5 Tips for Starting Up (or Starting Over) your Social Media Marketing

Many of us wonder what it would be like to just hit the reset button and start all over again. If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed or uninspired, it's time to do just that.

When it comes to social media content, you don't necessarily need to do more; just do things differently. Taking calculated risks and trying new things in your marketing campaigns is the key to getting results.

But first, a disclaimer: We're not suggesting deleting your pages and profiles and starting over from scratch (that is rarely necessary). We also don't want you to shoot blindly from the hip here. To be clear, don't throw caution to the wind and do anything that comes to mind. The trick is to come up with a strategy and take small steps.

When it comes to social media content, you don't necessarily need to do more, just do things differently.

Here are 5 best practices to refresh your social media content:

1. Find inspiration on social media

Producing shareable content is vital to your social media success. But where do you start? You have several options. You can use Twitter Trends and Facebook Insights to find out what people are talking about in your niche. Both platforms offer a wealth of information to help you create relevant content. Take a look at what your competitors are doing and follow their lead, or search for content on Google, BuzzSumo and other sites.

Know what hashtags they’re using to talk about your product and what platforms your customers congregate on.

The best content about your products and services comes from your customers. They're already talking about you. It's your job to tap into that conversation and use it to create content that will get even more people talking.

2. Ask questions of your audience

3. Analyze data and collect feedback

4. Experiment and test

5. Measure your success

And remember to be authentic. In fact, make authenticity a priority. Be true to your business values, brand voice and self. Authentic voices cut through the social media hype and are more relatable.

Remember to be authentic. In fact... make authenticity a priority.