More than ever, Businesses are turning to their social media pages to market and drive sales. Individuals are basing their personal brands on their social media pages, and a lucky few have gained ‘influencer’ status as a result. There’s no denying it: social media is a science. Win the game, and your company or persona gains a level of exposure that can truly change its course.
Here are six savvy social media marketers who have mastered the science of social media, and have created businesses and consultancies to help others harness the power of their social presence to gain the followers and make the sales. They share pieces of advice for you to implement for your own pages, too.
1.Travis Parker Martin. The founder of Bootkik, the “social media platform for business productivity,” Travis has learned key social media strategies from his own entrepreneurial experiences. His advice: “Too many social media marketers spend their time thinking about the story they want to tell their audience about their brand, and not the story their audience tells themselves everyday, and how their brand can play a role in that. By shifting from “brand-centric” marketing to “customer-centric” marketing, we can begin a new dialogue with our audience and meet them where they’re at.”
2.Steph Voong. Steph is the founder of her digital marketing agency Ikenga Media, which emphasizes social media strategy. Her best advice for those seeking clarity for their social media strategy is to take the seriousness out of it and just have fun. She also says that original, creative, and out-of-bounds content distinguishes some companies and personas from others. She calls herself the #SocialMediaQueen – and we have to agree!
3.Tai Lopez. Tai has taken the world by storm with his social media marketing skills, so much so that college professors utilize his Youtube videos for their marketing courses and his TEDx talk is one of the top 20 most popular ever. But, his best advice is rooted in if he’d go back in time and start over again. “If I had to start out again with no money or experience, I’d find small businesses to pay me up to $10,000 per month to manage their social media.”
4.Allee Williams. Allee’s specialty is marketing and PR. After working as a brand ambassador and marketing intern at Coca Cola and serving as the lead ambassador for both her alma mater (University of Kentucky) and its respective sports team, she’s started her own company ‘Createhers Cooperative’ and consults on digital marketing. Her advice is twofold: the first is to get clear on what distinguishes your brand and your voice from others, and the second is to be consistent. “Show up on social everyday in some way to show your audience you’re there for them,” Allee advises.
5.Brittany Berger. Brittany is known for bringing the FUN back into B2B marketing as a “Content Marketing Unicorn.” She believes that content should entertain as much as it educates. One of Search Engine Journal’s 50 Incredible Women in Marketing to Follow and Outbrain’s 50 Content Marketing Influencers to Follow in 2017, Brittany is a must-watch social media marketer. She advises that it’s not about how much content you create, but how you use the content you have – No, you don’t have to create that much content!
6.Matt Moorer. Matt is a serial entrepreneur, and his array of businesses are all committed to helping people become the strongest versions of themselves. Matt urges those growing their followings, “be authentically YOU. Be yourself. Duplicate success habits, but don’t copy what other people are doing. There are people that only YOU can reach, touch, and inspire. You don’t need an audience of everyone. You need an audience of people that speak your language.”
7.Jeff Bullas. Jeff specializes in content marketing and has gained millions of followers on his blog, where he talks about social media and digital marketing. His incredible digital marketing advice has landed him features in Inc. ad Forbes. He advises to be visual on your social media – because you only have a few seconds to capture a follower’s attention, make sure to incorporate visually appealing content with a distinctive color scheme.
8.Andy Rivera. Andy is the founder of BossMedia, and she truly is a boss at the social media game. She shares that the most common mistake people make on social media is spending too much time on content creation without considering the research. She recommends Display Purposes and Hashtagify to explore trending hashtags so your post can get more exposure. Another tip is to check the hashtags of your competitors and employ those, too.
9.Kel Dickson. Kel Dickson is the founder of Big Giraffe Marketing, where he helps his client’s brand personalities come through on their social media. He specifically focuses on ROI. In this vein, he shared a tip on analytics: Generate monthly reports on how your posts have done, and analyze why. Some companies measure their analytics on likes and engagement alone, but it should boil down to how many sales were made as a result of the post. Always base future content on analytics.
10.Raelyn Tan. Raelyn incorporates her personality and personal experience into her digital marketing advice. With a blog that she’s kept constant for 10 years, she shares sage social media advice and courses to help her followers build profitable blogs and online businesses. Her best advice, as she shared with Solopreneur Diaries, is to start out by building sustainable audiences on just a few platforms instead of trying to be everywhere at once.
It’s true; the science behind social media, when it comes down to the research, analytics, and projection of branding seems like a full-time job. But these marketers make it look easy. A big thank you to these social media role models for sharing their best tips and practices. Be sure to check out their pages and consultancies to work with them one on one. While you’re at it, follow Next Gen on our social media pages at @next_gen_summit.
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