How would you like to become known as a social media expert in your business?
Many people aspire to become such an expert but don’t always achieve that status. What does it take to become incredibly proficient with social media marketing tools and trends?
Today, you’ll learn how to become a social media expert in 2019. You’ll learn what it means to be an authority in social media advertising and marketing. These are the 10 tips that will help propel your status as a true marketing expert.
What Does It Really Mean to Be a Social Media Expert?
To become so savvy that you’re referred to as a marketing guru, you need to know what that entails.
A true social media expert knows how to use this form of marketing to their advantage. They follow the trends and see how those trends might impact their business.
They know which social media marketing tools will improve their online strategies. They’re constantly learning about social media for business and sharing what they learn with their colleagues. After all, the more people implementing these strategies, the better.
Learning how to become a social media expert in 2019 isn’t necessarily hard. It just takes time, effort, and dedication. If you’re willing to put in the time, you’ll be the go-to expert in your organization.
How to Become a Social Media Expert in 2019 – 10 Tips That Will Propel Your Success
Here are 10 tips that will help you increase your understanding of social media for business. Putting these tips into practice will help you improve your online capabilities. That, in turn, will help you take your business from survival mode to thoroughly thriving online.
1. Invest in a Social Media Certification Course
There’s a lot of information online pertaining to social media advertising strategies and marketing tools. Some of the information is contradictory. So, how do you know who to believe? Which “guru” knows what’s best for your company’s needs?
The reality is that you are your company’s best chance at success. You need to decide what’s going to benefit your company and what’s not.
One of the best ways to do that is to take a social media certification course. These courses will give you the foundation you need to become an expert.
Once you have that foundational knowledge, you can implement strategies that will work for your company.
Which social media certification courses are best?
According to Hootsuite, a social media industry leader in their niche, you should check out the following courses:
- Digital Marketing Nanodegree with Udacity
- Marketing Leadership with Twitter Flight School
- Social Media Marketing with LinkedIn Learning School
- Google Analytics IQ Certification program
2. Practice, Practice, Practice
You know the old saying “practice makes perfect”? As cliché as it may be, there’s some truth behind that adage.
While it’s impossible to achieve perfection, you can achieve excellence, as long as you put in enough practice.
Don’t just read about the latest social media trends – put them into action. See what it’s like to try them. That’s the only way you’ll start to feel comfortable using them.
It’s also the only way you’ll be able to see if they’re a good fit for your organization.
3. Keep Learning about the Latest Social Media Marketing Tools
Why should you care about the latest and greatest tools for social media advertising? Isn’t it ok to find what you like and stick with it?
You could stick with what works. After all, tools like Hootsuite and Google Analytics have been around for years, and they still work. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t learn about newer tools. These tools could benefit you and your company in multiple ways.
- Help you save time
- Make you more productive
- Save your company some money
A true social media expert stays on top of what’s new. They’re always learning, and if you want to be an expert, you will too.
4. Thoroughly Understand Your Niche and Ideal Client/Customer/Audience
This should go without saying, but it’s really important.
From stage one of every marketing endeavor, you should know who you’re trying to reach. Make it your mission to know as much about them as possible.
- Age
- They’re economic standing
- What state they live in
- Their likes and dislikes
- Their needs and desires.
When you know your target audience this well, it will be easier to attract them on social media.
5. Teach Others the Ins and Outs of Social Media for Business
If you want to know a topic backward and forward, studying it will only get you so far. One of the best ways to learn is to teach.
A 2018 study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology found that learning by teaching is incredibly effective. When you teach someone how to do something, you improve your brain’s retrieval process.
You have to know something pretty thoroughly in order to explain it in a way that others will understand. This exercises a different part of your brain. It also helps clarify some questions you may have had on the topic.
Teaching your team about social media marketing tools and advertising techniques will sharpen your skills. It will also build appreciation with your team. They’ll be glad that you shared some of your expertise with them.
6. Engage with Your Audience Regularly
Social media marketing experts have a secret to their success. It’s not that hard to figure out, though. Their secret is engagement with their audience.
You want to post things on social media that will get your audience involved. But the engagement doesn’t stop there. It’s a two-way street. Your audience wants to hear from you, too.
If you just post social media blurbs or advertisements, and then just disappear, you’ll lose your audience.
However, if you engage with them, too, they’ll be more likely to stick around.
You can engage with your audience by:
- Answering their questions
- Thanking them for their comments
- Addressing their concerns
- Tagging them in your comments.
7. Always Remember: Your Goal Is to Add Value, Not Just Advertise
Social media advertising is an important part of your business. It’s a great way to direct traffic back to your website. And that puts you one step closer to turning those leads into paying customers.
Unfortunately, many people get too caught up in online advertising.
It’s vital to your success to remember that there’s a time and place for everything, including advertising. But most of your time spent online should be spent on offering value, not on self-promotion.
Too much advertising can turn people off. They think that you’re not really interested in them – just their money. You want to appeal to your audience, and the best way to do that is by offering value.
Some ways to do this include:
- Posting how-to articles and linking to them on social media
- Making sure to answer pertinent questions from your audience
- Not putting a price tag on everything. Instead, offer some freebies that will entice your audience to learn more.
8. Make Sure You Understand the Laws Pertaining to Social Media Advertising
Did you know that social media is regulated, that there are things a business can and can’t do on it?
If you want to become an expert, this is one area where you need to investigate. Knowing the laws pertaining to social media advertising will protect your company from legal action.
According to a legal expert interviewed by Forbes, many businesses make the mistake of repeating what their competitors do. In theory, this can help in certain instances.
On the other hand, it’s not helpful if those companies are knowingly or unknowingly doing something illegal. Just because they’re following a certain course doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Things to watch include:
- Copyright laws
- Confidential information
- Email guidelines
- The rules and regulations of the social media platform.
Do some research on social media regulations so you can protect yourself and your business.
9. Learn How to Use Social Media Marketing Tools Expertly
Social media marketing tools can make your life so much easier.
For instance, Hootsuite allows you to create multiple social media posts and schedule their release. You don’t have to spend an inordinate amount of time on social media every single day. Just do it once, schedule it, and you’re good to go.
But there are more social media marketing tools to consider besides Hootsuite.
For instance, you can use Facebook’s Power Editor Tool to help you build a website custom audience. This gives you the opportunity to target those in your audience who have already visited your site.
This is some of the best traffic you can get because they’re already interested in your brand. This strategy will help you collect email addresses from people who want to subscribe to your newsletter.
This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are dozens of options to choose from.
10. Make Sure You Implement a Social Media Marketing Strategy
There’s one more step needed to become a true expert in social media marketing. You need to create a strategy for your business.
Knowing which tools you want to use is great. So is getting your social media certification. But those things mean nothing if you don’t have a plan in place.
You can think of your strategy as the who, what, when, where, and why of content marketing.
- Who do you want to market to? Who on your team is going to be in charge of implementing certain tasks?
- What type of content will you post?
- When will you post? When will you run reports and analyze your results?
- Where will you post?
- Most importantly – why are you doing this? What is it you want to accomplish with your strategy or your business as a whole? Who do you want to serve and how will they benefit?
Social Media for Business – One of the Most Important Skills for Marketers to Learn
Social media started out as a tool you could use to keep in touch with family and friends. It quickly morphed into an incredible marketing resource. When used correctly, it can boost your brand’s visibility and overall sales success.
Social media isn’t going anywhere. Therefore, it’s vital that you master the skills needed to become a social media marketing pro.
What can help you do this? Invest in social media certification from one of the top social media marketing agencies. Follow what’s trending online. Place a high level of importance on learning this skill.
Implement these social media for business tips and you’ll take your business to the next level. And everyone will have you, the resident social media expert, to thank for it.
Are you a social media marketing expert in your business? What’s made you successful?
Share some of your best tips in the comments below!
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