do you need to be strong in all 12 of these skills to succeed as a social media marketer? Not necessarily. If you’re strong in a few, you will do well, especially when you also get formal training on which to build your social media marketing career. And when you’re aware of your strengths and weaknesses, you can choose to improve in those areas that need it. So start learning now and build an amazing social media marketing career in 2021! You can also check out our Master’s in Digital Marketing Course and Post Graduate Digital Marketing Certification Program to learn more about Digital Marketing.

social media tutorials for beginners

A Complete Guide on How to Do Social Media Marketing

A Complete Guide on How to Do Social Media Marketing

Table of Contents

From marketers being able to expose their products and services to a limited number of people, to have a global audience as their stage – with the advent of social media, marketing has evolved quite significantly. . And with the introduction to social media, the role of social media marketing is on the rise too. And this social media marketing tutorial will help you with some data, insights, and quick tips and tricks to win your social media marketing game. 

How was Marketing Done Earlier?

Before the introduction of Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, LinkedIn, or any other social media platform, marketers had to use some innovative methods to market their content. They used:

marketing done earlier

And a lot of these marketing practices have evolved over the years, and thanks to social media marketing, the process of marketing products and services has gotten a whole lot tougher. Now, let’s have a look at what social marketing actually is. 

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social Media Marketing includes increasing website traffic, engagement, brand awareness, and other marketing goals by designing various types of content for different social media platforms. The content can be in the form of videos, blogs, infographics, or any other forms that have the potential to go viral.

If it’s done right, social media marketing can be beneficial to you in several ways:

  • Increase brand awareness 
  • Boost conversions rates 
  • Improve search engine ratings
  • Build top-funnel traffic
  • Lower marketing campaign costs

While Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter are the most popular platforms, there are hundreds of others out there. They come in many flavors, like — microblogging, B2B networking, video sharing, content sharing, bookmarking, Q&A, and so on. Let’s dig in a little deeper.

Why is Social Media Marketing Useful?

Social media marketing can be highly beneficial to your business when done right. Here are some reasons why:

  1. It improves brand awareness
  2. Higher conversion rates
  3. Improved search engine rankings
  4. Cost-effectiveness
  5. Increased top-funnel traffic

Digital Marketing Specialist Master’s Program

Digital Marketing Specialist Master's Program

What are the Channels Used for Social Media Marketing? 

Although there are several channels through which you can perform Social Media Marketing, some of the most commonly used social media platforms are: 

  1. Facebook
  2. Instagram
  3. LinkedIn
  4. YouTube
  5. Twitter
social media marketing channels

Next? Next, we will explore each of these apps and platforms in detail.

1. Facebook 

By far, Facebook is the largest social networking site in the world, and arguably, the most popular social media platform. It allows users with common interests to build online communities. Facebook can also be used to improve brand awareness. If you have a business, you should create a separate Facebook page from your profile. Create original or share engaging content with a little self-promotion here and there. If you look at Coca-Cola’s Facebook page, for instance, they don’t necessarily use their Facebook page to push their products on people. Instead,  the company publishes a variety of posts about things like recycling and community involvement to build brand awareness. Companies can also leverage user-generated content to promote their brand by sharing how much other customers love their products or services.

What’s extra helpful for businesses and marketers is Facebook Insights. Updated weekly, these give you insight into how people are interacting with your posts, or how successful your campaign is. Metrics include page views, engagement, likes, shares of your posts, and more. It’s worth noting that data is only accessible for the last two years, and demographic data like age, gender, and location, are only available once there are at least 100 users.

Social Media Marketing - Facebook Insights

Here are some features of Facebook you need to know. 

  1. 62 percent of Facebook users are aged over 35 (Oblero)
  2. 76 percent of the audience is below the age of 25 (SproutSocial)
  3. 75 and 63 percent of females and males respectively are on Facebook (SproutSocial)
  4. Video content provides the greatest amount of engagement
  5. Industries that can capitalize on Facebook are: food and beverages, news and media, and e-commerce
  6. Some of the most liked pages on Facebook are of the brands Samsung, Coca Cola, Amazon, etc. 

Free Course: Instagram Marketing Basics

Free Course: Instagram Marketing Basics

How Can You Take Advantage of Facebook?

  1. Create a Facebook page for your business
  2. Create original content that is relevant to your audience and with occasional self-promotion
  3. Take advantage of user-generated content like sharing a user’s experience of using your product
  4. Fix a schedule for posting your content
  5. Advertise your posts using Facebook Ads (single image ads, video ads, etc.)
  6. Use insights obtained from FB ads for continuous optimization

2. Instagram 

Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, enables you to promote your brand or products through photos and videos. It has over 1 billion monthly users. Instagram’s popularity is primarily due to its simplicity — all you need is a mobile phone to upload a photo or video.  You can also post ads on Instagram, and since Facebook owns it, you can run Facebook ads alongside Instagram ads to boost your posts. Facebook Ads Manager allows you to choose to also advertise on Instagram, and you can also decide whether to post the ad as a story or feed. Instagram is not limited to any industry, but it’s used most often in beauty, food and beverage, and eCommerce. With eCommerce, for instance, customers can purchase products through the platform.

Social Media Marketing - Instagram

Here are some features of Instagram you need to know:

  1. The average number of monthly users on Instagram is 1 billion (Instagram)
  2. 43 percent of females are Instagram users (SproutSocial)
  3. 29 percent of the audience is between the ages of 18 and 24 (Statista)
  4. Content that works better on Instagram are photos and videos
  5. Industries that are successful on Instagram are: beauty, food and beverages, and e-commerce
  6. Some of the most followed brands on Instagram are Chanel, Starbucks, and Nike

Here Are Some Ways to Take Advantage of Instagram

  1. Have a compelling bio, a good profile picture, and a link to your website, and don’t be afraid to use emojis
  2. Follow relevant accounts from your industry
  3. Use plenty of relevant hashtags, and also use both video and image content
  4. Get shoutouts from other influencers
  5. Regularly update your Instagram stories
  6. Run contests to boost engagement, and Instagram ads to give your posts a boost

3. LinkedIn 

In the B2B arena, LinkedIn reigns. LinkedIn is a powerful B2B platform that also serves as a sort of online resume for a person or a business. For lead generation, LinkedIn should be the first platform to consider as it is 277% more effective at generating leads than other social media platforms.  You can create an engaging business profile for your LinkedIn page by giving information about the products and services you offer, a history of the business, accolades, and so on. 

Like Facebook and Instagram, you can also advertise on LinkedIn. Images, videos, and slideshow presentations perform well. You can also “pin” updates on your page to promote specific content and use LinkedIn metrics to determine the success of your ad campaigns. So, LinkedIn marketing is crucial for professionals who are studying how to start social media marketing.

Let’s have a look at some features of LinkedIn:

  1. Average number of monthly active users is around 675 million (LinkedIn)
  2. 57 percent of the user base are men, and 24 percent of the user base are millennials (HootSuite)
  3. LinkedIn Is 277 percent more effective at generating B2B leads
  4. Content that works on LinkedIn are blogs, industry news, and work tips and best practices,

Here Are Some Ways to Take Advantage of LinkedIn

  1. Create an engaging profile for yourself
  2. Create a company page for your business
  3. Optimize your companies’ page for search engines
  4. Use more media like images, videos, and SlideShare presentations
  5. Boost content that you feel is the best 
  6. Use LinkedIn ads campaigns (sponsored content, text ads, or dynamic ads)

4. YouTube 

YouTube, which is owned by Google, is a video sharing platform with over 1.9 billion monthly active users worldwide. Given the level of engagement that videos get, it’s no surprise that if it were a search engine, it would be the second most popular, after Google. Like Facebook and Instagram, the YouTube mobile app is top-rated — 70 percent of videos are viewed from mobile phones. A ton of industries and some of the world’s most successful brands are on YouTube, so if you are a business, you want to be on YouTube.

Here are some features of YouTube you need to know:

  1. Average number of monthly active users: 1.9 billion (YouTube)
  2. The highest number of active users are from the US, Brazil, Russia, Japan, and India
  3. 70 percent of viewers use their smartphones to surf through YouTube
  4. The only thing that works on YouTube: Videos
  5. Industries that can capitalize on YouTube: gaming, entertainment, and vlogs
  6. Some of the most successful brands on YouTube are: LEGO, RedBull, and Coca Cola

Now Let’s Have a Look at How You Can Take Advantage of YouTube

  1. Optimize your video for SEO to get views
  2. Upload new videos regularly and fix a schedule for making them live
  3. Organize videos on playlists
  4. Provide translations for video
  5. Use Youtube Ads (skippable and non-skippable ads or display ads)
  6. Collaborate with influencers

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5. Twitter 

Your knowledge on ‘How to start social media marketing’ is incomplete without knowing about Twitter Marketing. Twitter is a microblogging platform where users create short messages (tweets) with links to other content. It is particularly popular with millennials and has over 326 million monthly active users. Many people around the world use Twitter to get instant news, media, and entertainment. Videos work well on Twitter, and as we keep pointing out, drive more engagement. Another way to help people find your content is by using hashtags in your tweets. Born in a tweet in 2007, hashtags are now widely used across many platforms. They are like a metadata tag, which helps users find specific content.

Because of the 280 character limit, we also recommend using Twitter Cards for social media marketing. Twitter Cards allow you to attach vibrant photos or videos and different media experiences to Tweets, helping to drive traffic to and engagement on your website. 

Here are features of Twitter you need to know: 

  1. Average number of monthly active users: 330 million(Twitter)
  2. 81 percent of millennials use Twitter on their smartphones (WebFx)
  3. 71 percent of the audience in America uses Twitter to get access to news and recent updates. (HootSuite)
  4. Content that works: videos, infographics, evergreen articles, etc.
  5. Industries that can capitalize on Twitter: beauty and fitness, news and media, entertainment
  6. Some of the most influential brands on Twitter are: MAC Cosmetics, CNN and Playstation

Now, Let’s Have a Look at How to Make Good Use of the Features Offered by Twitter

  1. Implement Twitter cards: images, videos, media experiences
  2. Build up a Twitter following
  3. Engage with influencers
  4. Us Twitter ads (promoted tweets, accounts, and trends)
  5. Use appropriate hashtags
  6. Use tweet chat to find new connections who might be interested in your product/ service
Social Media Marketing - Users Data

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Tools for Social Media Marketing

When you start posting more and leveraging multiple platforms, it can become a challenge to manage the process or monitor the success of your efforts in social media marketing. There are several powerful social media management platforms available to automate and keep track of many of the tasks in your campaigns.

tools

Some of these tools have free trial versions or low monthly subscription rates. Regardless of whether you’re using a free or paid version of one of these tools, they are worth looking. No matter how many social media platforms you are using. Social media management tools not only help you schedule and organize your content, but they can also help you:

  • Measure the engagement of your posts 
  • Find ideas for the new and relevant content
  • Analyze the effectiveness of your campaigns
  • Use insights to improve your campaigns
  • Monitor and analyze how your brand is performing through social listening

Next Step to Win Your Social Media Marketing Game

Social media platforms are evolving day by day, and so should your social media marketing strategy and knowledge about various social media platforms. 

You can also enroll in Simplilearn’s Advanced Social Media Certification course which will transform you into an industry-ready social media marketer, and also help you accelerate your brand and execute top-notch social media campaigns.

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