Social media marketing is all about creating a buzz: telling your story, showcasing your savvy and getting your audience to count on you for great content. It’s part customer service, part prospective client grooming, part influence campaign.
That may sound kind of thick and heady, but what’s great about social media marketing is that it’s fun and engaging for you and your audience. Plus, if you do it right, your friends and followers will take up your cause and start circulating some of that great content for you!
Having an audience that co-markets for you is the ideal. Before you can get there, though, you want to learn everything you can about how to play the game. One way you do that, is by finding out who does it well and signing on as their friend or follower. Then go out there and start building your presence.
Here’s a couple tips on who’s making waves in the industry:
Whom to read:
If you’re trying to get your mind around how social media marketing can help tell your story and grow your business, check out Rich Brooks’ book The Lead Machine: The Small Business Guide to Digital Marketing: Everything Entrepreneurs Need to Know About SEO, Social Media, Email Marketing, and Generating Leads Online. It’s a great go-to source that outlines the basics in a clear, concise and user-friendly way.
Brooks’ offers practical, easy to digest information and tips that can help you get the basics down, but also cultivate a savvy know-how and strategy. It’s a fun, enlightening read from a seasoned pro.
Also, check out Brooks’ podcast Agents of Change for great interviews from an array of experts discussing trends in business and the social media marketing space.
Whom to follow:
Peter Shankman-HARO founder and public relations pro offers a unique approach to advertising, customer engagement and PR. Follow him to get great scoop that you can use to inform your strategy.
Rand Fishkin-Founder of Sparktoro and Moz, Fishkin always seems to be thinking about SEO optimizing, audience building, metrics and content shaping. He shares great insights and tips via social media.
Hootsuite-Get news, updates and scoop that will keep you in the know with social media marketing trends and updates.
Podcast Mania:
Social Media Marketing -Social Media Examiner’s Michael Stelzner calls on a range of experts and insiders to explore strategies, outline tips and talk about current and future trends. It’s an outstanding resource for social media markets at all levels of experience.
Marketing School -Marketing pros Neil Patel and Eric Siu offer a daily dose of marketing education via this ten-minute podcast. Offering, digestible use-able tips, tricks and insights, they share their expertise in a way that easy to understand and to implement.
Online Marketing Made Easy – Author and social media influencer Amy Porterfield talks marketing planning, strategy and execution. She also interviews an array of interesting guests in her top-rated podcast.
Newsletter me:
Social Media Examiner-If you love data, this newsletter has you covered. It offers robust, data-rich detail-that is bound to bolster your social media marketing efforts. It also offers useful tips and insights, all backed with stellar research. It’s a must have!
AdAge Wake-up Call-An industry classic, the newsletter is not specifically geared towards social media marketing, but it keeps you in the loop on all things advertising.
You are what you read!
So, find great resources to refine your savvy and up your social media marketing game! If you need help getting your digital marketing efforts off the ground give our team a call!