Earlier this year, I released Social Media Marketing: The Movie. You can watch it here.
In fact, you should watch it. I’ve been in digital marketing for years, and I learned a lot from talking with the experts.
It’s an especially great idea to watch the movie if you’re using social media to promote your business.
Here are just a few of the lessons that you’ll learn if you watch Social Media Marketing: The Movie.
Table of Contents
Love It or Leave It
For the first interview, I Skyped with Jay Baer. He spent more than a quarter of a century in digital marketing. He’s also the founder of five multi-million dollar companies.
He spoke to me from the comfort of his own home, with an office or bedroom door opened slightly in the background and what appeared to be a liquor cabinet behind him.
“If you hate social media, you will suck at social media,” he told me.
Unfortunately, too many marketers do hate social media. They view it as a necessary evil instead of getting excited about its potential as a marketing channel.
Baer said those people won’t succeed at social media marketing.
Some folks, though, like one or two social media sites. They should focus their marketing efforts on those channels.
He also said that when people enjoy social media, they’ll create better content. When they create better content, their followers will react to it more positively.
Baer also said brands to use social media for customer service. There are plenty of Fortune 500 companies doing that today.
Don’t Be All Things to All People
I also spoke with Amy Landino, an expert at YouTube marketing. She told me that the biggest mistake people make is thinking they need to be on all social media networks.
Nope.
Instead, Landino said, it’s best to focus on just one or two channels. Once marketers get really good at promoting their brands on those channels, then maybe they can expand to other sites.
Until they get to that point, though, they should go “all in” on the social media channels they’ve chosen. That’s how they’ll improve.
Recognize the “Human SEO”
Landino also brought up a phrase that a lot marketers haven’t heard before: “Human SEO.”
What does she mean by that? She means that people should optimize their content so that it appeals to people as well as search engine algorithms.
Specifically, she said that YouTube marketers should never, ever use one of the three default thumbnails that YouTube creates for their videos.
Why? Because, as Murphy’s Law dictates, YouTube’s algorithm will always pick the worst still images for the thumbnails.
If you’ve done YouTube videos for any length of time, then you know it’s not uncommon for the platform to create a thumbnail that shows your face at the worst possible moment.
For example, in one frame of your video you might have only one eye open and you’re grimacing like a monster. YouTube will pick that frame as the thumbnail that perfectly summarizes the contents of the production.
Do yourself a favor: get a professional thumbnail and upload it to YouTube. The default isn’t marketable.
Weave a Spider Web
“Video at this stage is in my opinion the most important part of marketing online.”
That’s what Sunny Lenarduzzi told me when I interviewed her.
She went on to offer some great advice about video marketing. She said to weave a spider web.
By that she meant what is effectively internal linking on YouTube.
Marketers should link to related videos within their descriptions. They should also link to their other videos within the videos themselves. They should link to playlists as well.
Bottom line is this: strategists should create a spider web of links back and forth to their own content on YouTube. That will keep people on their channels and should improve their rank.
Prepare to “Get Found” on LinkedIn
I also spoke with Viveka von Rosen, who’s an expert at marketing on LinkedIn. She brought up a point that I don’t think a lot of marketers had considered.
When people Google somebody’s name, it’s often the case that the person’s LinkedIn profile will show up in the search results. Sadly, many marketers don’t have a profile that’s very good at reeling in business.
That’s why she advises marketers to beef up their LinkedIn profile page. They should emphasize the benefits of their services, include customer testimonials, and highlight some of the best examples of their work.
Also, LinkedIn just added the ability to embed videos on a profile page. That’s an outstanding way to stand head and shoulders above the competition.
Wrapping It Up
These are just a few of the things that you can learn from watching Social Media Marketing: The Movie. If you’d like to learn more, feel free to watch the whole thing.
