Where does a social media manager draw endless inspiration?

In today's digital age, managing accounts and advertising on social media is unambiguously part of successful companies' marketing. A social media manager has to stay constantly in the picture, follow current events and adapt their strategy to current trends and market needs. That takes not only creativity and technical skills but also the ability to adapt quickly and implement new ideas.

Take inspiration and find out where we at Invelity look for our ideas. :) 

Social media and online platforms

On Instagram and Pinterest you will find plenty of profiles popular in various industries. By following them you can get ideas for creative campaigns and visual content. Searching popular hashtags lets you discover the latest trends and posts that resonate with the target audience. Hashtags such as #marketingtips, #socialmediastrategy or #contentcreation can be an excellent start. 

Instagram and Pinterest both offer "Explore" and "Trending" features where you will find popular, trending content. On LinkedIn you can follow experts in the field and influential figures.

On Twitter you can follow experts' accounts, which often tweet about current topics and news. Hashtags such as #DigitalMarketing, #SocialMediaMarketing or #ContentMarketing let you follow discussions and news in real time. Do not forget to join the discussions too.

On YouTube you will find plenty of tutorials and webinars covering topics such as social media marketing, content creation and data analysis. Take a look at channels such as HubSpot, Masters in Marketing, Gary Vaynerchuk, Vanessa Lau, Behind the Brand or Social Media Examiner. Besides that you will find inspiring stories and case studies here. 

Blogs

Blogs offer current information, proven practices and practical advice you can apply in your work at once. Let us look at what must not be missing from your repertoire:

• The HubSpot Blog is one of the most respected sources of information about marketing, sales, SEO and customer service. The blog is full of articles, practical tips for improving marketing strategies, case studies and guides.

• The Hootsuite Blog gives valuable information and guides for better understanding and using social media's potential for business. 

• The Buffer Blog focuses on social media and content marketing. It contains articles on content planning, raising engagement on social media and measuring campaign success. It regularly publishes surveys and studies giving valuable insights into what works in this area.

• Social Media Examiner gives guides, articles about current trends, podcasts and webinars. It is an ideal place for anyone wanting to improve their social media management skills.

• Adweek is an excellent source of information about the advertising industry. Besides news and articles about marketing it gives you analyses and case studies focused on successful campaigns and innovative approaches. 

• Stratégie - we must not forget inspiration from Slovakia, after all. 

Discussion forums

Are you asking whether there is a place where you can consult experts? Drop in on a discussion forum. Here you can talk with colleagues from the field. Among the most popular are certainly Quora, Reddit, Warrior Forum and others:

• On Quora you can join various discussions where experts and enthusiasts answer questions about marketing strategies, the latest trends and effective practices.

• Reddit has plenty of subreddits devoted to marketing and social media, such as r/socialmedia, r/marketing or r/SEO.

• Warrior Forum is probably the best-known forum for digital marketing and social media discussions. It can boast the largest internet marketing community in the world. It started back in 1997 and has been growing in popularity ever since.

By joining groups on Facebook or LinkedIn you gain access to exclusive information, articles, webinars and discussions that can be very valuable for your professional growth. 

Conferences and seminars

These events are full of workshops, talks and discussions. By taking part, whether in person or online, you gain new knowledge, make contacts with experts and take inspiration from the latest trends in social media and marketing.

This year we at Invelity took part in the International Social Summit in Barcelona, held regularly every year. It was an excellent event full of discussions and valuable information, and in beautiful surroundings besides. We had the chance to hear experts from the industry and exchange knowledge and insights with colleagues from abroad too.

Books

And so we return to the "old school" technique. Here are 6 favourite books from which social media managers, and not only they, draw inspiration in their everyday work:

1. Gary Vaynerchuk in his book "Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook" explains how to create quality social media content that brings value and how to time commercial offers properly so that they are received positively. The book offers specific examples of successful and unsuccessful campaigns on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

2. "Social Selling" by Tim Hughes offers a practical road map for building relationships and increasing sales online. 

3. "Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age" is a book by Jonah Berger. Berger explores why some ideas and products gain popularity and spread like a virus. The book offers 6 principles that help create content that is shared and talked about. These principles are based on research and case studies and give a guide to creating campaigns and products that go viral.

4. "Social Media ROI" by Olivier Blanchard contains practical solutions for aligning social media activity with an organisation's goals. From strategy and gaining followers to defining metrics and managing crises, "Social Media ROI" covers every aspect of social media optimisation.

5. "Myths of Social Media: Dispel the Misconceptions and Master Social Media", written by Michelle Carvill and the psychologist Ian MacRae, challenges common myths about social media and offers practical guidance for using it as a business tool.

6. "Social 3.0" by Andy Lambert is a groundbreaking book for social media managers and marketing professionals in the B2B space. This book emphasises social media's influence on customer behaviour. 

Do not stop at books. Many companies such as HubSpot, Moz, SEMrush and others regularly publish e-books, statistics and studies covering SEO, content marketing, analytics and social media management.

Competitor analysis

Understanding what your competition does and how it communicates can give you inspiration for your own campaigns. Competitor analysis also lets you identify opportunities where you can set yourself apart and so gain a competitive advantage.

When monitoring the competition, pay attention to:

• Content: what type of content do they publish? Do they focus on videos, blogs, infographics or other formats?
• Frequency: how often do they publish new content?
• Interactions: how often and in what way do they communicate with their followers? How do they respond to comments and questions?
• Campaigns: what campaigns do they launch? What promotions and competitions do they use?
• Influencers: do they work with influencers or brand ambassadors?

You can choose from plenty of tools that make monitoring the competition on social media easier. Some of the most popular tools are, for instance:

• Socialbakers: this tool lets you track the performance of your own social media accounts as well as your competitors'. It gives an overview of key metrics such as reach, engagement, follower growth and more.

• Sprout Social: Sprout Social is a tool offering social media monitoring and analysis. It lets you track conversations, trends and competitors' activity. It also gives tools for content planning, account management and analytics. Sprout Social lets you create detailed reports on your campaigns' and competitors' campaigns' performance.

• Hootsuite: lets you track keywords, hashtags and trends, as well as analyse competitors' campaign performance.

• SEMrush: although SEMrush is known mainly as an SEO tool, it also offers options for tracking the competition on social media.

Customer feedback

Customer feedback helps you understand how customers see the brand, products or services and what they expect from communication on social media. Thanks to that you can identify strengths you can develop further as well as weak points that need work. 

How to gather feedback?

Polls and questionnaires are an effective tool for gaining information from your customers. 

Facebook and Instagram let you create polls directly in posts or stories, which is an excellent way of getting immediate feedback. You can ask followers, for instance, what type of content they prefer or what they think of a new product.

Polls on Twitter are popular too and let you get quick feedback on various topics. You can ask for opinions on current topics, products or services. For a more professional audience you can use polls on LinkedIn, where you can gather the opinions of experts and professionals from various industries. 

These interactions can include:

• Comments and messages
• Live videos and Q&A
• Reviews and ratings

Using polls, questionnaires and direct interactions on social media lets social media managers gain valuable information you can use to optimise products, services and communication. Active communication with followers and customers not only improves the customer experience but also strengthens the relationship between brand and customers.

Personal creativity and brainstorming

Creativity is the cornerstone of successful social media campaigns. For social media managers it matters to keep developing their creative abilities and coming up with new ideas that reach the audience and set the brand apart from the competition. 

As the saying goes, "two heads are better than one". Brainstorming with the team is an effective way of generating new ideas. Running a brainstorm with clearly set goals and questions can help focus on particular areas. Using techniques such as mind maps, SCAMPER (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse) or the "six thinking hats" technique can support creative thinking. Read about further brainstorming tools.

Do not forget to use visual tools such as flipcharts, boards or digital tools for visualising ideas. To grow your personal creativity you can also use several interesting techniques: "Thinking from Inside the Box", "Non-Time" or "The Eureka Factor: Aha Moments, Creative Insight, and the Brain".

We believe that with our tips too, coming up with ideas will come easily to you. We will be rooting for you. :)