7 Social Media Marketing Tips to Boost Your Strategy

Social media is one of the most challenging aspects of marketing. There are constantly new trends, fads, and industry leaders.

Can you believe that TikTok, which is on track to earn over $11.6 billion in 2022, is only five years old?

Every time that next big app hits the scene, or an algorithm changes, it’s up to you and your team to adapt your social media strategy. Because if you don’t, you’ll fall behind, and your competitors will keep moving further and further ahead.

As the arena evolves, so do the rules you need to know to play smartly. Read on to get seven fresh social media tips to help start the next #viralhashtag, snag that coveted blue checkmark, and become a household name.

Tip 1: Don’t ignore social commerce

It’s hard to believe, but when brands first found out that social media platforms let brands sell products through in-app purchases, many ecommerce businesses scoffed at the idea.

Why would a consumer purchase something through an app rather than going to a company’s website? This whole concept seemed to lack a sense of security and personalization. And at the time, most consumers agreed with me. Social commerce has been around since 2015, but it was a relatively untapped market. Until now.

COVID-19 showed ecommerce the way into the future.

Worldwide social commerce sales generated $585 billion dollars in 2021, and are projected to grow to $751 billion this year. In the U.S., 54% of Gen Z shoppers and 58% of millennial shoppers think that social media platforms are a better place to find new products ahead of online searches.

Consumers can see a product they like, understand how to style it, add it to their cart, and check out without ever leaving a specific Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook page.

It’s ease and convenience at its finest – two consumer preferences produced by the pandemic that are here for the long haul.

If you think that social commerce is a passing fad, this should be your wake-up call. The value is there, you just have to tap into it.

Tip 2: Your employees are your best asset

Employee advocacy is the next frontier of social media marketing. It’s the strongest organic play brands can make to amplify their digital reach and build communities.

It offers strong ROI potential, but up until recently, it was relatively unheard of.

Our employees are often underutilized. Especially if you lead a marketing team, where your employees live and breathe social media. Why wouldn’t you tap into all that potential?

Employee advocacy comes in many forms, but simply put, it’s empowering employees to share and create content about the company on their own social media networks.

Your employees will benefit as they grow their social media presence and gain traction as a thought leader, and in turn your company will earn credibility.

Think about it, your employees make up a portion of the market you’re trying to reach. If your target audience sees themselves in whoever is sharing that post, they’re more likely to engage and trust your brand.

This credibility will translate into value for your business. Companies generate 560% increased reach with posts shared by employees rather than by the brand itself, and those with high employee engagement often outperform competitors by 202%.

Here’s an example from my Linkedin page.

You’ll not only reach more people but get more qualified leads in the process.

Tip 3: Digital maturity makes a difference

As social media evolves, so do the tools you need to keep up. I’m talking about chatbots, AI, QR codes, etc.

What do all these tools have in common? Simplicity and ease – two trends that will just keep popping up in the post-pandemic reality. 80% of customers consider user experience to be as important as the services or products a company sells. And customers expect you to anticipate their needs. If something takes too long, doesn’t load, or is complicated, your users will exit your platform fast.

As tech evolves, these aren’t just niceties anymore, but a must-have to compete in social media. Because if you don’t have them I can assure you. Your customer will go looking for other companies that do.

Tip 4: Be your own consumer

You can’t do social media right if you’re not putting yourself in the shoes of your customers. They’re being bombarded with advertisements left and right, and targeted in ways we didn’t even think possible.

One of the easiest ways to get a competitive edge is to be a consumer yourself, and a hyper-aware one at that. Browse through your own personal social media pages. What do you want to click on? Which ads grabbed your attention? Which ones rubbed you the wrong way?

I personally love Wendy’s Twitter, and I assume many of their potential customers do too. They have a funny, recognizable tone and are super engaging.

As a marketer, you’ll be able to sift through all the noise and focus on what actually has an impact. If it worked for you, you can implement the same tactics in your strategy.

And don’t forget about algorithms and search intent. Each social media platform wants to serve up exactly what their users are looking for. Be explicit with your post copy and use the right words and hashtags that will signal to the platform and get your content in front of the right audience.

Pro tip: Use Similarweb Digital Marketing Intelligence to perform a competitive analysis and see what social media strategies are driving impact in your industry.

Tip 6: Rinse and repeat (again and again)

As with all best practices in the digital world, social media is sometimes about trial and error. You’ll need to constantly test, try, and sometimes fail so you can optimize for success.

A/B test your social posts until you find the equation that sticks. Track performance and conversion across different variables (desktop vs. mobile, emojis vs. text, full-length videos vs. GIFs, and so on), until you find the secret sauce that works and sets you apart.

Tip 7: Get posting

While it may seem like a daunting task to keep up with new platforms and ever-changing consumer preferences, social media is one of your biggest marketing assets in 2022.

It’s one of the only ways us marketers can speak directly to our customers and connect with potential new audiences. And when done right, you’ll see the impact on your business goes way behind likes, comments, and shares.

Parting thoughts

You can go mad trying to keep up with all the trends and changes happening on social media. My final piece of advice for any creator, marketer, brand, or business is simply don’t try to do it all. The one thing that successful brands do on social that separates them from others is they remain their authentic selves and they don’t simply copy their competitors or try to keep up with the crowds. Find which platforms, content type, and audience messaging that is best for your business – keep it real and do you, success will follow.

by Faith Preminger

Content Marketing Manager

Faith transitioned from digital content to social media at Similarweb. Now a Content Marketing Manager, she's also a wife, mom of two, and living in Tel Aviv.