Unit 4: Social media advertising

Slides:
Introduction
Social media marketing (SMM) is a critical aspect of any modern marketing strategy. With the
rise of digital platforms, companies must learn how to harness both organic and paid social
media to engage audiences, promote products, and build brands. This guide provides an in-
depth look at social media marketing, covering types of SMM, the key strategies, and how
businesses can navigate challenges such as content competition, influencer marketing, and
ROI measurement.

1. Types of Social Media Marketing (SMM)

Social media marketing can be divided into several categories, each serving different
purposes for companies and individuals.

1.1 Organic SMM

Organic SMM involves creating content without paid promotion, aiming to engage with the
audience through natural interactions. There are two key types of organic content:
 Company-Generated Content: Content directly produced by the company, such as blog
posts, articles, or updates shared on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
 User-Generated Content (UGC): Content created by users that indirectly promotes the
brand. UGC builds trust and community engagement, leveraging customer experiences and
testimonials.

1.2 Paid SMM

Paid social media involves using advertising tools within platforms to promote content. Paid
SMM includes:
 Social Advertising: This includes boosted posts and ads that target specific audiences
using algorithms designed to maximize visibility.
 Influencer Marketing: A powerful strategy where brands collaborate with influencers to
promote products or services to their large, engaged audiences.

1.3 Professional and Personal SMM

 Company Pages/Profiles: Businesses create official pages on social platforms to interact
with customers, share updates, and build their brand presence.
 Personal Branding: Individuals, especially professionals and executives, engage in
personal SMM to enhance their visibility, manage impressions, and position themselves as
thought leaders.
 Employee Advocacy: Employees use their personal accounts to advocate for their
employer's brand, products, or culture, adding a layer of authenticity to the company’s
social presence.

2. Key Challenges in Social Media Marketing

SMM presents unique challenges, from managing a brand’s voice to handling negative
feedback. Understanding these issues is critical for effective social media management.

2.1 The Iceberg Fallacy in Social Media Management

While social media might appear simple, it is just the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface,
effective SMM requires extensive planning, implementation, and monitoring to succeed.
Misunderstanding this complexity can lead to failed campaigns.

2.2 Ten Key Questions for SMM Organizations

When building a social media strategy, companies should ask themselves the following
questions:
1. What type of content should we publish (e.g., tone, format)?
2. How often and at what times should we publish?
 3. How do corporate communications fit with the informal, entertainment-oriented nature of
social media?
4. How should we adapt to increased transparency in customer relationships?
5. How do we handle negative feedback or online trolls?
6. How do we nurture employee advocacy on social media?
7. How much autonomy should customer service have on social platforms?
8. Who manages social media communications (e.g., a community manager)?
9. How do we measure the ROI of social media participation?
10. How do we turn social media interest into sales?

3. The Purpose of Social Media for Companies

Businesses use social media for several key purposes, including brand building, sales,
customer insight gathering, internal communication, and customer service.

3.1 Brand Building:

Social media is essential for creating a company’s brand image. Through consistent, engaging
content, businesses can shape how customers and employees perceive their brand.

3.2 Sales and Social Commerce:

Social media platforms allow for direct selling through "social commerce" in B2C and "social
selling" in B2B sectors. Brands can sell products, promote events, or introduce new apps.

3.3 Customer Insight and Communication:

Social platforms provide valuable insights for product development, customer service, and
marketing strategies by monitoring conversations, reviews, and direct feedback.

3.4 Customer Service:

Proactive and reactive customer service on social media can build loyalty and recover from
negative experiences. Monitoring social mentions allows businesses to address issues quickly.

4. Why Social Media is Essential for Businesses

There are several philosophical maxims underpinning the importance of SMM.
4.1 The Conversion Maxim
Conversion should be the ultimate goal of social media marketing. While some people believe
social media is purely for branding, the end goal of any business activity is sales—even if the
path to conversion is indirect.

4.2 The Networking Maxim

Social media is fundamentally a networking platform, not an advertising one. Relationships
formed on social media, much like those formed in real-world networking, often take time to
translate into sales. For brands, this means focusing on building connections rather than
directly pushing products.

5. The Disconnect Between Marketers and Consumers

There is often a disconnect between marketers’ view of social platforms and how consumers
actually use them. While brands may see social media as a selling tool, most consumers use
these platforms to socialize, have fun, and share experiences. Brands need to align their
strategies with users' natural motivations, rather than trying to force sales messages.

6. Paid Social Media and the Limits of Organic Reach

With the decline of organic reach, paid advertising has become necessary for most brands.
Organic visibility on platforms like Facebook is now extremely limited, with brands having to
pay to reach their audiences.

7. Special Characteristics of Social Media Platforms

Each social media platform has its own algorithm and content distribution system. For
instance, Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm filters and ranks content based on user interaction
patterns. Similarly, TikTok’s “greedy” optimization algorithm aggressively prioritizes user
engagement, driving viral trends through personalized feeds.

8. The Role of Algorithms in Social Media Marketing

Algorithms dictate the visibility of content on social platforms. For example, Facebook’s
EdgeRank influences how often a post appears in users' feeds. Key factors include the
relationship between users, the content type, and how long the post has been active.

9. Influencer Marketing and Monetization Strategies

Influencers play a crucial role in modern marketing strategies. They can monetize their
audiences through sponsored content, affiliate marketing, product lines, ad revenue, and
brand partnerships. Influencer marketing often delivers returns not captured by traditional
web analytics, making it a valuable tool for brand exposure and engagement.

9.1 How Influencers Monetize

 Sponsored posts
 Affiliate marketing (earning a commission for sales)
 Selling personal products or merchandise
 Ad revenue from platforms like YouTube
 Offering exclusive content through subscriptions (e.g., Patreon)
 Digital products like ebooks or courses

9.2 Range of Influencer Marketing Costs

Costs of influencer marketing vary depending on the influencer's reach:
 Nano-Influencers (1,000–10,000 followers): $10–$100 per post
 Micro-Influencers (10,000–100,000 followers): $100–$500 per post
 Mid-Tier Influencers (100,000–500,000 followers): $500–$5,000 per post
 Macro-Influencers (500,000–1 million followers): $5,000–$10,000 per post
 Mega-Influencers (1 million+ followers): $10,000–$1 million+ per post

10. Calculating ROI for Influencer Marketing

Measuring the ROI of influencer marketing can be tricky, as many benefits are intangible or
delayed. A basic ROI formula is:
ROI = (Campaign Gains - Campaign Costs) / Campaign Costs * 100

For example, if a campaign costs $10,000 and generates $15,000 in sales, the ROI would be
50%. However, many intangible benefits like brand awareness and engagement are harder to
quantify.

11. Social Media Optimization: The Art of Attention-Grabbing

Social media optimization (SMO) involves more than just analytics—it’s also about
understanding human psychology. Success on social platforms hinges on creating content that
grabs attention within seconds, whether through impactful images, videos, or headlines.

12. Personal Branding and Company Profiles

Businesses and individuals compete for attention on social platforms, with people often being
more interested in other people than companies. Companies must evolve into content
creators or "publishing houses" to match the engagement level of influencers and individuals
who produce content with passion.

Conclusion
Social media marketing is a dynamic field that requires a combination of creativity, strategy,
and data-driven decision-making. By understanding the algorithms, leveraging both organic
and paid strategies, and engaging influencers, brands can successfully build their presence
and convert social interactions into business results.
Article:
Purpose and Approach
The authors aim to systematize the scattered research on social media marketing. They
reviewed 44 academic articles to understand the trends, methods, and gaps in the study of
social media marketing. They used a content analysis approach, meaning they carefully read
and coded the research articles to identify patterns, key themes, and common insights.

Understanding Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing involves using platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blogs to
engage customers, build relationships, and promote brands. It allows companies to interact
directly with consumers, while consumers can communicate with each other about products
and services. This "two-way communication" is a major advantage over traditional one-way
advertising (e.g., TV or radio ads), where consumers are passive receivers.

Interestingly, the review points out that there isn't a single, widely accepted definition of
social media marketing. Most researchers treat it as traditional marketing applied to online
social platforms, but there isn't much discussion about what makes social media marketing
unique, aside from its digital format. The studies reviewed in the article mainly fall into two
categories: those that look at consumer behavior and those that focus on firm strategies.

Consumer Behavior
Researchers found that social media influences how consumers:
 Search for products: social media provides information about products and brands, often
through recommendations from other users (friends, influencers).
 Make purchasing decisions: Reviews, ratings, and shared experiences on social media
can heavily impact whether a consumer buys a product.
 Engage with brands: Consumers can directly communicate with companies, follow brand
pages, and participate in discussions. This interaction improves brand loyalty and creates a
deeper connection with consumers.

Four key areas emerge in consumer-focused studies:

 Increased consumption: social media marketing often encourages consumers to buy
more.
 Search and share of information: Social platforms allow users to look for and share
product information with others.
 Brand attitudes: Social media campaigns can improve how people feel about a brand,
leading to stronger emotional connections and more frequent purchases.
 Peer influence: social media amplifies the influence of peers. When friends or influencers
promote a product, consumers are more likely to trust it.

Firm Strategies: for firms, the studies reveal that social media marketing is focused
on:
 Usage: Companies are increasingly using platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but many
still face challenges integrating social media into their broader marketing strategies.
 Measuring success: Companies struggle with measuring the ROI (Return on Investment)
of their social media efforts. Unlike traditional media, social media success is often
measured through indirect metrics like "likes," "shares," and customer engagement rather
than direct sales increases.
 Optimizing campaigns: Research shows that content is key. Interactive, engaging
content like photos, videos, and posts that encourage participation tend to perform better.
The timing and position of content (e.g., posts pinned to the top of a social media page)
also affect how well it engages users.
  Challenges in specific sectors: Some sectors, such as healthcare or B2B (business-to-
business), are slow to adopt social media marketing, possibly due to the lack of clear
strategies or measurable results in these areas.
Key Findings
 Platforms Matter: Facebook and Twitter are the most studied and most used platforms.
They are particularly effective for building brand awareness and engagement. However,
other platforms like LinkedIn (for B2B) or YouTube (for content sharing) still need more
research.
 Opinion Leaders: In social media, opinion leaders (influencers) play a crucial role. These
are individuals who have a large following and whose opinions are trusted by their
audiences. When they share content or endorse a product, it significantly impacts
consumer behavior. Firms should target these opinion leaders to amplify their messages.
 Content and Engagement: Successful social media marketing requires vivid and
interactive content—posts with images, videos, or polls that encourage user participation
are more effective. The popularity of a post also depends on when it's shared and how
visible it is on a platform (e.g., being pinned at the top).
 ROI Measurement: One of the biggest challenges for companies is understanding the
return on investment. While social media marketing can increase engagement and brand
visibility, linking these activities to tangible business outcomes (like increased sales) is
difficult. The studies reviewed suggest using both direct and indirect metrics to gauge
success, including customer sentiment and social media buzz.
Research Gaps
The article identifies several areas where more research is needed:
 Business-to-Business (B2B): Most studies focus on B2C (business-to-consumer)
marketing, but B2B companies are also using social media, though with different needs and
outcomes. More research is needed to understand how social media can be best used in
B2B contexts, especially on platforms like LinkedIn.
 Qualitative Research: Most current studies use quantitative methods like statistical
analysis and surveys, which focus on measurable outcomes. The article suggests there is a
need for more qualitative research to understand deeper, more subjective aspects of social
media marketing, such as consumer emotions and motivations.
 Platform-Specific Strategies: While Facebook and Twitter are the focus of many studies,
the role of other platforms (like Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, or niche platforms) is less
understood. Future research should explore how these platforms influence marketing
outcomes.
Practical Implications: For businesses and marketers, the study offers several actionable
insights:
 Invest in social media marketing: If your company is not already using social media
extensively, it's time to start. Firms should especially focus on Facebook and Twitter due to
their proven effectiveness.
 Create engaging content: Consumers respond best to content that is interactive, vivid,
and encourages participation. Regular posts, images, videos, and direct engagement with
customers (e.g., responding to comments) are critical.
 Work with influencers: Identifying and partnering with opinion leaders (influencers) can
help spread your brand's message more effectively than traditional advertising.
 Tailor your approach: Not all products or messages work the same across all platforms.
For example, what works for a fashion brand may not work for a tech company.
Understanding your audience and platform is key.
 Measure success wisely: While it's hard to directly measure ROI in social media,
companies should focus on metrics like engagement, brand sentiment, and the viral spread
of their content. These metrics, although indirect, can provide insights into the long-term
impact on brand loyalty and sales.
Conclusion
The article concludes that social media marketing is a rapidly growing field with much
potential. However, many companies are still not fully leveraging its benefits due to
challenges in measurement and strategy development. More research is needed in areas like
B2B, platform-specific strategies, and qualitative consumer insights. Despite these challenges,
the evidence suggests that firms investing in social media marketing see significant
improvements in brand awareness, customer engagement, and loyalty. This expanded
understanding of social media marketing gives both academics and practitioners a roadmap
for future research and practical strategies to implement in the rapidly evolving digital
landscape.

Videos:
Video nº 1:
The document is a script for a video that illustrates the evolution of advertising, focusing on
how digital marketing, especially social media marketing, has transformed promotional
strategies. Summary:

Phil's Dilemma (2004 vs. Present):

 In 2004, Phil wanted to release a book and set up a blog but faced expensive and limited
advertising options, such as print ads, radio, and television. These traditional methods
lacked accuracy in targeting specific audiences.
 In the present, Phil has access to digital marketing, enabling targeted advertising through
platforms like search engines, websites, and social media. Digital marketing is more cost-
effective, customizable, and measurable.

Social Media Marketing's Impact: Phil focused on social media marketing, which allowed him
to reach a highly targeted audience, generate interaction, and gain insights into audience
preferences. He started by getting a certification in social media marketing and learned about
different types of content he could use, including images, text posts, polls, and videos.

Advertising Options on Social Media: Phil realized he needed to advertise his content through
various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. These
platforms offer advertising options such as:
 Image Ads: Featuring attractive images with minimal text and call-to-action.
 Text and Post Ads: Promoting blog excerpts or book snippets.
 Video Ads: Displaying customer testimonials or reviews to create more interest.
 Lead Ads: Allowing him to collect information from interested users, such as for
newsletters.

Brand Building and Audience Engagement: Social media platforms also enabled Phil to build a
brand, engage with his audience, and create a unique identity. He could target specific
demographics and engage through competitions, polls, surveys, and other interactive
content.
Phil’s Key Learnings:
1. Set measurable, smart goals with deadlines.
2. Engage and connect with the audience to understand them.
3. Use a social media calendar to plan content.
4. Leverage tools like BuzzSumo and Buffer for lead generation, email lists, and buyer
personas.
5. Perform visual storytelling with images and videos.

Phil improved his skills in social media marketing by taking SimplyLearn's digital marketing
course, which taught him the strategies and tools to succeed.

Video nº 2:
The text is a guide on using social media marketing to grow a business, focusing on three core
objectives: lead generation, lead nurturing, and lead conversion. The author emphasizes that
any social media marketing strategy must incorporate these objectives to be effective, or else
the business will suffer from content creation without purpose. Every piece of content should
aim to achieve at least one of these goals, and ideally all three. Key Objectives of Social Media
Marketing:

1. Lead Generation: Content should attract potential clients by providing value and
compelling them to engage through calls to action (CTAs) like links or offers.
2. Lead Nurturing: After engaging, businesses must build relationships with leads through
valuable content, stories, and continued interaction (e.g., email sequences).
3. Lead Conversion: Ultimately, the goal is to convert leads into paying customers, often
through follow-up offers and strategic content that drives action.

Storytelling in Branding: A strong brand helps people recognize and associate positive feelings
with your business, similar to how iconic brands like Nike or McDonald's are easily identifiable.
Creating a "story inventory" is suggested for better content creation. These stories, whether
from childhood, business growth, or personal experiences, can make content relatable,
engaging, and memorable.

Storytelling is emphasized as a timeless tool that connects audiences emotionally, making

them stop and pay attention. Instead of focusing on simple facts, tying information into a
story can resonate more deeply with potential clients.

Tactics for Landing Clients:

1. Strong Calls to Action: After delivering value in the content, businesses must clearly tell
the audience what to do next (e.g., download a guide, sign up for a webinar). It's critical
not to assume the audience will act without explicit instructions.
2. Building Trust: Known as the "know, like, trust" factor, businesses need to cultivate
relationships with their audience before making offers. This is akin to dating before
proposing, ensuring that trust is built over time through valuable interactions.
3. 80/20 Rule: This rule suggests that 80% of content should be value-driven (informative,
engaging stories or helpful content) and 20% should be promotional (calls to action). This
balance ensures that the audience remains engaged without feeling bombarded by sales
pitches.

Importance of Strategy:
 Having a clear strategy is crucial because social media marketing is not just a hobby but a
key business tool. A good strategy should focus on providing returns on investment—
whether in terms of time, money, or energy spent.
 Posting random content without a plan is compared to "throwing spaghetti at the wall," and
the author emphasizes the need for intention behind every post, aligning with lead
generation, nurturing, and conversion goals.

Final Thoughts: Social media marketing is portrayed as one of the most effective ways to grow
a business due to its reach and the fact that audiences spend considerable time on these
platforms. The author encourages testing content but with intentionality, ensuring that each
piece fits within the framework of lead gen, nurturing, and conversion. The video also
promotes the idea of brand loyalty and audience engagement through well-constructed
content strategies, suggesting that these methods can increase sales and impact. The text
concludes by inviting readers to learn more through free training on creating content that
leads to cash flow and builds a strong, engaged audience.
Video nº 3:
The video explains how freelance social media managers can streamline their content
creation process to save time and avoid burnout. The goal is to prevent freelancers from
working excessive hours on content after leaving traditional jobs.

1. Introduction to the Workflow:

 The video is about creating a smooth workflow for social media content creation,
particularly for freelancers, so they don’t spend excessive time on tasks. This workflow is
essential after onboarding clients and conducting research.
 It's important to use the right tools to simplify the process. While platforms like Asana,
Trello, and ClickUp are popular, freelancers may find these tools unnecessary and time-
consuming. These tools are often better suited for larger teams within companies, where
many people need access to the same content.

2. Deciding the Main Content Format:

 The freelancer should first decide on the main piece of content with the client. This could
be a blog post, YouTube video, or, more commonly, social media captions.
 The process of content creation should be broken down into tasks scheduled on different
days. For example, dedicating a single day to writing all captions for multiple clients can
help batch-create content and save time.
 The idea is to produce enough content (for 2-4 weeks) in one go, streamlining the workflow
and avoiding daily or last-minute tasks.

3. Monthly Overview and Client Communication:

 A monthly content overview is shared with clients, covering general topics for each day,
such as "sleep tips" for a baby sleep coach client on Monday and "feeding tips" on Friday.
 Rather than micromanaging each piece of content, the freelancer and client can agree on
broader themes or events, such as holidays or promotions.
 Detailed content approval (e.g., reviewing every post) is often seen as a waste of time for
both freelancer and client. Instead, establishing trust and creating a strategy upfront
reduces the need for constant back-and-forth.

4. Repurposing Content Across Platforms: After writing captions, the next step is to repurpose
them for various platforms. A caption might become a carousel post, infographic, or video.
Repurposing maximizes the content’s reach and fills the content calendar without needing
entirely new creations for each platform.

5. Content Creation and Graphic Design:

 On a different day, the freelancer can focus on creating the necessary visuals, such as
Canva posts or videos.
 Video content may involve the client recording footage, which the freelancer will edit on
another dedicated day.
 Freelancers can also consider outsourcing parts of the process, such as graphic design, if
they have the budget or prefer not to handle every task themselves.

6. Scheduling and Automation:

 Once content is created and repurposed, it’s scheduled using tools like Meta Business Suite
for Facebook and Instagram. Visual planning tools like Planoly can also be used for easier
scheduling.
 Batch creation, automation, and systematizing workflows are key to avoiding burnout and
ensuring that content is scheduled ahead of time. Freelancers should write down their
workflows (Standard Operating Procedures) to see which steps can be automated,
systemized, or outsourced.

7. Daily Account Management:

  Even with content scheduled in advance, it’s essential to check client accounts daily for any
urgent messages or comments. The freelancer can reply to comments and direct messages
(DMs), or forward specific inquiries to the client if necessary. It’s possible to include in
contracts that the client checks their own DMs to avoid miscommunication.

8. Efficient Workflow for a Balanced Workload:

 By batching content creation, planning ahead, and using efficient tools, freelancers can
maintain a balanced workload. Creating content for multiple clients becomes easier when
workflows are systematized.
 The freelancer may work on content for two weeks in advance and revisit the workflow mid-
month to update and prepare for the next batch, minimizing stress.

9. Additional Tips:
 Always have a place to store creative ideas, whether in a Notes app or a tool like Notion.
This allows for quick content creation when needed.
 In the early stages, research and strategy play a crucial role, including researching
hashtags and other key details to inform the content plan.
 With a well-established workflow, freelancers can avoid the need to constantly create and
manage content, freeing up time and reducing stress.

In conclusion, the video emphasizes creating an efficient, repeatable social media

management workflow for freelancers to help them manage their time, client relationships,
and content creation process effectively.

Video nº 4:
The speaker passionately advocates for social media management as one of the best career
paths today, with significant growth potential. They highlight how social media managers can
work flexibly from various locations and predict that today's social media managers could
evolve into future CMOs and CSOs.

The speaker proceeds to break down essential skills and tools for success in the field, starting
with the need for a social media management system (SMMS). They recommend MetroCool, a
platform that allows users to manage multiple social accounts from one place. MetroCool’s
competitor analysis feature enables social media managers to compare their performance
with similar accounts by tracking metrics like posts, engagement rates, and follower growth.
Key skills for social media managers include:

1. Content Planning: Social media managers must develop relevant content, often taking
inspiration from competitors while using data-driven insights to optimize posts. The speaker
stresses the importance of looking beyond surface-level popularity to understand content
performance using analytics.

2. Content Scheduling: After planning, content must be scheduled strategically. MetroCool

offers a feature that shows the best times to post based on historical performance data. Social
media managers can schedule posts, set drafts, and easily adjust content within a calendar
view.

3. Reporting and Analytics: Social media managers need to analyze performance and report it
to clients or teams. The speaker suggests using MetroCool’s automated reports to efficiently
generate insights and present them to clients. Regular client meetings help ensure that both
parties are aligned on strategy and improvements. The ability to communicate and interpret
data to optimize future content is crucial.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of ongoing optimization based on data trends, such
as how certain types of content (e.g., posts featuring faces or outdoor imagery) perform
better. They encourage new social media managers to continually assess and adjust their
content strategies based on these trends.

Finally, the speaker highlights that social media management can open doors to various
digital careers, such as video creation, online education, SEO, or web design. They believe it is
an excellent starting point in the digital marketing field.

The video also promotes a free 30-day trial of MetroCool, encouraging viewers to take
advantage of the platform’s tools using the code provided.

Video nº 5:
Introduction to Content Pillars: The text addresses common mistakes small businesses make
when creating content pillars and offers a detailed explanation of what content pillars are and
how to use them effectively. The speaker emphasizes that content pillars (also known as
content buckets or categories) are a simple and strategic way to organize and systematize
content creation for a business. They are designed to ensure that every piece of content
aligns with the business’s goals, eliminating random or irrelevant posts.

What Content Pillars Are (and Are Not): Content pillars serve as a framework for categorizing
content, ensuring that the content aligns with specific business goals. The speaker clarifies a
common misconception: content pillars are often confused with content goals. For example,
"education," "inspiration," or "promotion" are not content pillars, but rather content goals. The
key difference is that content pillars are categories or topics that help guide what content to
create, whereas content goals define the purpose of the content (e.g., to educate or inspire).

Example of Content Pillars: Content creation tips, small business tips, content
strategy, content systems, content goals. Every piece of content they produce must fit
into one of these categories. Even if they share personal or controversial content, the
underlying message always aligns with one of their content pillars. This ensures consistent
and strategic content output.

Secret Formula for Content Pillars: The speaker introduces a unique approach to content
pillars by assigning each pillar to a specific day of the week. This "Plug and Play" method
simplifies the content planning process and creates a structured, consistent posting schedule.
By aligning content pillars with specific days, business owners can avoid the stress of deciding
what to post each day. Additionally, this method ensures that the content aligns with audience
behavior at different times of the week.

For example, the speaker avoids posting heavy, action-driven content on Fridays, knowing
that their audience (small business owners) is likely winding down for the weekend. Instead,
they reserve lighter tips for the end of the week, while more strategic content is posted on
Monday, when their audience is energized and ready to plan for the week ahead.

How to Create Your Own Content Pillars: The speaker outlines a step-by-step process for
creating content pillars:
1. Analyze Your Existing Content: First, the speaker advises reviewing the performance of
your current content. Most social media platforms (e.g., Instagram, TikTok, Twitter) provide
analytics and insights tools to help businesses see what content is performing well. It’s
important to filter by metrics such as reach, saves, comments, likes, and shares to identify
which pieces resonate most with the audience.
2. Identify Patterns: After reviewing top-performing content, businesses should identify
patterns in the content. For example, if a hairstylist notices that transformation posts
(e.g., before-and-after photos) perform well, they should include these types of posts in
their content pillars.
3. List Content Ideas: Based on the analysis, businesses should create a list of content
ideas that align with their audience’s preferences and behaviors. The speaker
 recommends listing at least 50 different content ideas related to your profession,
expertise, or business. This helps generate a wealth of options for future content.
4. Categorize Content: Once a list of content ideas is created, the next step is to group
similar ideas into categories (the content pillars). For example, if a social media manager
lists tips about posting times, caption formulas, and hashtag strategies, they could group
them under a pillar called "Social Media Tips."
5. Color Coding for Organization: To help visualize and organize content ideas, the
speaker suggests using color coding. Whether on paper or in a digital tool like Google
Sheets, different content categories can be highlighted in different colors to help identify
patterns and eventually form content pillars.

Final Thoughts on Content Pillars: Once businesses have established their content pillars, they
should consistently post content that aligns with those pillars. This method not only helps
maintain strategic alignment with business goals but also simplifies content planning, making
it easier to produce regular, high-quality posts that resonate with the audience.

The speaker closes by encouraging businesses to continue refining their content creation
process and points to an additional resource (a video) for learning about content creation
methods, such as batch creation or posting in the moment. Key Takeaways:

1. Content pillars are a method of categorizing content to ensure consistency, relevance, and
strategic alignment with business goals.
2. Content pillars are not content goals. The latter define the purpose of the content
(education, promotion, etc.), while content pillars are the categories or topics around
which content is created.
3. Assigning content pillars to specific days of the week provides structure, reduces stress,
and ensures that content aligns with audience behavior.
4. Analyze your existing content performance using platform analytics to identify patterns in
what resonates with your audience.
5. Generate a comprehensive list of content ideas, group them into categories (content
pillars), and use color coding to organize them.
6. Continuously review and refine your content pillars to ensure they are effective and
aligned with your business’s evolving goals.

This detailed approach provides a clear and actionable framework for small business owners
to create and implement content pillars, making content creation simpler and more strategic.

Video nº 6:
The text is a transcript from a video by Milly, an influencer coach, explaining how to repurpose
a single piece of content into multiple pieces to maximize its reach across different platforms.
Here's a detailed summary: Milly introduces her strategy to turn one macro piece of content
(like a YouTube video, podcast, or blog post) into 10-15 pieces. Her main example focuses on
YouTube, but she offers alternatives for those using different platforms.

Step 1: Create a Macro Piece of Content

The macro content is typically a longer piece, like a YouTube video, blog post, or podcast. Milly
uses her YouTube videos as an example.

Step 2: Repurpose Text Content

From her YouTube video script, she generates three types of text-based content:
 Blog Post: Reuses the script to create a blog.
 Email: Sends out a value-driven email summarizing key points with a link to the video for
more details.
 Instagram Post: Uses the script for Instagram captions, either as a photo post with a
detailed caption or as a carousel of educational content.
Step 3: Repurpose Video Content: Milly then repurposes the video into short-form videos,
breaking the content into snippets that are 60 seconds or less to fit platforms like: TikTok,
YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels. She also suggests creating multiple short videos (e.g., one
for each tip in a video) to generate more content. These can be posted as reels or story
teasers on Instagram.
Step 4: Breaking Down Tips: If the macro content has multiple tips, each tip can be turned into
its own piece of content. For example, three short videos could be created, each focusing on
one tip from the original content.

Result: Multiple Content Pieces: By combining text and video formats, one piece of content
can be repurposed into 10-15 different pieces across platforms. This includes:
 Three short-form videos (one for each platform: TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels)
 Blog posts, email content, and Instagram posts in various formats (caption, carousel, etc.).

Advice for Non-YouTubers: If YouTube isn’t the main platform, Milly suggests starting with a
blog or podcast. Blogs can be repurposed similarly into emails, captions, and videos, while
podcasts can also be repurposed into video snippets using platforms like Wave.co for creating
shareable audio bites.

Key Takeaways:
 Use long-form content as the base to generate shorter, more digestible content.
 Focus on video repurposing, especially for platforms like Instagram, where video content
(Reels) tends to have better reach.
 Use tools like Metrical, the video’s sponsor, to help automate posting across different
platforms.

Milly concludes by encouraging her audience to test these strategies and offers a free trial
code for Metrical. She also provides additional suggestions for using blog posts and podcasts
as starting points for content repurposing. This strategy allows influencers and content
creators to maximize their content’s potential reach by distributing it efficiently across various
channels, catering to different audience preferences on each platform.

Video nº 7:
Introduction to the Speaker’s Career in Social Media Management
The speaker began their social media management journey in 2019 as a side hustle,
eventually growing the business into a six-figure agency. They now manage 7-8 clients
monthly with the help of a three-person team. Their work is divided into two main areas:
managing social media for clients under their agency "Dishing Out Digital" and offering
courses and coaching through "EllenMcKenzie.com."

The Importance of Diversified Income Streams

A key piece of advice from the speaker is to diversify revenue streams. Rather than relying
solely on client work, they recommend creating digital products such as eBooks or courses.
This diversification has provided financial security, especially when clients are late on
payments or cancel contracts unexpectedly. Digital products ensure a steady stream of
income even during fluctuations in client work.

Daily Tasks as a Social Media Manager

The speaker’s day consists of a variety of tasks, including:

 Mastermind Group Call: Participating in a mastermind call with industry peers and
uploading the recording for their course library.

 Managing Instagram Posts: Scheduling and posting content for personal and client
accounts. They primarily use tools like Trello, Notion, or Asana for client management.
  Content Review and Editing: Reviewing and editing captions from their contractors
and sending the content to clients for approval.

Organizing Client Work by Days

The speaker organizes client work by assigning specific days for each client. This allows them
to handle 7-8 clients efficiently with the help of their team. Some clients require monthly
content, while others need more frequent updates, so the workload varies depending on the
client’s needs.

Business Development and Personal Projects

Tuesdays are reserved for the speaker’s personal business development, where they work on
their own digital products and projects. On this day, they are creating a sales page for a new
master class. These creative tasks are not part of their weekly routine but arise once a month,
allowing them to refresh their offerings and keep their business dynamic.

Client Engagement and Community Management

The speaker handles tasks such as responding to comments on client ads. This aspect of their
business is relatively new, but it provides additional client services. They also spend time
monitoring sales and engagement for their own digital products, like the "Dishing Out Digital
School," which trains aspiring social media managers.

Role as a Curator and Strategist

The speaker no longer creates all the content for clients but serves as a strategist. They
storyboard content ideas, identify social media trends, and oversee content creation by
photographers or the clients themselves. Tools like Pinterest help them organize and
communicate visual ideas. Video editing is done using Premiere Pro, though they suggest
beginners use Canva or CapCut.

Work Flexibility and Remote Lifestyle

One of the biggest perks of being a social media manager, according to the speaker, is the
flexibility to work from home or anywhere in the world. For instance, they were able to travel
to South Africa while continuing to work and even had one of their most profitable months
while abroad.

Balancing Introversion and Client Interaction

As an introvert, the speaker finds long client strategy sessions to be rewarding but also
draining. They schedule breaks after intense calls to recharge. Self-awareness and
understanding how to manage energy levels are important in maintaining a healthy work-life
balance.

Ongoing Projects and Course Launches

The speaker is currently in the middle of a course launch for their "Dishing Out Digital School."
Although they have already completed significant work for the day, they plan to continue
working on outreach and sales funnels. They highlight the need for constant effort and follow-
up, such as by sending direct messages to leads.

Broad Career Scope of a Social Media Manager

The speaker emphasizes the flexibility of a social media manager’s role. Whether specializing
in content creation, videography, or blog management, the career can be shaped according to
one’s interests and skills. The speaker personally enjoys teaching and creating online courses,
which has become a significant part of their business.

Conclusion and Invitation

The speaker concludes by inviting viewers to explore their course, "Dishing Out Digital
School." The course offers comprehensive training for aspiring social media managers,
covering everything from securing clients to managing content and workflows. The speaker
encourages others to pursue their passions within the broad and flexible scope of social media
management.