Social Media marketing is ever-evolving. With the multitude of different platforms and the constant chatter about best practices for each managing social media accounts can be overwhelming at times. But according to studies, Social Media Marketing is predicted to be the biggest channel for content distribution in 2014. If social media is going to be a driving force behind content marketing let’s look at some great tips and tricks to help you through.
1) Limit the number of Social Media Platforms you use
There are countless social media platforms available today and it is impossible to grow a strong presence on every one of them. Having a weak or even mediocre presence on several social media platforms is far less impactful than having a strong presence on a select few. Find three or four social media platforms where you can build the strongest presence for your business.
2) Act as though your social media platforms are a publicity engine
Content should be the fuel to attract traffic back to your website. Discover the key issues being felt by your prospects and then create content that shows how your solutions solve those issues. This helps to reign in a relevant audience and filter out random traffic. Content works well as a social media marketing strategy because people not only seek this valuable information, they share it. Start an amazing word-of-mouth effect and expose new people to your brand producing and sharing fine tuned content. Also, you should avoid sounding “pitchy” – social media users generally don’t like to see that language.
3) Use employee advocacy to your benefit
This is not a very widely used tactic, but is very powerful. If you are a business engaged in social media, and are creating 
relevant, engaging content, then you might only be sharing that content from your company’s account. Imagine how fantastic would it be if your entire sales and marketing staff also shared your content? Your brand would reach more people and the content sharing would allow your sales and marketing people to become advocates for your company. A recent Edelman Trust Barometer reported that 41% of people believe company employees rank higher in public trust than a firm’s PR department or CEO. In order to become a truly social business, allow employees to play a role in your social media efforts.
4) Give away your best content
That’s right I said it… give away your best content for free at no cost and even without requiring an email address. Forrester Research found that that over 90% of purchasing decisions begin online, having relevant, quality content 
allows your prospects to learn about you and the products/services you offer. Many companies are worried about giving away their best content for free. The primary concern is that it may prevent people from taking the next step and investing in their products/services. I understand this fear, really I do, but it is truly unsupported. When your prospects see the high quality of your free content, they will be much more confident in paying for your services because they already know the great value you deliver.
5) Have a well-developed content marketing strategy
With content being the driving force behind social media marketing, it is important to have a well thought out and documented content strategy. If you are having trouble developing a strategy check online resources for some strategy guides to help you in the process. Start by implementing an editorial calendar to give you a sense of what your content schedule is going to look like. Then build your social media efforts around that to tie all of your content creation efforts together. Sharing only your uniquely generated content is a near-impossible task, so keep your content marketing strategy in mind when curating and sharing out the content of others.
Embrace the challenge
Nobody is a social media marketing expert. There are, of course those that are fashioned with that title, but it’s kind of a catch 22. They may be an expert for the moment, but changes in the social media environment flux more frequently than the technology updates, so staying current on all these changes and always adapting to new trends becomes convoluted. But, following these 5 easy steps can help ease the complexities in social media marketing and in the end it will prove to be worth it.