Did you know that 3.96 billion people use social media worldwide and that 58.11% of the world’s population is active on social media, specifically 82% in North America? 

Social media has become a significant part of most consumers’ daily lives. If you are trying to reach an audience or improve your digital marketing, understanding social media is absolutely essential. 

If you are trying to grow your brand’s social media presence or want to level up your marketing, it is necessary to stay up to date on all the newest platforms (like BeReal) and trends. 

With so many different ways to use social media to your advantage, we reached out to 18 industry leads to get their top strategies.

1. TikTok

Formerly known as Music.ly, TikTok has exploded in popularity over the last year. Countless brands have accounts and are both posting themselves and partnering with content creators to get their brand out there and improve their overall social media presence and strategy. 

“TikTok has been excellent in bringing a human element to our brand,” Online Optimism’s Social Media Director Meara McNitt said. “Rather than pushing for sales or conversions, we use it as a space to show off our company culture, benefits, and personality.” TikTok has already proven to work for the company, with interviewees often pointing out they’ve seen the videos, McNitt added. With the ability to highlight aspects of the company that might not be known to viewers combined as a recruitment tool, TikTok is increasingly becoming a social media asset. 

Founder & Commercial Real Estate Investor at PropertyCashin, Marina Vaamonde, also uses TikTok for her real estate business. “My top social media strategy is to focus more on producing videos on TikTok for showing properties,” she said. She went on to discuss how TikTok for Real Estate has boomed during the pandemic because it allows prospective buyers and renters to see a property without having to leave their homes. The videos are also able to reach a broader audience. In fact, “with one video alone, I can showcase the property to thousands in one day. If I did that in person, it would take weeks or months,” she added.

2. Micro-Influencers

With the role of micro-influencers continuing to grow, many businesses are turning to them for enhanced marketing strategies.

“We have used influencer marketing as one of our main strategies from the beginning of our website and Instagram account,” Co-founder of Kettlebell Kings Jay Perkins said. He went on to discuss how utilizing micro-influencers has helped spread their brand name and has proven more effective than sending products to people with millions of followers. 

Dixa Customer Experience Manager, Mikkel Andreassen, is also utilizing influencer marketing to boost their brand’s social media strategy.  “We want to focus on micro-influencers and who may not have the biggest audience, but all of their followers are very active,” Andreassen said. He also discussed how Dixa works to find relevant people in their industry and form relationships with them to lead to sincere and useful testimonials. 

“We would rather have multiple smaller influencer campaigns and target different audiences than invest everything in one or two major ones,” Andreassen added. 

3. Humanizing Your Brand

Rather than looking elusive and appealing to people’s desires, Co-founder of Link Sourcery, Morgan Taylor, emphasizes the value of humanized and genuine stories. His brand is using social media to share the experiences of its team and to engage with followers beyond what their work is, in an effort to have the company, team, and brand be seen as more of an ally, Taylor added. 

Co-Founder and President of ISBX, Arthur Iinuma, is also taking a more humanistic approach but rather than highlighting the brand and the people who work there, ISBX plans to cultivate an engaged online community that is “driven by the voices of our customers and advocates.” 

4. Video Creation

With 52% of all internet traffic coming through mobile, brands are tasked with finding new ways to get their visuals onto media platforms people are viewing on a daily basis. In this mobile-first world, brands have even less time to grab the attention of their audience, which is why Founder and CEO of Mavens & Moguls Paige Arnof-Fenn, is using videos to boost rankings, drive engagement, and increase growth. 

“More people watch videos than TV now so adding video to your site and using the right keywords for video descriptions and headlines will ensure you do better in searches too,” Arnof-Fenn said.

This emphasis on video was also noted by Founder and CEO of RebateKey, Ian Sells. RebateKey produced videos last year that garnered over 320,000 views each on YouTube. 

“Video has been an effective strategy for us and has become our primary method of finding new customers,” Sells said. 

5. Going Live 

OA Design Services Owner, Oliver Andrews, aims to go beyond video production and utilize Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok Live to create more engagement. 

Facebook and Instagram Live allow brands to answer questions and engage with their audience in real-time, which Andrews mentioned has improved overall engagement by turning a broadcast into a conversation. Utilizing the live aspect of these platforms also builds trust with your audience and allows the brand itself to generate more market data such as, were there more viewers at the beginning or end of the live stream. When people re-watch, what parts do they go to and what are the sentiments of the presentation. 

All of these aspects combined not only benefit the brand in terms of audience engagement and interaction but provide data that can help the brand improve its overall marketing strategy beyond social media.

6. Instagram Reels & Stories

Another engaging way to tie in videos to accommodate the shorter attention spans of an audience is through Instagram reels and stories. Multify’s Founder and Lead Creative Career Coach Caitlin Donohue utilizes these Instagram features to show who they are and “create interactive multimedia content that has proven successful in boosting engagement and generating interest in online products.” Donohue also uses these outlets to host a weekly Q & A for followers as well as tips, and guidance for artists in the community. 

Reels are the newest Instagram feature to rival TikTok and has already boasted more than 8 million views and have garnered 13% higher engagement than other forms of content on Instagram, making it an essential feature to consider when evaluating a social media strategy. 

7. LinkedIn

Oftentimes brands don’t focus on LinkedIn since it is not as interactive as the other social media platforms, but it is still an effective way to garner more social media engagement. Additionally, LinkedIn posting can improve ranking in search engines and boost the brand’s overall SEO. “From networking to promotions to idea sharing, LinkedIn is increasingly the go-to hub,” Designer Sheds Founder, Chris Laan said. 

Businesses should not forget that LinkedIn is a professional social network. While in a traditional sense, it is less about selling your products, it is still a vital social media platform. According to Sprout Social, businesses marketing on LinkedIn generate 277% more leads on average than businesses only engaged in Facebook marketing. 

Similar to Instagram and Facebook, LinkedIn has also launched LinkedIn Live in beta mode to test if it can become as popular as the other platforms streaming capabilities. Justin Knott, President and CEO of Intrepy Healthcare Marketing, has been using LinkedIn Live due to its “extremely large reach compared to organized LinkedIn post content.” Knott emphasized the importance of putting your brand’s weight behind a new tool rolled out on a social platform “because the platform is generally focused on tool adoption so they do not throttle the reach as they do on organic content.” 

8. Memes 

Memes have been a pervasive aspect of Internet culture for many years, yet despite new trends and platforms, they remain both popular and effective. Memes allow brands to spread various ideas, improve their chances of going viral, and increase brand exposure. Wall Street Zen’s Founder and CEO, Nate Tsang, values meme culture, saying that “It is taking a stronger hold in social media strategy, from everyone from the  big brands to new startups.” Memes are also being utilized in paid advertisements, which highlight their impact. 

Meme marketing has definitely proven itself to be more than a trend and has become a strategy that is here to stay. 

9. Schedule with Quality Content

While many people may be laser-focused on the latest platforms and trends, Electrician Apprentice Founder and CEO, Thomas Hawkins, is focusing on the basics. Hawkins emphasized the importance of setting clear goals and establishing a schedule for posting after looking into the analytics behind your audiences’ engagement times, preferences and taking into consideration what does and does not work with your viewers. Creating a schedule will also build trust with your audience as they will know when to expect content from you and be on the lookout for the posts. 

Hawkins also discussed the importance of using quality content on social media. “In the past, we’ve made the mistake of saving our best and most engaging content for our blog. We now realize that was a mistake. Your best content needs to be featured on your social media pages in order to get more eyes on your website or blog.” By highlighting your best pieces on social media, the traffic of your website will increase and it can boost your ranking on search engines. 

10. Augmented Reality

In an effort to go beyond the traditional usage of social media, Marketing Manager Rameez Usmani of GSD Lovers is incorporating augmented reality to boost sales. “With the introduction of augmented reality, brick-and-mortar stores can transform their stores and allow customers to see, try, and buy their products online,” he said. Facebook and Instagram introduced augment reality filters but so far, only beauty products and eyewear are currently included. Usmani hopes to expand the offerings to include more industries and have AR become a more mainstream social media strategy. 

11. Hashtags

Hashtags have been around for a while, but similar to memes, their importance, and overall impact have decreased. Incorporating hashtags into your social media is one of the best ways to grow your online presence. Hashtags aid in your post’s overall performance and enable you to connect with new users. 

CEO & Co-founder of Alabaster, Brian Chung, makes lists of hashtags that worked and those that didn’t as well as new hashtags to keep track of what is trending and popular. Chung discussed how it is “crucial to avoid using the same hashtags on each and every post” to avoid becoming redundant and stagnant in terms of audience growth and engagement. 

12. Demonstrations 

Andrew Pires, the owner of The Maskie, stresses the importance of showing your product in action through demonstrations rather than simply telling the audience about your project. “We want to do our best to make sure that we always show what our product does and our customer’s reactions,” he said. Maskie’s social media includes videos and pictures of products being used to give viewers a more comprehensive understanding of the product and its benefits. 

13. A/B Testing 

Another effective strategy that goes beyond current trends is A/B testing. A/B testing provides businesses with greater insight into what their audience actually wants and can lead to higher conversion values, reduced bounce rates, and increased sales. For e-commerce companies, this method can also reduce cart abandonment. 

Matt Bigach, Nexus HomeBuyers Co-founder, uses A/B testing and said that “it has been the most effective and successful in developing the best and most engaging content for our social media channels.” He also went on to say that this practice has improved his lead generation by 4% and provides a greater opportunity “to analyze and test our content and strategy for social media before launching it at full pace.” 

14. Competitive Analysis

Social media strategies also go beyond thinking of how to reach your audience but also understanding your competitors in the industry, which is something Colony Roofers COO Zack Reece is focusing on. “Gaining insight through competitive analysis is a strategy that we’re looking to double down on to further gain an edge over our competitors as well as gain more knowledge on what our customers engage with,” he said. Understanding your competitors and what is working for them will benefit your brand and overall social media strategy. 

Talk to an Optimist Today! 

If you are still not sure about which platforms are best for your brand or you want a new social media strategy, contact us today. Our Optimists have years of experience working in a variety of industries and can create posts, ads, giveaways, and whatever else your company needs.