A Few Social Media Marketing Tips From the Street

Social media marketing sounds simpler than it is. Often, questions only come up once you get into it.

Over the years, I’ve accumulated a few social media tips that have helped me immensely. Today, I’m happy to share them with you.

(And yes, I’ll admit my own social media accounts are less than stellar. My excuse is that my best efforts go into my client accounts—which is true. Classic “shoemaker needs new shoes” behavior.)

Pro tip #1: When sharing linked content, do more than summarize the topic

Social media newbies (yes, that was me), will often limit their social media posts to short summaries of the content they’re sharing. So each post ends up being a slightly different take on the topic.

While it’s fine to rehash the topic a few times, also try pulling out an intriguing point or two from the body of the content you’re sharing. It will tweak people’s interest and encourage them to click on your link.

Pro tip #2: You don’t have to be (and probably shouldn’t be) on every platform

With so many social media platforms available, save yourself some effort by choosing the channels where your audience lives.

If you’re not sure where that is, exactly, ask a few of them. And do some analysis to see which platforms are driving the most traffic to your site.

Pro tip #3: Promote the same content multiple times

Unlike blog posts or newsletters, it’s perfectly acceptable to tweet, post, etc. multiple times. In fact, one HubSpot consultant I chatted with recommended sharing content five times on each social media account.

Pro tip #4: Invite people to the conversation

Let’s use Twitter as an example. If your post is about someone or a public response to someone, include that person’s Twitter handle in your tweet. That way, they’re more likely to see your tweet and more likely to re-tweet or continue the conversation.

Pro tip #5: Keep abreast of platform changes

Change brings opportunities, and never more so than in social media. The tactics you successfully employed three months ago may not work as well this month because the platform has changed.

An example: When Twitter started allowing users to attaching images to their tweets, tweets with images got a lot more traction.

Pro tip #6: Schedule your posts—with caution

I’m not a huge fan of scheduling posts, although I certainly do it for clients. I always worry, though, how the client will look if something major happens which makes their scheduled tweets look tone-deaf.

So yes, you make your life easier by scheduling your social media posts. But it’s always wise to have a couple of people standing by to cancel schedule posts if needed.

Pro tip #7: Use a tool to manage all your social media platforms

You and your marketing team shouldn’t be logging into Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and every other social media platform to manage your accounts.

Instead, use a tool that will allow you to manage all of them at once, such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck.

Pro tip #8: Share a mix of your own and other curated content

Sharing the content of others is a great way to develop relationships, so be strategic about it. By try to share some of your original content as well.

What social media tips have you picked up over the years?