Top 5 Social Media Blogs Every Digital Marketer Should Bookmark

All digital marketers should have a solid grasp of current social media trends and technology, even if they don’t specialize in content. To this end, there are a ton of social media influencers and marketing companies out there who are consistently sharing valuable content at no cost.

If you’re a digital marketing student or professional and you’re looking for the best online learning materials, here are some of the top social media blogs you should be following.

Why is social media important?

Before we dive into the specifics of who to follow, it’s important to establish why social media is important in general. To this end, each company will have a specific set of goals focused on content marketing, so it makes sense to pinpoint the reasons why social media is important for your business specifically.

Brand Awareness

Social content is at the top of the funnel and to this end it’s a lot about engagement and awareness rather than actual sales. Because of this your channels must be consistent and on point in accordance with brand look as well as brand story. Just spending a few hours a week on this and using a scheduling tool (like HootSuite) can take you a long way in terms of how your following will recognize you and engage with you.

Big ROI

Social media is essentially free advertising, which means that it has the potential to bring in a lot of attention for a very low cost. That being said, everyone is doing it, so it’s important that you have skilled experts running your channel and not just anyone doing it willy-nilly. In order to make a splash, you’ll need to find people who write well, who can incorporate humor, who can create multimedia content, and basically try out things that stand out from your competitors.

Customer Engagement & Happiness

There are so many ways to keep your customers both content and active via social media!

You may or may not already realize it but using social media can go a long way to customer satisfaction. Think about how far a simple tweet can go when it comes to real time reporting on, say, a malfunction in the subway – years ago there was no way of communicating important information to a large population so quickly.

So announcements are great to keep people posted, but they’re also a great way for consumers to publicly announce their satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with particular brands and products.

Another way to use social for customer satisfaction is via messenger apps and even chatbots which can be incorporated into Facebook messenger to provide a more personalized and immediate experience.

Build Trust and Authority

No matter what you are doing with your social, you must not neglect the fact that this is the ultimate opportunity to build brand awareness and develop a loyal following. A solid social presence allows people to find and engage with you easily, as well as share information not only on products but about other activities like partnerships and side projects that can keep them interested in your brand as well as trusting you.

You don’t just want them to “buy”– you need them to like you! Moreover, if you’re positioning yourself as an expert in some area, social can go a long way in establishing your authority and knowledge in your field, then it will automatically be associated with your personal and / or professional brand.

6 Social Media Blogs to Follow

Here’s our list of some of the best of the best when it comes to digital marketing, content strategy and social media management.

1.Moz

SEO is a big part of digital marketing and the Moz blog is one of the best sources available for learning about SEO trends, studies and best practices. There’s just a ton of content on the site, most of which is accessible and valuable to professionals at all levels.

Moz was founded by Rand Fishkin, a top digital marketing professional in the field today and a major influencer. Rand recently launched SparkToro, which is another extremely valuable point of reference for anyone interested in entrepreneurship and influence marketing.

2. Kissmetrics

Neil Patel’s baby,Kissmetrics, continually stands out as one of the best blogs out there when it comes to in-depth information about important digital marketing trends and tips. Not only does it offer plenty of information about how to create quality content, many of its articles really hone in on instructions about how to do things, and touch on a good balance of instructions from each of the qualitative and quantitative ends of the spectrum.

Kissmetrics offers plenty of solutions for companies in all industries and it’s been key to helping people meet their marketing goals from start to finish.

3. Copy Hackers

If you’re a copywriter or even do anything related to content creation, you should definitely check out all the wonderful things that Copy Hackers has to offer. Even though it’s geared more towards writers, there’s plenty of information here that can be incorporated into your social strategy, too. And it really stands out for its emphasis on creating quality copy that engages and converts. If you’re looking to read or write fluffy, meaningless content, move along -- there’s certainly nothing like that at Copy Hackers!

Figuring out how to choose the best wording to get a sale has been a part of marketing for as long as marketing’s existed. Founder Joanna Wiebe is one of the best copywriters out there and is full of interesting information for anyone looking to work on their craft. The site also offers training for those looking to break into the world of copywriting.

5. Search Engine Journal (SEJ)

If you want to learn more about search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) you need to follow the SEJ blog. As the name suggests, Search Engine Journal is an online publication that goes deep into the subject of search engine marketing.

Following SEJ will lead you to many insights that incorporate social content but actually go well beyond it. That being said, they have one of the largest content databases devoted to social specifically - check it out here.

Influencers to Follow

The above are companies that have a solid reputation and consistent following. They all have a lot of content on their respective websites and tend to offer research-backed, detailed posts. But people are great to follow too. A few social media influencers in digital marketing that have a particular focus on content and social include:

• Amy Porterfield, marketing expert, teacher, speaker, and creator of the podcast Online Marketing Made Easy.
• Darren Rowse, author and founder of ProBlogger, which teaches people step-by-step not only how to blog but how to find jobs in the field.
• Mari Smith, who is one of the leading experts on Facebook marketing and a top Social Media Power Influencer according to Forbes.
• Guy Kawasaki, who runs Canva, which is one of the top tools for design and branding.

Final Thoughts

So you want to keep abreast of our own preferences by doing your own social media research and connecting with partners, brands and influencers that align with or are complimentary with your overarching goals, vision, mission, philosophy, products and services. And who knows, with a little focus and effort, you may even become one yourself!

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