9 Experts Share Their Best Hacks for Social Media

Social media is always in flux – new trends pop up and die almost immediately. New networks start with fanfare and then get shelved with such certainty that it is almost hard to believe they existed and were popular among the users.

On a similar note, a career in social media is challenging because leveraging social media for the benefit of the business requires technical skills and an understanding of how people evaluate products and the factors that influence their buy decision.

Like every other field of human endeavor, new entrants could learn a lot from mentors and experts who have made it big in the industry. Social media industry is particularly specific about how mentorship works – no single expert has all the knowledge, and you need to constantly focus on working with the best to keep on growing and bettering your skills.

To understand how social media experts contribute toward the growth of businesses and how newbies can grow their skills, we went to experts who offered how newbies can become experts in growing businesses.

Daniel Snow
CEO and Founder at The Snow Agency

Here is a quote from his interview:

“I got started in the digital/online marketing space in a very interesting way.

I was in college studying Biology to be a dentist, and I had a friend who had started to monetize a Twitter account. He was telling me how I could be making really good money. So, I started helping him with the Twitter account in the hopes of making 45 dollars a day.

I left after a while, but I had learned to grow a social media following. In the next 12 months, I grew to 8 million followers on Twitter. After growing this substantial following, I focused on monetizing the account, creating content, apps, and Google ads.

Tips for Newbies

You have to learn how to break through the noise. To illustrate this, here’s a real-life example for one of our clients, Hollywood Hair Bar. They had been building their customer and fan base organically for a year without doing any paid ads. She came to our agency to help turn her extensive social media fan base into customers and build a sustainable customer acquisition method, so she didn’t have to rely on influencers entirely. Moreover, the website was far below industry standards for conversion rate due to the on-site user experience.

We installed a Facebook pixel on the website and made custom website audiences and lookalikes based on events triggered on the website. We started by retargeting anyone who engaged with her Instagram or visited her website and saw outstanding results. We then made lookalikes based on these audiences and began to prospect customers who had similar characteristics.

In our first week of testing, we saw EXPLOSIVE results, and we were able to quickly identify our ideal market and what content & ad copy resonated best with them. These insights allowed us to curate appropriate content to portray the unique business value and website adjustments required for improving the conversion rate.

Tips for Businesses

Social media is powerful for e-commerce because it allows businesses to remain top of mind and deliver value or entertainment for free – this builds loyalty and interest among current and future customers.

The best practice is to have a content strategy plan with core pillars of information and messaging that align with your brand. Show up consistently and engage. Avoid selling and focus on storytelling and sharing the transformation your product or services deliver to the customers. And remember to tie traditional advertising to your social accounts with coupons, offers, and promotions.”

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Mana Ionescu
CEO and Founder at Lightspan Digital

Here is what she had to say in her interview:

“This will reveal my age, hahaha. I can say my entire career was in digital marketing. I’ve always chased the following hot technologies and ways to grow businesses. And I continue to operate in the same way.

Tips for Newbies

I recommend learning analytics. Start with some google analytics courses and learn how to interpret data and read stories in data. Everything will be more accessible after that.

Tips for Businesses

Effective digital marketing requires discipline and boldness. It’s not cheap, and it’s not easy. Once you accept that there’s no easy magical solution, it’s easier to commit to doing the work with the proper level of investment.”

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Dorien Morin-van Dam
Community Manager at Social Media Pro

She mentioned in her interview that:

“I love to talk and meet new people. I was looking for a way to work from home as I was raising four children. During the first four years, I worked from the kitchen table and reduced my summer schedule to spend more time with the kids. Now that three of my (adult) children have left the house and are their own, I’ve been able to focus my efforts on growing my business with success.

Tips for Newbies

Network. Network. Network.

My current clients and opportunities can be traced back to being connected to the right people, meeting them at the right time, and fostering real relationships. The future of social media is private. These conversations happen in messages, video chats, and private meetings, and once the world opens back up, at conferences. In this industry, it is about who you know as much as what you know.

So get to know people in the industry. Listen, read, learn and ask questions. Be eager to learn, connect and give. Once you move forward, don’t forget to reach back and help others move up with you!

Don’t ever stop learning! Learn about new features, tools, new platforms, new systems. Create time in your schedule to learn more about leadership, business, and mindset as well.

Tips for Businesses

Pretty much the same as above.

Never stop learning. Stay curious. Get certified.
Network!”

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Marie Nakhle
E-Commerce and Social Media Expert

In her interview, she said that:

“I first discovered Twitter back in 2009 and started getting curious about the world of social media. I saw an opening as a Community Manager at a Digital Agency, and I applied, and the journey started!

Initially, I faced discouragement from people around me to shift from a career in software development to social media, which was relatively new at the time.

Tips for Newbies

If you are not passionate about it, then you will not be successful in it. That surely applies to any job, but particularly for people on social media, they will have to be committed, spend lots of time online, and always stay up to date with new channels, new trends, new features, etc. It’s a very fast-moving industry, and if you’re not up to the speed, you will be quickly left behind.

Tips for Businesses

I always tell my clients that everything starts with setting a strategy. Suppose you don’t start by setting clear objectives, defining your target audiences, and creating the right content strategy for them. In that case, you will never be able to assess whether your social media efforts are heading in the right direction.”

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Anthony Gaenzle
Founder at Anthony Gaenzle Marketing

Here is what he mentioned in his interview:

“So, I’ve been in the social media space since the days of MySpace. Oddly, I was secretly forced into it. Some friends thought it would be funny to create a MySpace account for me and later a Facebook account. I fought it at first, but once I slid into the marketing field, I realized the power it held, and I haven’t looked back. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to utilize social media as a tool to amplify the message of the brands I’ve worked with, and I’ve grown a passion for the power the medium has as a promotional tool.

Tips for Newbies

Learn from the pros. Don’t go into the social media game thinking you know everything just because you’ve been posting selfies on Instagram since high school doesn’t mean you understand how to use the medium for marketing a brand.

Follow top social media accounts in your niche and look at what they do. There are so many amazing people doing social media the right way and killing it. Check out people like Gary Vaynerchuk, Neil Patel, Jay Baer, or Lisa Sicard at Inspire To Thrive.

They’ve all built solid followings with a severe amount of engagement, which is key to social media growth. Then look inside your specific niche or industry and follow the top people there as well. Never go it alone. Reach out and try to build relationships with the influencers in your industry. Many will be willing to help, and you can learn so much from them to apply it to your efforts.

Tips for Businesses

Beyond seeking our opportunities to help others, which should be your first goal, you need to understand your audience.

Know what channels your target audience is on, understand what content they want to see, realize their pain points and where they struggle, as well as how you can help provide a solution. Don’t try to be everywhere. Focus your message on the proper channels, and be consistent. It’s so essential to maintain the quality of your brand and not overextend your resources. Some major brands appear to be everywhere, but for small- to mid-sized businesses and startups, you have to be strategic and focus your energy in the right places. You can easily overextend your resources, and as a result, your brand image will suffer.”

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Gabriela Cardoza
Personal and Corporate Brand Consultant

Here is what Gabriela has to say in her interview recently:

“Being a millennial, it is almost like digital marketing, and I grew up together. I remember the early days of AOL, AIM, Ask Jeeves. I grew up with the internet. As a result, I’ve always been aware of how digital marketing works and how it’s changed over the years.

I think my first formal introduction to marketing, however, was during my undergraduate program. I went to a business school, and we were encouraged to pursue entrepreneurial interests. We were taught and expected to create business plans, marketing plans, elevator pitches – everything we needed to launch and run our businesses successfully. That sparked my interest in the field.

Tips for Newbies

My advice for up-and-coming marketers and brand strategists would be to commit to lifelong learning. Communication as a field is constantly changing. Audiences evolve. Technology evolves. Tactics evolve. You must be willing to experiment, ask questions, search for answers, and take risks. Always remain curious and teachable.

Tips for Businesses

Every brand should start by defining its unique value proposition. What about who you are, what you do, and what you stand for is unique? That is where your point of differentiation lies. It will help you determine your audience, your message, your goals, and your strategy.”

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Krista Mashore
Founder at Krista Mashore Coaching

Here is what Krista quoted in her recent interview:

“When I became a real estate agent, I was DETERMINED to make it work for me 100%.

I had recently gone through a divorce and had no choice but to make sure my two daughters had the amazing life they deserved. I knew in order to become a successful realtor. I needed to stand out. I needed to show up differently than any other competing realtor in my area.

So I took to social media and stopped wasting time and money on cold calling, door knocking, and holding open houses. Instead, I spent my time creating video content, value graphics, digital brochures, 17-minute video listing presentations, all distributed through my social channels.

I chose to opt for serving, not selling. I provided value value value via social media ads and organic posts in order to ensure I was the top of mind agent for everyone living in my area! This led me to become a top 1% agent nationwide for 20 years, led me to write four best-selling books based on my strategies, prompted me to start coaching other real estate agents to utilize social media and digital marketing in the same ways!

Tips for Businesses

In order to generate leads, you need to ensure your target audience KNOWS LIKES AND TRUST YOU! To be seen (and to get leads), you have to be known, you have to be seen, and you have to be heard.

So I always recommend clients begin by learning the ins and outs of video marketing, grab your iPhone and create some community-based content, whether that’s checking out a restaurant in your local area, going live, and giving some tips on how to ____ (something related to solving a problem your clients may have) the opportunities are endless!

But you want to provide an extreme amount of value to your list and your followers before you ever ask them to opt-in to a paid offer! This way, you are known, liked, and trusted before you even make an offer, making them a hot lead and much more likely to invest in you.

There’s so much more to generating leads when it comes to properly distributing your video content, utilizing Facebook ads, Instagram Reels, and more! But if you are creating video, you are already ahead of 70% of companies failing to market their business properly!”

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Veronica Gentili
Facebook Ads Expert

Here is what Veronica Gentili thinks: 

“I fell in love with Social Media when I was a teenager, about 20 years ago. At that time, social media was pretty different. There was no Facebook, but social media platforms like Friendfeed and MySpace, where you could be whatever you wanted to, hidden by a nickname.

I was fascinated by how these media could create genuine and robust relationships between anyone, everywhere. I spent hours and hours talking about myself, hobbies and dreams, and building friendships, some of which have lasted until today. So when Facebook came up, I thought, “why not start a business related to social media, something I’d love to work with?”

Tips for Newbies

I suggest that they never stop studying and remain up to date. The key to success in this job is always to stay updated daily. I recommend following great content sources like AdEspresso and Hootsuite blog, Agorapulse blog, Social Media Examiner, and Social Media Today.

Tips for Businesses

I would suggest stopping focusing on vanity metrics like fan, followers, and likes and looking at how to integrate them into their marketing strategy: how can Facebook and Instagram help them in terms of lead generation? How can they help in terms of retention, customer care, and getting sales?

I would also suggest that social media are a kind of a “pay-to-play game” nowadays. To get accurate results, SMBs have to invest continuously and strategically”

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Mehvish Patel
Content Creator at Zen Media

This is what Mehvish Patel said in her interview: 

“I discovered the world of social media when I was pretty young. I didn’t know what went on behind the scenes until I got an internship at a publishing firm where I was introduced to SEO and the ins and outs of SEM.

Tips for Newbies

My advice would be to enjoy it and don’t be afraid!

Writing sounds very daunting to a lot of people, but remember that there is so much more that goes into it. Words hold meaning, and it is your job to give them the meaning that resonates with the audience.

Have trust in yourself and your abilities!”

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We would like to thank all the experts who took out the time to contribute their ideas to this curated post. Starting a career in the social media industry is not easy. There are so many things a social media marketer does that a newcomer gets confused easily. Businesses face a similar challenge in starting with digital marketing. This post is meant to help both the newbie digital marketers and the businesses that would like to grow their digital presence.

We would welcome the thoughts of the readers on this topic. Let’s have your say about how businesses should go about promoting in the digital world.