29 Social Media Marketing Experts Share Their Best Advice

Social media marketing is a “must” that every little, medium or big company in this world will need to know in order to maintain their existing clients and acquire new clients. In 2017 every company that wants to have an online presence (and you really need to have an online presence this year, no matter, if you’re business, is only offline or just 50% online) need to have at least one social media account where they need to start growing an online community.
There are a lot of social media marketing useful tips that our Hot in Social Media community is sharing thru our blog weekly but, because we are at the beginning of a new year, we have something special for our loyal readers.
29 of the most known social media marketing experts share their best advice for you, in this 4300+ word article that you can bookmark and come back, again and again, to be sure not to forget something important.

I want to say a big Thank You, to all these social media marketing experts who were so kind and send me their best advice to share it with our Hot in Social Media community.

Don’t forget to read the other 2 article with the answers from these social media experts regarding the social media prediction for 2017 and also the top 3 social media most useful networks.
2017 Digital Marketing Predictions From 24 Marketing Experts
27 Expert Opinions About The Top 3 Social Media Networks in 2017

Please recommend to our audience the most important and useful social media marketing tip for 2017

Donna Moritz

Visual Social Media Strategist and Founder of Socially Sorted

www.sociallysorted.com.au/blog

Donna is the founder of Socially Sorted where she helps brands and businesses get more traffic, shares and sales with visual social media and content strategy.
Answer:
Don’t get caught up in all the trends and ever-changing social media platforms – they’re just part of the bigger picture and what works for someone else may not work for you. Focus instead on creating quality, core content on a platform that you own (your blog/website, podcast or video) that helps solve your audience’s biggest challenges. Use it to grow a quality, engaged email list of people who are interested in what you have to share.  When you survey and ask your audience about how you can help them, your content, social platforms and sales processes all fall into place and the latest algorithm change on the latest social platform will have much less impact on your marketing strategy.

Anna Bennett

Pinterest Marketing Expert

www.whiteglovesocialmedia.com

Anna Bennett is a power influencer and social media strategist. She is the owner of White Glove Social Media and co-founder of True North Marketing.
Answer:
In 2017 Pinterest will continue to focus on finding ways to help users take action on Pins.
The trend for businesses is to make sure they create content ( including short step by step, to the point helpful videos) for their audience designed to help them improve some part of their lives. Strong visuals with helpful information are the key. The information they can take some of the action on to make their life easier, better and more enjoyable is Pinterest’s mission.
As a business you align with Pinterest’s own direction when you design images that are; primarily helpful or inspiring and that can be acted upon. Some examples would be; DIY, how to’s, checklists, step by step tutorials and so forth. Just recently Pinners can add feedback, notes and photos to help others try it too. There’s not a ton of conversation going on within Pinterest so Pinterest is looking to increase ways to get that interaction going. Another way to increase engagement is to make sure you publish content that is relevant to your target audience months before an event or holiday because Pinterest users are trend seekers.
And finally, on Pinterest, it still does come down to getting your images right. That means your images need to be at least 800 x 2300 size, also include some text overlay, your logo and brand colors & fonts.

MikeAllton

Mike Allton

Content Marketing Practitioner

The Social Media Hat – www.thesocialmediahat.com

Mike is a Content Marketing Practitioner, Blogger and Author in St. Louis, and the Chief Marketing Officer at SiteSell. He has been working with websites and the Internet since the early ’90’s and is active on all of the major social networks. Mike teaches a holistic approach to content marketing that leverages blog content, social media and SEO to drive traffic, generate leads, and convert those leads into sales.
Answer:
My most useful and actionable tip for 2017 is: Find A Way To Incorporate Video Into Your Marketing.
Whether it’s pre-recorded video or live broadcasts. Whether you’re interviewing other experts or sharing your own expertise. Whether you’re demonstrating products or answering questions… every business can and should benefit from the use of video.
Video content is not only native to social media, but can then be repurposed as blog post material, embedded landing page content, and so on.

Lee Odden

CEO

TopRank Marketing – www.toprankmarketing.com

Lee leads a team of top digital marketing consultants that help top B2B and consumer brands grow demand and revenue. Lee evangelizes an integrated approach to search, social, influence and content marketing at events around the world and on toprankblog.com.
Answer: 
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin. Find a way to involve your social communities in marketing content creation and you’ll not only build an army of activated advocates for your brand, but you will tap into content and media creation expertise far beyond what you can produce in-house.

Brian Carter

Keynote Speaker, Author and Digital Marketing Consultant

www.briancartergroup.com

With 17 years experience, Brian is one of the leading authorities in the world on how to get organizations bigger online results. He is the #1 bestselling author of four social media books and has worked with and keynoted for companies that include NBC, Microsoft, Salesforce and many small businesses.
Answer:
If there’s one critical thing to do in social media marketing that I’m not sure everyone is doing enough, it’s <testing enough new content often enough.> You can only learn and improve as much as you try new things. If your posts or ads aren’t that diverse, your results will be pretty similar all the time. But if you try a lot more different things and look at the results, you’ll learn quicker which direction is better. What your customers like most. What gets you the biggest return on your time and money.
So, what new things have you tried this week or even this month?
What did you learn last month? How much is your metrics improving? How much bigger is your engagement rate than it was last year? How much bigger are your CTR’s? How much lower are your cost per leads? How many more conversions are you getting for a lower cost per conversions?
Test more stuff! For a very short cool video on this, check this out: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketingscience/videos/1375167252535059/
TedRubin

Ted Rubin

Social Marketing Strategist and Keynote Speaker

www.tedrubin.com

Ted is a leading Social Marketing Strategist, Keynote Speaker, Brand Evangelist, Acting CMO of Brand Innovators, and Co-Founder of Prevailing Path. Ted is the most followed CMO on Twitter according to Social Media Marketing Magazine; #13 on Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers and number #2 on the Leadtail list of Top 25 People Most Mentioned by digital marketers.
Answer:
Engage, Interact, and Build Relationships. 2017 needs to be the year of doing what I call… Looking People in the Eye Digitally. The last few decades of marketing tactics have made us lazy communicators. Most often we don’t even pay attention to who we are talking to other than via the data we collect (and even that’s a maybe). In order to fix this and really start to benefit from social relationships (both as individuals and as companies), we need to start “looking people in the eye digitally.” We don’t need to fit our world to digital, we need to fit digital to our world.

Jenn Herman

Founder of Jenn’s Trends and the World’s Forefront Blogger on Instagram Marketing

www.jennstrends.com

Jenn Herman is a social media consultant, speaker, and globally recognized Instagram expert. She is the forefront blogger on Instagram marketing and her blog, Jenn’s Trends, has won the title of a Top 10 Social Media Blog in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Through her blog, consulting, and speaking Jenn provides tips, resources, and training for small to medium sized businesses that need to structure their social media strategies. Her business background includes Administration, Sales, Human Resources, and Marketing and she enjoys bringing all these skills together to help you grow your business. Jenn has been featured in Inc., Yahoo Finance, and numerous other podcasts and publications. She is the author of “The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Instagram” and “Stop Guessing: Your Step-by- Step Guide to Creating a Social Media Strategy”.
Answer:
My single best social media tip is to be strategic. Every single post on any platform should support your social media goals and fuel those rewards. Every post should have a purpose. If you don’t know what those goals are or what you’re trying to achieve, then your posts aren’t serving you any real benefit. Determine that strategic plan and post accordingly to see real results this year.

Pam Didner

Content Marketing Expert /Author /Speaker

www.pamdidner.com

Pam Didner is a marketing consultant, author and speaker, whose international book, “Global Content Marketing”, is the first to offer an accessible, comprehensive process to scale content across regions. During her tenure at Intel, she led enterprise product launches and worldwide marketing campaigns as a global integrated marketing strategist. She now leads a boutique-consulting firm that trains, coaches and provides strategic guidance on audience development, messaging architecture, editorial planning, content creation and media outreach on a global scale.
Answer: 
Really know your audience well. We all use social media to market to our customers.  We should also use social media to serve them.

Julia Campbell

Digital Marketing Strategist

www.jcsocialmarketing.com

Julia Campbell helps her mission-driven clients find their audience online, using websites, email, blogs and social media marketing strategies.
Answer:
Be authentic, and always go for quality over quantity. Quality content gets comments, gets shares, and gets bookmarked for later. You cannot beat the Internet on quantity. Don’t simply add to the noise and the clutter. Speak to your audience about what they are interested in, and be genuine above all.

Randy Milanovic

CEO

www.kayakonlinemarketing.com

Randy Milanovic is an entrepreneur, marketer, author and blogger of online marketing & SEO. A 4x author, he’s also a stage IV Cancer Survivor who has been seen in: forbes.com, business2community.com, steamfeed.com, socialmediatoday.com, financialpost.com, spinsucks.com, the CTV News, and recently, the was featured nationally in the Financial Post Magazine: Entrepreneur/Innovator edition, the article titled: Keep Running.
Answer:
Instant articles, AMP and the like are going to massively impact your social and business information options. Those articles with the little lightning bolt are super fast – because they are not on your site – they are within the platform. ‘Why worry about that?’ you might ask… until you see that starting within the app as opposed to visiting your site opens the opportunity for those platforms to insert ads within your content as much as they like.
Every article you write on your blog can become a delivery vehicle for advertisers (even competitors) to insert advertising directly within your content. Again, while never visiting your site. The opportunity for Google, Facebook and LinkedIn to transform the web into a 3-app online world and relegate your website to the shadows is immense. Keep an eye on this.
IanCleary

Ian Cleary

Founder

www.razorsocial.com

Ian is a marketing tech guy who founded RazorSocial and he helps companies take advantage of marketing tech to become more effective and efficient. He specializes in social media and content marketing.
Answer:
Build a strategy for live video. Video will continue to get more reach and will grow massively. Don’t go into 2017 without a strong video strategy.
TimHughes

Tim Hughes

Co-Founder

www.digitalleadershipassociates.com

Tim Hughes is a transformational leader, best-selling author and top 10 Social Media influencer. With a background in sales and sales management, Tim has been involved in Social Media for over 7 years, having built a following of Twitter of 150,000 and becoming a top 10 influencer. He is an international renown speaker, blogger and writer.
Tim is the co-founder of Digital Leadership Associates, a company designed to help companies make a transformational move to embrace digital and social.
Answer: 
Nobody cares about your products and services, the most important person is me.  Stop shouting at me, I’m not listening.  You know where I am, you know my interests, why not engage with me?
lilach_bullock

Lilach Bullock

Founder and Social Media Expert

www.lilachbullock.com

Highly regarded on the world speaker circuit, Lilach has graced Forbes and Number 10 Downing Street. She’s a hugely connected and highly influential entrepreneur. Listed by Forbes as one of the top 20 women social media power influencers and was crowned the Social Influencer of Europe by Oracle and the number one Influencer of the UK by Career Experts. She is a recipient of a Global Women Champions Award for her outstanding contribution and leadership in business.
Answer:
Like I mentioned earlier, the video is going to continue to be huge in 2017. Businesses and marketers need to come up with a plan for creating more videos, whether they be live streamed or not, as they will help with improving your overall sales and ROI. Videos will also help you attract your audience’s attention on social media, so they can be of huge help with improving your overall engagement.

Brian Fanzo

Millennial Speaker & Founder of iSocialFanz

www.isocialfanz.com

Brian Fanzo Talks Fast & Tweets Faster, Is a Translator of GeekSpeak and a self-proclaimed Change Evangelist, that also happens to be a pager-wearing millennial known by most as iSocialFanz. Brian is a Millennial Keynote speaker that spoke at more than 50 events in 10 countries in 2016 and also hosts two podcasts: S.M.A.C.Talk & FomoFanz.
Answer:
As AR/VR continue to grow and will undoubtedly be the future of marketing, no brand will be able to jump to AR/VR without first having a live video strategy. Focus on giving your audience ACCESS to people, places, products and experiences with live video that they can’t get anywhere else!

NataschaThomson

Natascha Thomson

CEO

MarketingXLerator – www.marketingxlerator.com

Natascha’s motto is “Give a man a fish and he won’t starve for a day. Teach a man how to fish and he won’t starve for his entire life.” As the CEO of the boutique social media marketing consultancy MarketingXLerator, she brings over 20 years of experience at startups and large enterprises to the table. She’s also a published author and teaches social media at UCSC Silicon Valley.
Answer: 
Don’t follow trends blindly. The only thing that truly matters is your target audience. Know your prospects and clients and focus on them. If they are on Snapchat, that’s where you have to be. If they don’t use social media, reach them where they are. Do your homework and never feel you have to do anything in marketing just because everybody else is doing it. Most companies don’t know the ROI of their social media activities. Do your best to know.
Keri_Jaehnig

Keri Jaehnig

Founder & CMO at Idea Girl Media – Social Business Faculty Chair at Simplilearn

www.ideagirlmedia.com

Keri Jaehnig is the Founder and CMO of Idea Girl Media, an international Social Media Marketing Agency that works with business brands, public figures & select non-profits, providing customized marketing campaigns and social media training. Now the Social Business Faculty Chair at Simplilearn, I am humbled to have received a 2013 Small Business Influencer Honorable Mention Award, and a commendation for Outstanding Attainment in Social Media from the Senate of the State of Ohio. My insight has also been featured on Social Media Today, SteamFeed, Search Engine People, and AOL Small Business, as well as Forbes and Business Insider. Non-fat lattes, travel & quick wit make me smile, and I am always enthused to meet new people!
Answer:
There are a lot of social networks out there, making social media marketing a lot of fun! At the same time, social networks are all “rented real estate” where we don’t control any of the decisions. Marketers need to remember that efforts should start with the blog/website as the online headquarters. In turn, social networks should lead back to the blog and/or website. A tried and true thing that we should stay loyal to. On the other side of the coin, I keep hearing people say, “I’ll get to that soon,” when it comes to new social networks or trying new features. 2017 is the year to stop procrastinating and….just do it. Your competition is racing by you and already benefitting from new networks and features.
GiniDietrich

Gini Dietrich

CEO of Arment Dietrich and author of Spin Sucks

www.spinsucks.com

Gini is the CEO and founder of Arment Dietrich, an integrated marketing communications firm. She is the author of Spin Sucks, co-author of Marketing in the Round, and co-host of Inside PR. She is the lead blogger at Spin Sucks and the founder of Spin Sucks Pro.
Answer: 
It’s time for digital marketing to grow up, which means you must do the things that translate to business goals. Data is plentiful and it’s far easier to make decisions based on that versus your gut. Use it religiously in 2017.

JacobkCurtisJacob Curtis

Account Manager

www.obilityb2b.com

An experienced new media marketer and personal branding advocate, I work with both companies and individuals in developing, maintaining and leveraging their digital identity online. Connect with me on Twitter or view my social media video tutorials on jacobcurtis.com.
Answer:
My most useful social media marketing tip for 2017 would be to familiarize yourself with paid social media advertising. As organic reach declined for most pages and platforms move toward a pay-to-play model, aligning your current media spends to incorporate paid social will provide powerful ad targeting for your business goals.

Stephanie Nelson

SEO & Social Media Maven

SBN Marketing – www.sbnmktg.com

Stephanie Boyette Nelson is the owner and SEO/Social Media Maven at SBN Marketing, a Charlotte-NC-based boutique digital marketing agency. Stephanie’s marketing experience runs the gamut – print ads, print newsletters, event coordination, e-mail newsletters, paid search, SEO, and more. Currently, SBN Marketing specializes in social media marketing, content marketing, and on-page SEO for small businesses.
Answer:
Do not put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify WHERE you advertise, but have a unified message. Use more than one social outlet because changes happen all the time, and your audience or reach may change at the drop of a hat. But also find where your audience is and advertise there, whether it’s on social media or not. Cultivate an email marketing list that abides by the federal CAN-SPAM law and use it to advertise your products/services AND your social media outlets. If print ads are still effective for you, great…but be sure to put your social icons/handles in your print ads, too.
IngridKibler

Ingrid Kibler

Director of Social Media at HCK2 Partners

HCK2 Partners – www.ingridkibler.com

Ingrid’s passion is to help clients harness the power of social media for their business. From presenting innovative ideas to devising a winning strategy to staying in-the-know of the latest, my job is to help clients utilize this technology in surpassing their business goals and keep them ahead of the competition. Ingrid’s been honored with several awards in the social media industry and speaks regularly at social media conferences across the country. But for her, it’s not a job. It’s a privilege.
Answer:
Social media platforms are constantly releasing new features throughout the year. Incorporate them into your brand’s social media use once released to stay cutting edge within the social landscape.

Britt Michaelian

Author, Artist, Producer

www.brittmichaelian.com

Britt is a writer, producer and entrepreneur She likes the excitement and creativity that comes with working on new projects. In addition to consulting for tech companies and television networks in the areas of social strategy and implementation, Britt has appeared on the red carpet as a social media correspondent for the Insider and Entertainment Tonight at events for Vanity Fair, the Daytime Emmys and the Billboard Awards.
Answer:
The most important element for all marketers in 2017 is truth. Truth, not in the sense of buzz words like “authenticity” or “transparency” but as a response to empty marketing tactics that have forced consumers to get wise to being “sold” to. Consumers are getting smarter about spending and partnering with brands. They are looking for brands that don’t just make quality products, but that are conscious of supporting the wellness of humanity as a whole. If marketers can look for ways to implement and convey messaging for the greater good of the planet, 2017 will be their year to shine.

Stuart Davidson

Marketing Manager at CityDocs and Blogger

www.stuartjdavidson.com

Top 40 Social Media Influencer by Onalytica. Top 40 Twitter influencer by BrandWatch. Featured and quoted by many leading marketing magazines, websites and blogs. “In boxing, styles make fights. In blogging, styles make readership” – Stuart Davidson
Answer:
Relevance. Relevance creates interest, which creates action. No matter what your social marketing objectives are, always remain relevant to your prospects and networks. If you can find more ways, or better methods of personalizing content, then you will ultimately improve your social marketing and wider business metrics.

Jenifer Kramer

Principal

Jenerosity Marketing LLC – www.jenerositymarketing.com

With 20+ years in the licensing, promotions and entertainment business, Jen Kramer has worked with some of the largest companies in the world. From Hearst Magazines to TibECo, she has worked in virtually every category from toys and publishing to housewares and grocery. Jen has a complete understanding of toy manufacturing due to many years at Avon and PPW developing innovative playthings for all ages. Just prior to launching her own business, Ms. Kramer honed her digital skills at social engagement company, true[X] media which was later acquired by 21 st Century Fox.
Answer: 
ENGAGE with your fans. Posting a lot isn’t always the best way to connect. Make sure your content is fun, funny, relevant and meaningful for your audience. Bring them into the story and don’t just talk to them.
Nigel_Ohrum

Nigel Ohrum

Content Marketing Strategist

Good Reads in Social Media & Content Marketing Google+ Collection

DARC: Digital native with Analytical chops, strong web Reach, and Content creation skills. I also help individuals, businesses, and organizations to build web presence through social media. I speak on the value of web presence / social media and serve as a mentor for veteran business owners seeking advice and guidance in using social media.
Answer:
I recently read an article referencing Larry Kim (WordStream) and how he uses Twitter to test “audition” content topics. Granted he’s got more than 500,000 followers, but the concept is a genius and it can easily be applied to businesses/brands with a few hundred or couple thousand followers. Leveraging your Twitter audience to gain insights about what’s impactful before promoting it on other social networks. #brilliant

Jamie Turner

Internationally recognized author and Founder

www.60secondmarketer.com

Jamie is an internationally recognized author, speaker and the founder of 60SecondMarketer.com, a marketing blog read by tens of thousands of executives around the globe. He is a regular guest on CNN where he provides insights on branding, marketing and business. He’s also been profiled in one of the world’s best-selling marketing textbooks.
Answer:
Start moving towards paid social media advertising. Organic reach is beginning to taper off, so in order to reach your audience, you’ll have to use paid social media advertising as a way to stand out.

Adel de Meyer

New Media Specialist – Brand Ambassador – Author – Mentor

www.adeldemeyer.com

Adel de Meyer is listed as a Top Digital blog and Top 20 Social Media coach and has worked with many different brands some including Hootsuite, Pitney Bowes, Later, Brand24 and Huawei as a Brand Influencer and a Key Opinion Leader. Adel regularly writes articles on analytics, influencer marketing, technology and social media solutions. Adel’s experience got her listed globally as a Top Social Media and Tech influencer and her closely with global SMB enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Personal Brands by using Social Media and Technology to captivate their audiences. She loves coffee and creative minds!
Answer:
Start thinking outside of the box! How can you get creative with communicating your brand’s value and message? People demand more authenticity and transparency and the businesses that understand this and find ways to connect with audiences online in a meaningful manner will be the successful ones in 2017.

MarjiJShermanMarji J. Sherman

Founder

Sherman Social – www.marjijsherman.com

Marji J. Sherman is an experienced social media strategist that has been featured in Inc. Magazine, Jay Baer’s SocialPros podcast, The Growth Factor and numerous other podcasts and publications. She writes a successful blog (www.MarjiJSherman.com) where she relates real-life experiences to the ever-changing landscape of social media and has over 180K followers on Twitter (@MarjiJSherman) where she focuses on positive living and leveraging social media while still remaining authentic.
Answer:
Empower your employees and give them a voice by providing them with social media training and tools to promote themselves and your brand online. While it seems risky, the payoff for you and for your employees is immeasurable.
AndrewHutchinson

Andrew Hutchinson

Content and Social Media Manager at Social Media Today

www.socialmediatoday.com

Andrew Hutchinson is the Content and Social Media Manager at Social Media Today
Answer: 

“Listen to your audience”. There’s nothing more important, and you have more opportunities and ways to do so than ever before. To manage social media content, we suggest checking out our article on the best social media tools.

Reginald_ChanReginald Chan

Social Media Influencer

www.reginaldchan.net

Bold by nature, I strongly believe in helping companies with their marketing challenges. With over a decade of experience in the digital world, I’ve help brands and businesses to reach new heights and triple their revenue through the power of digital marketing.
Answer:
Focus on mobile marketing and that is the safest best of all. Paid marketing is no longer a luxury. You need to use paid marketing if you really want to excel in competitive social media marketing industry for the coming year. And this means that whatever you do, make sure you are targeting the mobile audience.

BONUS  TIP

Vladimir Gendelman

Founder & CEO

Company Folders, Inc. – www.companyfolders.com

Vladimir Gendelman is the founder and CEO of CompanyFolders, an innovative presentation folder company that has won multiple awards, including ranking in Inc. 5000’s list of fastest growing private companies in America in 2015 and 2016. He is a thought leader in print design and has published numerous articles including such publications as Forbes and Times.
Answer:
The most important and useful tip to social media marketing is a one-two punch: great images and great content.
Our in-house design team has created an amazing illustrative style that’s completely unique to us. This makes our content recognizable for our followers, and it catches other users’ attention since they haven’t seen anything like it before. We also include bright, warm colors in our images. People scroll through social feeds quickly, so it’s easy for dark or cool colors to get overlooked.
Great images attract social media users; great content is what gets them to follow us. We refuse to post anything that doesn’t provide real value to our clients. That means no self-promotions, no product plugs, and no selfish posts at all. What we do share is helpful content. Most of our clients are graphic designers, so we create content that gives them the tips and tricks they need to do their jobs better. When they see that we’re consistently posting things they can use, they start coming to our profile regularly.
In this way, any business can leverage social media to build trust and turn potential clients into actual customers.