There are plenty of social media marketing resources to help you build a strategy for you business. Following are some suggestion on training, courses and books that may help you create yours.
Social Media Marketing Courses and Training
Here are three ways to earn an education in the field of social media marketing if you feel it’s necessary in your specific business situation.
1. Earn a degree.
There really isn’t necessarily a “social media marketing degree” for undergraduates (yet), there are online courses offered at a number of different schools and institutions you can take to earn a certificate, MicroMaster's or master’s degree in the field.
2. Use an online learning website.
Lynda is another great educational resource. This online learning website offers training, tutorials, and courses on a wide variety of topics within the field of social media marketing.
3. Earn a company administered certificate.
You could earn a certificate from a company — such as HubSpot's social media certification. This free certification teaches you how to engage with your customers and improve conversions. You’ll also get a better understanding of how to develop your strategy, extend your reach, and measure your social media ROI.
Social Media Marketing Books
Reading content about social media marketing is another great way to learn more about the field. Here are some highly-regarded books on the subject.
1. Likable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook by Dave Kerpen
This New York Times Bestseller covers the reasons why being likable and engaging with followers on social media is one of the most powerful ways to grow your base of customers and promoters. The book teaches you how to make impactful content for your followers to interact with and share with theirnetworks. Author Dave Kerpen also describes why you need to ensure you’re consistently delighting your followers to avoid losing them at any point in time.
2. Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World by Gary Vaynerchuk
According to author Gary Vaynerchuk, the key to social media marketing success isn’t about pushing out a lot of content — it’s about pushing out specific content tailored towards your target audience and using the right platform to do so.
In his book, Vaynerchuk covers how to do this as well as connect with your followers and customers on a deeper level through social media. You’ll learn how to create memorable and unique content that stands out in comparison to competition’s content.
3. The B2B Social Media Book: Become a Marketing Superstar by Generating Leads with Blogging, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Email, and More by Kipp Bodnar
HubSpot’s CMO, Kipp Bodnar, writes about the ways B2B businesses can generate more leads and conversions through social media marketing. There are actionable methods you can take to increase your base of followers and drive leads as well as understand the ROI of various B2B social media marketing strategies.
Get Started
When you considering the billions of people on social media today, it’s easy to see why so many businesses and marketers use these platforms to promote their products and engage with their customers.
While determining your company’s social media course of action may seem daunting, you can avoid feeling overwhelmed by understanding the social media marketing trends and using some of the many resources available about the topic.