I'm both honored and excited to announce the release of a second beginner's guide from Moz: The Beginner's Guide to Social Media.
The prevalence and importance of social media to web marketing can't be overstated. To quote a few statistics from the guide itself, 72% of online adults use social networking sites, and YouTube now reaches more U.S. adults aged 18-34 than any cable network. With that kind of traffic, it's no wonder marketers now use these networks to interact with their customers, and there's plenty more data to prove it. Google searches for "social media" have seen a steady rise since early 2009:
Data from this year's industry survey tell a similar story. In 2012, nearly 20% of respondents reported not using any social media tools; this year, that number was down to 11%. On top of that, 63% of respondents indicated that their demand for social media marketing has increased over the last year. Whether you've been in on the game from the very beginning or are just starting to wonder how social tools can apply to your own professional life, this guide was created to help take you to the next level. We've even got some advice on social media for CEOs. Click below to dive in, or keep reading for more details!
What's inside
There's something for everyone in here, from the fundamentals of how social media is used to details about individual platforms and overarching best practices. Here's a list of the chapters you'll find in the guide:
The first section of the guide talks about social media in general, offering a plethora of best practices, a clear sense of the value of social media, ways you can measure your success in this endeavor, and recommendations on how to get started. From there, we dive into individual sites, slicing and dicing each of the major social media platforms and offering a consistent set of topics about each.
Here's a run-through of what you'll find:
Key stats and demographics
How many people are using these networks, and what kinds of people are they? When it comes to figuring out which social networks are right for you to use, it helps to know who you might be able to reach by developing a presence. This section is designed to give you the who, what, where, and when of each platform. You'll find infographics with statistics as well as some more general info.
How are people using the platform?
While the previous section covers who, what, where and when, this one covers the how and why of each platform. With uses ranging from establishing thought leadership to building customer advocates, this section (complete with innovative pro-tips) will give you a clearer picture of why you might want to choose one platform over another.
Strategies and tactics for success
Okay; you've decided to dive in. Success comes in different ways for different platforms, though, so how do you maximize your chances of seeing early results? This section is all about starting you in the right direction, making sure you can learn from the mistakes of everyone who came before you instead of from your own.
What success looks like
Many people learn better when they can see a great example of what they're going for, and while there's certainly no "best" way of going about your presence on any particular network, there's a great deal you can learn by examining some of the biggest success stories for each network. The sites listed in this section are all continuously finding new and innovative practices, so checking back in on them once in a while will help keep you up-to-date.
Etiquette tips and guidelines
At their hearts, all of these networks are really just tools to facilitate different kinds of social interactions. For that reason, there exists an unwritten code of etiquette for each. Most of this code mirrors basic human etiquette, but in new environments it's easy to make accidental slips. This section aims to point out some of the ways in which folks end up harming the trust and authority of their brands by ruffling their audiences' feathers, reducing the chances of any accidental train wrecks.
Recommended tools
While the platforms themselves are full of functionality, there are other tools on the web that can really take your social presence to the next level, offering you everything from scheduling functionality to insight and analytics not offered by the networks. For each of the major platforms, we list our favorite tools and talk about how they can help your efforts.
Thank-yous
This guide would never have been possible if not for the absolutely tireless efforts of the following folks.
Thanks to Kristy Bolsinger for actually writing the guide, for her expertise, and for her patience during the editorial process; Rob Eagle for his energy and vision in creating graphics for the guide; Ashley Tate for wrangling the process and polishing the early drafts; Lindsay Wassell for her long hours of thorough edits; and the many Mozzers who worked to bring the guide to life (particularly Erica McGillivray, who worked so hard that I really need to bake her cookies).
Fantastic guide!!! I will be sharing this with everyone!
Hey Trevor,
I'd like to congratulate you and MOZ for creating this highly useful and comprehensive post. You have given very useful tips and techniques for using all the social channels.
The way you guys published it in a chapters format will be very much easier for the beginners to understand. I urge all the people who are experts or fresh, just not read this but try to IMPLEMENT it in your strategies. Make the most out of it as much as you can.
It's a gospel of Social Media I'd say. :)
Thanks, Umar! We're very (very) excited about it. =)
Hey Trevor,
You should be. I'd like dedicated this post to Mr.Rand Fishkin. Hope you won't mind :)
Fantastic guide! Your team did nice job of gathering tons of useful data and facts, organizing it and making it easy and, actually fun, to read, while tossing in your recommendations. Perfect for the beginners AND others who've been in the social game for a while, like myself. I'll never stop learning.
Personally speaking, I jumped right to the Blogging chapter first. Why? Blogs (articles/news/stories/experiences), to me, are what helps feed the social beast from newsletters, Facebook posts, Tweets or posts to G+ or even LinkedIn. When working to create the content for a blog article, either on your website or a guest post, we find lots of tidbits of information we feel we can also share across the social profiles or take polls on or ask questions about. I'm not saying you need a blog to participate in social media, however, working towards developing content for a blog certainly has guided us into publishing more content, posts, and ideas about new topics.
I was also really surprised at the high volume of bloggers in the US alone. 31 million is not a small number, people. As well as, "Nearly 2/3 of influencers earn revenue from blogging, but 80% of them report earning less than $10,000 per year". I had to read that twice as to make sure it was per year and not per month as so many people claim they are making gobs of money online and make $10K+/month. Your data source proves the web isn't a 'get rich scheme' and that the numbers are hyper inflated for most affiliates and "bloggers".
Again, awesome new guide which is bookmarked and hoping to see it on the right side bar for the "Featured Content" in the near future. It's definitely worth sharing and promoting. - Patrick
If there's a job on the web where I can make $10K/mth blogging, I need to find it :)
Great guide and a good refresher for non-beginners as well. One thing I really like about Moz is the attention to SEO's of all levels. When I first started I knew next to nothing about social media or SEO, and read just about everything on the site. Plus, the people in the forums have some great advice and literally there are no dumb questions. regardless, of the question the answers treat people with respect regardless of their skill level. Enough Moz love for the day got to get back to work.
Thanks Trevor for sharing this second part of the guide. I appreciate Kristy, Ashley and Rob for their hard work and commitment to keep the users updated with the latest trends with the help of this guide.
The best part I enjoy the most in social media nowadays is that people have started giving importance to 'ENGAGEMENT'. Businesses are connecting with their customers and consumers over social media in a very friendly way at the same time being professional. This started making people believe that there is someone alive on the other side, not just a business logo.
Also, this platform (social media) has given the consumer/customer an easy, effective and convenient way to connect with their service provider, which I guess wasn't that easy during 'pre-social media days'.
Really good guide. I sometimes think it is only SEO people who use Google+ but then I'm in the UK, so it's interesting to see that it has picked up in other countries. I do like it as a social media platform.
The only thing I'd add is that the measurement section talks about ROI but doesn't mention how to measure it. Adobe social is a tool which does a pretty good job but is not cheap. At least you want to see how many visits to our site and orders (if it is an ecommerce site) come from social.
Google Analytics recently added a Social reporting section (under Acquisition) but since it doesn't have Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn it is a little limited. I would also recommend adding GA campaign tracking to links on posts (these can be put into URL shortening tools so they don't make the link look ugly). It is important because just relying on the default referrer tracking under tracks visits and doesn't tell you which post caused the visit.
Thanks S_Curtis! Good point about the ROI. And you bring up some good tools for measuring. I'm a big fan of custom dashboards in GA to help measure that type of stuff. I use one very similar to this: https://cutroni.com/blog/2012/04/24/a-social-media-dashboard-for-google-analytics/ and I definitely, like you suggest, recommend building our your own referral and tracking methods because like you said - you can't rely on the out-of-the-box options very often.
In terms of ROI it's important to remember that everyone's definition of "return" is going to be different and dictated by their investment. So for one company a ROI scorecard could have things like Likes, Links, Mentions, etc. while another companies would have things like Advocate Posts, Shares, Referrals, etc. There isn't one framework that works for everyone!
May be pinterest should also be given equally importance. :)
Very nice! Some tools in there I hadn't heard about.
But why are YouTube and Pinterest in the same chapter? They aren't even close to being related.
And no mention of Tumblr (it's only bigger than Wordpress, Blogger, and Pinterest).
We gotta save something for version 1.1. ;)
We talked a lot about expanding the guide further to add platforms like Tumblr, but given how long the project took, we decided to wait for more in the future.
The is really great stuff! Can't wait to read cover to cover. Question - I was hoping there would be a nugget in the etiquette section for Facebook on hashtags. I see some pages using many, many hashtags on Facebook posts that are not branded for a campaign but seem to be placed for discovery like on Twitter. Do people use hashtags for discovery on FB like Twitter? I always feel it looks super spammy when a FB post is laden with hashtags so I was wondering what the etiquette on that is for pages. Would love to see some info on this!
Hi Kimber :)
In my experience they have not been all that successful and very few users are engaging with them. This post from edgerankchecker actually suggests that posts that include hashtags receive less engagement. This falls into the category of things that I would definitely want to be testing if I were a brand - but withholding any great expectation :) As far as etiquette goes I'd think of it in terms of jargon or colloquial language. If your target demo is a group that uses them regularly or is familiar with them they could be used readily. As you know hashtags can often be used less as a utility and more as a way of injecting humor or an aside onto a post.
But yes...anything laden with anything is probably going to come across as spammy. Your instincts are leading you astray ;)
Hi Kristy! :) Thanks for the reply. I appreciate it and love the guide.
"But yes...anything laden with anything is probably going to come across as spammy. Your instincts are leading you astray ;)"
So are they? Or aren't they? The instincts, that is. ;)
Hi Klein, Thanks for this Guide, It’s Such an wonderful and excellent analyzed guide for social media. Can we get this as PDF or PPT?
Thanks, Pankaj -- the PDF is in the works! We wanted to release the rest of the guide as soon as possible, so we're still working on the PDF, but it should be done by the end of this month. Thanks for your patience. =)
Thanks a lot Trevor, sure we will do wait.... :)
Good social media marketing = create a social media guide for beginners. Two birds, one post. :-)
This guide is excellent! The guide is packed full of statistics, tips, and awesome graphics. Big thanks to the Moz team for taking all the time and energy to put this comprehensive beginner guide together.
It is another great resource for online marketers to start using social media marketing. Online business can now easily develop communities where they can indulge and interact with their clients. The infographics are especially awesome. I have a now learned a assured way to do SEM. Kudos to Moz.
Really interesting post. So much I can take away from this!
Love this! As someone who's been working hard to get up to speed on Google+, it was very helpful to see so much great info in one space. And kudos to whoever designed the look and feel of the guide - beautifully done.
Thanks for the kind words! We're glad you found it helpful. =)
Thanks Trevor...This is really an excellent guide...I liked it...It is full of nice information...
Hai friends
I am starting my carrier as an SEO Executive.Can anyone please suggest certain areas which I should Concentrate first and basics which I have to learn thoroughly to become an SEO Executive
Hi there! If you're just getting started, we'd recommend going through our Beginner's Guide to SEO. That should give you a good sense for the basics. From there, the Q&A section of our site has some great answers, but the best way to learn is likely to just dive in and start practicing. Best of luck!
Every SEO and social media person out there needs to read this guide stat! All new employees should read it as well, it helps to have everyone on the same page on how to dominate social media.
Great stuff always found at great place and the moz is one of them. Thanks for the guide, although I have not yet gone through it completely, I'll complete the reading in few days. I'll make a copy of the post as soon as the PDF is out to download.
Regards
Sasha
Thanks for this great guide. It would be nice to get it in PDF, is this possible?
Klick the Download button to get the PDF :)
its on the top right of the post I guess - usually it is...
^^ you are right it isn't in PDF.. I just thought it could be because it is in SEO Guide aso :
my mistake
We're working on a PDF version right now, and hope to have it available by the end of the month. Thanks for your patience! =)
Awesome, I've just bookmarked this. Good job Moz team on putting all this stuff in one place.
Social media going to crazy in the digital world, not only companies, business owners are using social media for better ROI but professionals, political parties even teen age also mad for social media.
Thank you so much Trevor, and Moz team to sharing such informative topics.
Just finished reading the guide. Absolutely fantastic for a beginner social media marketer (like me). Many thanks :)
Thanks, Sean! Glad you found it helpful. =)
Hey Trevor, fantastic guide that you put together. I loved chapter 5. It's very important to evaluate various properties before stepping in considering the expectations, objective & limitations of the business.
I love this article so much, really help beginner like me.. :)
Thanks for another great guide! Your SEO guide is a wonderful start for SEOs. I look forward to digitally thumbing through this new social media guide :)
Such a great guide! Thank you for all the tips and great aids! Now I have to find the right job to market! Looking forward to the next guide!
Hey Trevor,
First of all, I would like to congratulate you for your “fresh beginners guide to social media” for us. Thanks for that. Trevor you have shared some amazing techniques while using social media platforms.
Now it’s quite easy for us to read about social media techniques and ways to use it in a proper ways. These Chapters are really helpful for those who are beginner or newbie to understand and work on social media platforms.
At last, I will try to implement it in social media strategy.
Hi Trevor. You should consider to edit a book like Smash Mag did. Your guides are trully awesome and I'd definitely order it. Thanks!
If we get a few more of these guides put together, that's not a bad idea at all! Put them all into one big bound copy and call it the Beginner's Guide to Marketing? ...I'm liking your thinking. =)
Thanks for the kind words!
A complete guide for the social media marketing, Thanks for the effort behind .
Thanks for sharing this Trevor! I can't wait to start reading the guide. It's just what I was looking for. I'm a little behind with this since the only social media I'm actively using now is Facebook. haha
Hey Trevor, awesome guide. Definitely gonna give it a read soon
Trevor- awesome guide! Great point about in order to see a return you need to invest correctly in your strategy. I think people get caught up in the $$$, but underestimate the value of engagement, sentiment, influence and being looked as a thought leader within your industry, as a measure of social media success!
Great guide. Very useful for any seo beginners.
Any news on the PDF version?
There's always room for a better, more comprehensive beginner's guide, and this one delivers. This is going out to a ton of our clients.
Thank you +Trevor Klein and good people of Moz for releasing this - very useful.
Just to mention that there's an oversight on the official figures of Google+ as reported in 2012. A Google+ user/colleague, Thomas Morffew, pointed out to me that Google updated their official figures in October 2013 following the announcement in a Google+ event earlier that month by Vic Gundotra: https://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/google-hangouts-and-photos-save-some.html - you may want to update your guide accordingly.
Great find, Peter! We're putting together a list of things to update when we get a chance (given the field of social media, it'll likely be fairly extensive), and this is definitely going on the list. Thanks for the link.
Thanks a lot I was not aware of the New Beginner's Guide to Social Media by Moz. I am looking for such type of articles and post with some case studies on it to make strategies for our business and to build our social signal base stronger
Trevor this is a big bonus or lottery for me.
BTW, I read an article written by Pratik Dhokaliya where he explained, how social networks drive sales and why it is useful for e-commerce business with case study
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/3-e-commerce-start-marketing-tips-level-competition/
Aww man! Thought my YouMoz post about Google+ may have made it into the G+ section via a link. Fantastic guide though, Moz!
I'm so glad that you're making your guides simple to understand.Thanks.
Good video for those who want to learn more about G+: G+ as part of marketing strategy
Hello Trevor,
Really superb post you shared here, its very helpful guideline for beginners in social media. I have read just one chapter but got lots of interesting information which helps me lots. Thank you Trevor keep sharing like this interesting and helpful post.
Quite a lot of content.
I have really like the "cases" as they help to show a practical approach on many different things.
Also, the way you present the Images of the "infography like" makes quite different interactions from Pinterest. Nice movement.
I love the henry Ford statement in the guide (when i had asked people what they wanted, they would have said: faster horse)
Great
Wow, you brought this too!. . .let me start reading this one .
Thanks @moz, for creating this valuable beginners guide to social media. Let me tweet this to my followers to know this useful piece of guide.
Oh!! Such a brillainant job Trevor. It is as easier to understand as SEOmoz beginner guide. Thanks MOZ.
Thanks for the post Trevor! The content you guys share at Moz is always excellent.
I like it ! I have good hand in SEO and now a days trying to get expertise in Social Media.
Definitely this guide will help me.
Many many thanks to you Trevor Klein.
Good Job. Keep it up !!
Thanks Trevor for posting such a fantastic guide, but I am curious to know that how important these social media channels are in terms of marketing? because Young ones used to browse these channels for fun, entertainment, etc. How significant these channels will help in conversions? Lets say I have a shopping website & I want to promote it, will Youtube be the best option as it has a vast audience? At the same time I would also think about PPC, what do you think? Which channel can generate more leads for me?
Thanks...Waiting for the PDF version.
We're on it! It should be ready by the end of the month, and we'll let everyone know as soon as it is. =)
Trevor Klein.
Fantastic guide about social Media.. Really helpfull for social Media marketing Beginners. I will be sharing this with my friends and social Media team.
Thanks again Trevor Klein, if posible then please send me PDF or PPT Converting file.
Email Id: [email protected]
Tejas Shah
Hi Tejas, thanks for the kind words! We're working on a PDF version of the guide right now, and hope to have it finished by the end of the month. We'll make sure to let everyone know as soon as it's available.
Perfect timing for this. So many people are still in the dark on how to effectively use social media. They no longer have sufficient excuse to stay in the dark.
RS
I love this one :)
Nice guide, but in the first infographic, the first source I clicked was very lacking.
I clicked through to the source of the "1/3 of employees lied on the CV" info graphic, and was taken to another infographic, which listed sources below, but not inline.
An infographic sourcing another infographic, instead of the actual source is lazy and reduces credibility.
Any chance of a download link?
We're working on the downloadable PDF right now, and hope to have it ready by the end of this month. We wanted to get the rest of it out to you guys as soon as we could, though!
Appreciate it. Although I'm pretty fluent in social, there are some great nuggets in there to help with the overall sales/business development process.
That would really be great to make it available in the form of PPT or PDF. Great share Trevor for your continued efforts of improving Moz Community and adding value to what every professional looks for.
sorry to be a hater but infographics are barely readable on mobile
This is fantastic for beginners and even has some useful information for more experienced users too! Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
Hey Travor, I am beginner in SEO. I read your blog "Announcing the Brand New Beginner's Guide to Social Media" that very good for SEO beginners.
Thanks, Juliana. Please keep links (even those not hyperlinked) relevant to the post.