Do you remember the first time you joined a social media platform?
I do!
It was 2005 and I had finally received my college email address which gave me access to Facebook. Throughout college, Facebook was a way to recap the weekend festivities and connect with new friends.
While Facebook has remained a way that friends stay connected, almost 15 years later, the platform has drastically evolved. There are also a number of other social media platforms available now, and each has solidified its own unique space in the digital marketing world.
Five years after I first became acquainted with Facebook, I joined Twitter at the recommendation of my boss and my introduction to social media in a professional setting commenced.
Nine years later, and I’ve scrolled my Facebook newsfeed, Twitter feed and Instagram stream thousands and thousands of times, inevitably learning some valuable lessons along the way.
Below, join me as I dig into the top 5 social media marketing lessons I’ve learned over the past 9 years. I can’t remember what life was like before!
Things Keep Changing
If there’s one major takeaway you should get from this post, it’s that social media marketing keeps changing. Whatever algorithms are in place now, they will likely change multiple times before the year is over.
Back in 2005, the social media spectrum was made up of Facebook, Myspace, Friendster, and an unrecognizable version of LinkedIn. A year later Twitter was founded, and Instagram was founded four years after that.
Over the past ten years we’ve been introduced to multiple social media platforms, and said goodbye to handful as well (RIP Meerkat, Google+ and Vine). As new apps have come and gone, there are a handful that we’ve become dare I say, addicted, to. Can you image life without Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook? These apps are such a huge part of our lives that we can actually become enraged when an app’s algorithm or interface changes. HELLO! Where is my chronological feed?!
As social media becomes more ingrained in our culture, and remains a key component of our social media marketing strategies, it’s important to get comfortable with the changes that will inevitably continue to arise.
Vanity Metrics Don’t Mean Anything
Everyone wants thousands (if not, millions) of followers, but what is the real value in having a large following, aside from looking like an “influencer“?
A large following does not have much meaning. Sorry, not sorry!
If you are looking to sell a product or service, it’s much more important to pay attention to the likes, comments, and shares. An engaged community is more likely to buy your product or service. It’s much more valuable to have 100 engaged friends or followers than 1,000 who don’t pay much attention to your content.
There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Strategy
Here at B Squared we deal with clients of all sizes in a range of different industries. Although we have a blueprint for onboarding new clients as well as how we do business, there are no two strategies that look the same. Understanding your client’s business as well as their KPIs, target demographic(s), and budget, will all play into creating their unique strategy.
Yes, there are best practices but there is no secret to going viral or getting it right with every post. Your best bet at success is getting a thorough understanding of your client and building out a unique strategy based on their goals and needs.
There’s An Audience Out There For Everything
Do you enjoy painting on Sunday afternoon while drinking wine? Are you looking for a freelance writing gig? Are you trying to sell pool equipment to moms in rural Kansas?
Whether you’re looking for a niche audience to market to, or you’re looking for a community where you feel like you belong – it is out there on social media. Yes, social media (especially the comments section) has been labeled as the cesspool of the internet, but there are also wonderful communities out there that offer a sense of belonging.
There are millions of people on social media, so there is some leg work involved involved in finding where your niche lives, but they are out there.
What You See On Social Media Isn’t Real Life
Social media is great and is capable of helping us do so many things, but it’s important to remember that social media is not real life. For those of us who do it professionally, as well as those who enjoy it leisurely, it’s important to remember to live life offline as well.
Allow yourself an occasional digital detox and don’t compare yourself to the marketing guru who looks like they have it all. Nothing is as it seems on social media. Check out our social media self care guide for a little more inspiration!
What are some of the greatest social media marketing lessons you’ve learned? Let us know in the comments below!
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