For a newcomer to social media marketing, harnessing the different platforms can be intimidating. There are so many more rules and nuances to business and marketing usage than there are for personal social media use. In this blog we regularly publish articles about how to use the main social media platforms – primarily Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn – as well as the emerging channels, such as Snapchat, WhatsApp and Instagram.
There are a lot of self-declared social media gurus out there, and tens of thousands of articles and e-books advising you how to use social media. Some resources are really good, but it is often a labour of love to sort the wheat from the chaff.
Below are some of our favourite free resources, which offer a good introduction to all the main aspects of social media marketing.
TED talks are a fantastic resource for almost any topic you can think of. Social media marketing is no exception. Thousands of TED talk videos are available for free on YouTube through the TEDx Channel. These are some of the videos we have found most useful. They are each less than 20 minutes long, so grab yourself a cup of coffee and take a peek on your desktop or smart phone!
1) Brand Building on Social Media, by Daryl D’Souza (18 mins)
2) Trends in Social Media Marketing, by Jerry Kane (19 mins)
3) How To Get Your Ideas To Spread, by Seth Godin (19 mins)
4) The Hidden Influence of Social Media Networks (19 mins)
Below you will find links to some of our introductory blogs on the topic. There are plenty more articles that go into specific social media marketing strategies (currently 143 social media marketing topics!), so feel free to explore. Each article is less than 1,000 words in length so won’t take more than a few minutes to read. They are full of practical advice that can be implemented straightaway in most businesses.
5) Which Social Media Platform Is Best For Your Business in 2017?
6) Business Social Media For Beginners
7) Branding And Content On Social Media For B2B & B2C Businesses: What Are The Main Differences?
8) The Impact Of Social Media on Society & Business: What This Means For Your B2B Brand
9) How To Use Social Media Like Buttons
10) How To Make Great Social Media Impressions On Your Customers
E-books are a convenient way of getting up to speed on social media marketing tactics. They carry more weight than a blog article, while taking less time to absorb than a traditional book. These free e-books are all fairly short and contain useful information for marketing professionals and business owners:
Hubspot guides: Our marketing automation partners Hubspot have published some useful guides to setting up company pages on three important platforms:
11) An Introduction to LinkedIn for Business (Hubspot)
12) An Introduction to Google Plus for Business (Hubspot)
13) An Introduction To Pinterest for Business (Hubspot)
14) The Ultimate Social Media Daily Workout (JDR): Our 10 step social media fitness plan explains how to schedule social media posts, how to use hashtags, how to monitor social media content, who to follow, how to get new followers and much more!
15) The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media (Moz): An online, 12 page guide by American digital marketing pioneer Moz (formerly SEOMoz). Chapters include social media best practices, finding the right network for your business, integrating blogging with your social media strategy and how to keep track of metrics and ROI.
If you enjoy podcasts, there is plenty of audio great content out there that can be accessed for free through iTunes, or directly through your web browser.
16) Social Media Marketing Podcast (Social Media Examiner): A wide variety of topics are covered in this podcast, ranging from customer service to live video strategy, business branding, Facebook advertising, and Instagram e-commerce strategies.
17) The Social Toolkit (Social Fresh Conference): This podcast, published by the Social Fresh Conference in the USA, focuses on digital apps, software and tools. Learn about visual storytelling, social podcasting tactics, Twitter Periscope, marketing case studies and even 3-D printing, in 52 free episodes published in 2015-16.
18) The Digital Prosperity Podcast (JDR): Our regular podcast showcases practical social media marketing techniques for small and medium-sized businesses, with an emphasis on lead generation and sales. Past episodes cover the strengths and weaknesses of different social platforms, and rapid success techniques for social media marketers. [Click here] to listen through our website, or subscribe for free on iTunes, Sticher or Tuneln.
19) 58 Social Media Tips for Content Marketing (Content Marketing Institute): This free presentation from the Content Marketing Institute covers content strategies for Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Pinterest, Instagram, Foursquare and many other social media platforms. Essential reading for businesses interested in expanding their social media content strategy.
20) The Best & Worst Times To Post On Social Media: A really helpful infographic that explains the best times to schedule posts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, supported by some basic engagement statistics.
Ultimately, a social media marketing strategy will depend on the nature of your business, your market and your customers, as well as the resources you have available. An approach that works for one company will not necessarily work for your own. Social media marketing is a confusing and varied terrain, so it is useful to have knowledgeable professionals on your side to help you reach your desired destination. Our team at JDR are able to provide this support in a way that fits your budget and matches your business goals. Please give us a call to find out more.