Thoughtline Bling: Links to Make a Basic Social Media Primer

Because more people are waking up to the fact that social media has the most disruptive communications potential since the printing press, and because I lead a brand publishing department at an ad agency, I'm often asked to recommend resources where people can learn the basics of social media marketing. Since I recently put this list of articles together again, and since I didn't write a proprietary word of the content, I thought I'd put it up here as a general resource for anyone needing a basic primer in Social Media Marketing. 

While there are a ton of tools out there to help people become more proficient, I think there are also some good readings to get the basics down. These are all articles. Good information on social media publishing is almost never in a book format - by the time the book is published, the social medium has shifted or the way it's used has changed. Below are some great online publications that will keep you up-to-date, plus some articles that cover the foundation.

NEWSLETTERS TO FOLLOW:

  1. Social Media & Marketing Daily: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/social-media-marketing-daily/ 
  2. Ad Age Digital Updates (scroll to the bottom for the sign up): http://adage.com/channel/digital/20 
  3. Luxury Daily (beyond social/content, but provides and exceptional range of information on telling a robust story): https://www.luxurydaily.com/ 

The articles serve as a background primer for the state of social media and content marketing today, covering “right time/right place” storytelling. Note that this is a statement of where we are today, but that successful brands are adjusting the dial to create a culture-based platform from which all subsequent content will come.

ARTICLES TO INFORM:

  1. The building blocks of a content strategy: https://hbr.org/2016/05/your-content-marketing-strategy-doesnt-have-to-be-complicated
  2. On the current state of the world’s largest community, and how Facebook is impacting every industry: http://www.recode.net/2016/5/9/11610100/the-facebook-papers-part-1-the-great-unbundling 
  3. On the Facebook algorithm and why you don’t see everything your friends see: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/opinion/the-real-bias-built-in-at-facebook.html
  4. Most social audiences watch videos, but 85% of them do it without volume. This should inform one's approach to social video: http://digiday.com/platforms/silent-world-facebook-video/
  5. This is why we should look to engagement as the key metric in identifying social content: http://gawker.com/internet-video-views-is-a-100-percent-bullshit-metric-1774349561 
  6. Entrepreneur’s take on navigating authenticity and the new etiquette for businesses in social media: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/218160 
  7. Entrepreneur, on the content hub and targeting: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254245 
  8. A Content 101 oldie from Huffington Post, but it covers some basics: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-nagy/content-marketing-101-an-_b_4576992.html 
  9. An oldie from Forbes, but still relevant in terms of what social can do (The Top 10 Benefits Of Social Media Marketing): http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/08/11/the-top-10-benefits-of-social-media-marketing/#1b388a1c2a4d 
  10. Ad Age, on the golden rule of social & branded content: http://adage.com/article/digital/content-budgets-rise-measurement-advances/300836/ 
  11. Ad Age, on the current state of getting the right content to the right audiences as a marketing best practice, and measuring results: http://adage.com/article/digital/content-budgets-rise-measurement-advances/300836/ 

 

In Other News:

I've been thinking a lot lately about what's going on in the world, and how we can move beyond just talk and get into positive action that's impactful. I do think the most powerful social movements start with a conversation, though, and nowhere is that more easy to start than in social media. I want to help as many people as possible to use these channels effectively.

In the coming weeks I'll begin compiling resources to help individuals use social media to find networks and build coalitions for social change.

Let me know if you have any Social Media 101 articles to add to the list, or if you have any to add to a "social media for social change" list.

Until then... thank you, Drake.