Twitter ads: The complete guide for your brand

Want to take your Twitter marketing to the next level? Your organic efforts may work perfectly fine, but they can only go so far when you’re looking to grow your reach. At some point, you may need to turn to Twitter ads to boost your reach and maximize your brand’s growth.

Not sure how to get started? Look no further because this post gives you a complete guide to Twitter advertising. Here, you’ll find out all about the different Twitter ad formats, how much you can expect to spend and how to set it up for the first time. Let’s get right to it.

Table of contents:

• Why use Twitter ads?
• Types of Twitter ads
• How much do Twitter ads cost
• How to set up a Twitter ad campaign
• Tips for using Twitter ads

Why use Twitter ads?

Now before you start investing in paid social for Twitter, you may want to know what’s in it for you. The platform has a lot of potential with improved targeting capabilities and new ad formats. As such, advertising on the platform could exponentially grow your reach. So let’s find out some of the top benefits of running ads on Twitter.

1. Potential to reach millions of users

According to the latest Twitter stats, the platform currently has 436 million monthly active users. Out of these, 237.8 million monetizable users use the app on a daily basis. That’s millions of people you could potentially reach through your Twitter advertising efforts.

2. Objective-based ad campaigns

Twitter lets you optimize your ads toward your campaign objective. You get to choose from a variety of campaign objectives and Twitter will only bill you for actions that align with your chosen objective. In other words, your investment specifically goes towards achieving your goals.

3. Robust targeting capabilities

The Twitter ads manager offers a number of campaign targeting options. This allows you to fine-tune your ad targeting to reach only the most relevant users. At the most basic level, you can use demographics targeting to reach users based on:

• Geolocation
• Age
• Gender
• Language
• Device
• Carrier

For more advanced targeting, you can choose to display your ads to users based on:

• Conversations they participate in
• Events relevant to your audience
• Keywords they use
• Whether they’ve engaged with a specific Tweet from your brand
• The movies and TV shows they watch
• What their interests are
• Whether they share similar interests with your existing followers

Twitter even lets you create unique audience segments using off-platform customer information. The Custom Audiences feature allows you to create different audience groups to target, exclude or expand to.

4. Rise in Twitter ad engagement

Ad engagement on Twitter is growing. This speaks volumes about the impact of advertising on the platform. According to the latest reports, Twitter saw a 7% year-over-year increase in ad engagement in Q2 of 2022. If these trends continue, you can expect to launch ad campaigns that drive tons of engagement.

Types of Twitter ads

Twitter offers several choices in ad types. To run a successful advertising campaign on the platform, you need to decide which Twitter ad format will help you achieve your goals.

Promoted Ads

You might remember these as Promoted Tweets. They’re a lot like regular Tweets, except Twitter shows them to people who aren’t following your brand yet. They have a “Promoted” label at the bottom so users can differentiate them from organic Tweets.

The best part is that you can use a variety of media formats to create these Promoted Ads. In addition to regular text and image Tweets, you can create ads using videos, carousels and Moments.

Follower Ads

Previously called Promoted Accounts, Follower Ads let you promote an entire Twitter account. It helps you target users who might be interested in your brand but aren’t already following you. So it’s the perfect ad type if you want to grow your Twitter following.

With this type of Twitter ad, your account will show up in the “Who to follow” section of a user’s feed.

Twitter Amplify

With this option, brands can serve their ads through video content from highly relevant publishers. There are two ad formats to choose from:

• Amplify Pre-roll, which lets you choose from 15+ categories of videos to serve your pre-roll video ad
• Amplify Sponsorships, which involves a one-on-one partnership with one specific publisher. Note that this option is currently not available for self-serve advertisers.

Twitter Takeover

These types of ads put your brand at the forefront with exclusive ownership of the platform’s premium real estate. As you can guess, they’re a lot more expensive than other Twitter ad formats. You can choose from two Takeover placements:

• Timeline Takeover, which ensures that your ad is the first one that someone sees when they open Twitter for the day
• Trend Takeover, which serves your ad alongside trending topics. Your ad will show up among topics in the Explore tab to drive conversations. Or you can even choose Trend Takeover+ for an immersive video experience.

Dynamic Product Ads (DPA)

These ads allow you to showcase your most relevant products to the right customers. With DPA Prospecting, you can acquire new customers by featuring products that are most relevant to them. Meanwhile, DPA Retargeting lets you feature products that people have engaged with on your website.

Collection Ads

As the name suggests, this type of ad lets you showcase a collection of product images in a single ad. Collection Ads feature a primary hero image on top of several small thumbnail images.

How much do Twitter ads cost

Fortunately for advertisers, the cost to run a Twitter ad campaign is customizable according to your budget. That means how much you spend largely depends on how much you’re willing to spend.

That said, it’s a good idea to get a sense of how much it typically costs to advertise on the platform. According to AdsTarget, you can expect to spend around $0.38 per action. However, the actual cost depends on the ad type. Here’s a quick look at the average cost to run different types of Twitter ads:

• Promoted Ads – $0.25 to $2 per action
• Follower Ads – $2 to $4 per follow
• Twitter Takeover – $200,000 per day

Keep in mind that Twitter charges you based on actions relevant to your ad objective. This makes it much easier to stick to your budget because you’re not paying for actions that don’t align with your goal. Check out the different billable actions for each objective:

• Reach – Cost per 1,000 Tweet impressions
• Video views – Cost per view
• Pre-roll views – Cost per view
• App installs – Impressions or app clicks
• Website traffic – Cost per engagement
• Engagements – Cost per engagement
• Followers – Cost per follow
• App re-engagements – Cost per app click

How to set up a Twitter ad campaign

If you’re familiar with setting up Facebook ads, you should have no trouble launching a Twitter ad campaign. But if you’re completely new to the scene, we’ve got you covered.

Before you start, make sure you set up your Twitter ads account. For this, sign in to your Twitter account and go to the Twitter ads onboarding page. Then follow the steps to complete setting up your account.

Next, follow the steps below to create your Twitter ad campaign.

1. Choose your ad objective

What do you want to get out of your ads? Depending on your ad objective, Twitter will offer the best engagement types and actions for your campaign.

Choose from the following available ad objectives:

• Reach– This objective displays your ad to as many people as possible within a set timeframe. And you only pay for every 1,000 Tweet impressions. Use this to raise brand awareness and improve brand perception.
• Engagements– Drive more conversations around your brand by designing ads that people would want to interact with.
• Followers – Promote your Twitter account and attract more followers.
• Website traffic – Get more people to visit your website after seeing your ad. This type of campaign leverages Twitter’s Click ID to give you a reliable way to measure visits coming from your Twitter ad.
• Keywords – Target users who use specific keywords relevant to your campaign. This is an effective way to narrow down an audience with high intent.

2. Create your ad

The next page lets you create your ad by adding text and relevant media. Twitter gives you the option to upload a new media file or choose from your existing media library. You’ll need to include a headline and a link to your desired landing page.

On the right-hand panel, you get a preview of what the ad would look like. Use this as a guide to fine-tune your ad design.

3. Customize your ad delivery

The next step is where you decide whom to target. First, select the key audience demographics you want to reach with this ad. You can narrow your targeting down based on gender, age and location.

Optionally, Twitter offers several targeting features to fine-tune your ad delivery. You can target users based on the keywords and devices they use and their interests and languages. It even lets you target people who follow accounts similar to yours.

4. Set your budget and schedule

Next, it’s time to decide how much you’re willing to spend on your campaign. When you set a daily budget, it gives you better control over your spend. That way, Twitter will stop displaying your ad once you’ve reached the budget limit.

Additionally, make sure to include a date range for your ad. This will ensure that your ad only runs for the specified time frame.

Finally, add a credit card to your Twitter ad account. Then once you’ve finalized everything, hit the “Launch campaign” button to go live with your ad.

Tips for using Twitter ads

Want to get more out of your Twitter ads? Follow these best practices and examples from top brands.

1. Stick to your brand voice

To make sure your ads resonate with your target audience, maintain a consistent brand voice. Your promoted content should be no different from your organic ones in terms of how you speak.

2. Write short and engaging copy

Twitter users quickly move on from one Tweet to the next. So stay far away from huge text blocks. Make sure your copy is short and to the point. Just because there’s room for 280 characters doesn’t mean you have to use up all that space.

If it fits with your brand personality and you don’t overdo it, consider using some emojis to catch attention. But don’t forget about accessibility considerations for those using screen readers. Your copy should be short enough to keep users engaged but not so short that it’s meaningless.

German Doner Kebab strikes the perfect balance with creative ad copy that cuts right to the chase. The brand keeps it fun and casual with a sprinkle of emojis to connect with the audience.

3. Use high-quality visuals

Eye-catching videos and images can make your ad stand out and stop the scroll, driving more engagement with your ad. They can get people to pause and engage with your ad. So be sure to use high-quality visuals that speak for the quality of your products/services.

4. Have a clear call to action

Let people know exactly what you want them to do after seeing your ad. Whether it’s to visit your website or download your app, your ads should have a CTA that clearly mentions the next step.

The following ad from Greyson comes with a CTA that explicitly tells the audience what to do. In this case, it’s to shop Justin Thomas’ championship looks.

5. Learn from your organic performance

How people respond to your organic Tweets can tell you a lot about how to run your Twitter ads. Find out what kind of content gets the most engagement and positive sentiment from your target audience. Then use the insights from your Twitter analytics to inform your advertising decisions.

Sprout Social offers Twitter analytics and reporting to help you with this. This lets you identify your best Twitter content based on reach, clicks and retweets.

6. Test and optimize

Of course, the best way to make sure your ads are working is to test them. Run A/B tests on different ad placements, messaging, ad format and post timings. Then use those data and insights to create highly optimized ads that will rake in profits.

Ready to hit the ground running with Twitter ads?

With stronger attribution and better targeting, Twitter is constantly evolving to serve brands. And with the right strategy, it can be a valuable advertising channel for your business. But the fast-paced nature of the platform means you have to perfect your timing to reach your audience when they’re most active. Check out our guide on how to schedule Tweets to get your timing right.

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Navigating a sea of screens: How social reinforces digital out-of-home ads

The future of digital out-of-home is brighter than a Times Square billboard. As uncertain economic conditions continue and technological innovations bloom, digital out-of-home is growing into a popular form of digital marketing.

According to the Digital Out of Home Advertising Market report, the digital out-of-home market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 10% to reach a market size of more than $33 billion in 2026. This growth is partly fueled by the data opportunities digital out-of-home offers brands looking to create well-informed decisions that better protect their investments.

In this article, we’ll dive into the benefits of using digital out-of-home advertising and stand-out examples of campaigns to help inspire your strategy. We’ll also dive into how social media can reinforce and amplify digital out-of-home campaigns.

What is digital out-of-home advertising?

Digital out-of-home advertising refers to electronic signage found in high-traffic, publicly accessible spaces like malls, universities, gyms, gas stations, etc. It includes, but isn’t limited to, digital billboards and in-store displays, elevator screens and electric vehicle (EV) charging displays.

Out-of-home (OOH) traditional media has focused on static signage such as vinyl billboards and posters. Digital out-of-home media is dynamic, presenting unique avenues for omnichannel strategies that incorporate smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.—so there are a lot of screens for brands to use to grab attention.

Benefits of digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising

More brands are investing in digital out-of-home because there are a heap of benefits.

1. Automation and technology streamlines execution

Many digital out-of-home platforms and the software that powers them are automated, removing a number of challenges marketers face when planning, contracting and launching campaigns. Marketers can manage strategy, activation, reporting and optimization in a single location while using automation and data to drive decision-making. And instead of working with multiple vendors, marketers have the option of using one platform to plan for content for a variety of screen types and sizes.

Essentially, digital out-of-home automation makes omnichannel campaigns much easier. For example, if a retail brand wanted to combine mobile campaigns with digital out-of-home, they could place an interactive display in a mall. After interacting with the display, the consumer could scan a QR code that sends them to a landing page or a mobile ad call-to-action.

And thanks to today’s technology, marketers can remotely schedule and manage digital out-of-home campaigns across locations in a matter of clicks.

There are many programmatic digital out-of-home platforms, but Volta is a great illustration in terms of the type of services these types of vendors offer. As an industry-leading electric vehicle charging and media company with over 5,000 screens, Volta is a popular platform of choice for DOOH activations.

In October 2022, the company announced 3D creative campaigns, along with QR code activations and dynamic creative options like real-time weather triggers that allow brands to employ ads based on the weather. They also offer mobile retargeting so companies can reconnect with consumers after they see an ad on a Volta screen.

2. Makes tracking relevant KPIs and direct business impact easier

Since digital out-of-home combines the physical and digital realms, brands have access to a wider range of metrics. Along with engagement and conversions, marketers can use a variety of key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure DOOH campaign effectiveness including sales lift, app downloads and conversion (web conversions, in-app actions, downloads, etc.).

Since many platforms are automated, tracking upper and lower funnel metrics is easier. With access to a range of metrics, illustrating performance and direct business impact becomes clearer. By reviewing data on consumer trends, brands can make informed decisions on their placements because they can pinpoint the best time and place to engage their target audience.

For example, an athleisure clothing brand could view peak hours for locations frequented by their target audience (gyms, health food stores, yoga/pilates studios, etc.) to optimize publish times for a campaign.

3. Drives the innovation and personalization your audience craves

If the metaverse was 2022’s buzzword, 2023 is the year of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). With the influx of AI, ML and other emerging technologies like extended reality (XR), brands can make more engaging, personalized ads that improve brand perception. As technology and consumer needs become more sophisticated, brands will need to lean on innovation to stay ahead and meet consumer expectations. Brands are already incorporating digital OOH in metaverse environments, further blurring the line between online and real-life experiences.

Smart examples of digital out-of-home advertising

Let’s cover some of our favorite excellent examples of digital out-of-home campaigns:

McDonald’s

McDonald’s “Deals Stuck in Time” campaign in Sweden was a creative response to helping consumers deal with inflation. The campaign used Google Street View to allow people to step back in time and view old out-of-home ads from 2009 until 2022.

Billboards were digitally altered on Street View to show the old ads. Once a customer identified when the ad was first run, they could claim the deal via the campaign website or the McDonald’s app.

Sea-Doo

Digital out-of-home platforms can help brands take advantage of weather-based marketing by using triggers such as temperature and precipitation to provide relevant, real-time ads to target audiences automatically.

Sea-Doo, a Canadian personal watercraft and boat brand, partnered with Vistar Media to create a weather-triggered digital out-of-home campaign.

By using Vistar Media’s point of interest and weather targeting tools, Sea-Doo’s campaign generated an 80% increase in purchase intent and 43% lift in consideration for the brand. The campaign was so impactful that it was nominated for “Best Use of DOOH” by the Drum Awards for Digital Advertising 2022.

Dole

Dole partnered with Volta to drive sales during the winter holiday season. Based on the case study, the food company used Volta’s front of store placements to highlight various Dole products to convert shoppers. Dole earned an 8% sales lift, 13% new buyers and increased 8.5% category share.

How can digital OOH and social complement each other?

We’ve covered the benefits of digital out-of-home campaigns and some interesting brands to model, but how do you stand out in the sea of screens? The key is social media insights.

Extend your organic social content in targeted spaces

Marketers are leaning on holistic, omnichannel campaigns, especially in the current economic climate, which means they need to reach large target audiences with intention and precision. Take advantage of your paid media budget by pushing content that’s already proven effective on social media.

Within Sprout, you can identify top-performing posts for TikTok, Instagram and other social media networks all within one platform so planning for omnichannel DOOH campaigns is even more efficient.

By using Sprout’s paid performance reports, you can view which content resonates the most and assess the next steps for repurposing content in a physical space.

Use social data to make better digital OOH investments

Along with automation, the beauty of digital out-of-home is that brands can get incredibly precise about which messages they display across specific locations. But you can leverage social data to further support your decisions of what creative content to push.

Sprout Social’s Listening tools are built on smart workflows and AI-driven technology so you can gain the business intelligence you need to improve your strategy and make wiser DOOH investments.

For example, insights from the Locations Overview can uncover trends and events unfolding in specific countries and cities, making it easier to pinpoint a digital OOH ad buy.

The future of digital out-of-home

As we peek into DOOH’s crystal ball, there’s massive opportunity for more creative, innovative activations. Using data and research to back up your investment decisions is a key way to ensuring your DOOH investments have a bright future.

Looking for more ways to support your marketing and business decisions with data? Continue your journey with our Marketer’s Ultimate Data-Powered Toolkit—it’s packed with resources so you can plan with confidence.

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How to make a GIF (Photoshop, iPhone, Android & more)

GIFs are a great way to increase social media engagement by drawing attention to your social posts. These short, frequently humorous, looping, silent, animated clips are easy and often free to make. They are used to express emotion, reaction, and personality. But they can also draw attention to something, such as a product or brand attribute.

Animated GIFs can also help your audience understand your data and concepts. Using GIFs to explain facts or liven up statistics can be a vital component of your overall social strategy.

In this article, we’ll explain how to make a GIF in a number of ways, including with Photoshop and iPhone. And we’ll show you how to use your GIFs on social networks from your PC or phone. You will also learn how to make a high-quality GIF, and we’ll review several of the best GIF creation tools.

Table of contents

• What is a GIF?
• How to make a GIF
• Tips for making your GIFs higher quality
• Best GIF creation tools
• How to use your GIFs on social media

What is a GIF?

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is an image file that can hold multiple images, which can then be animated, much like a flipbook. Steve Wilhite invented the GIF format, and it has survived since 1987 in essentially the same form. The World Wide Web didn’t come along for two more years.

GIF’s 8-bit format only supports 256 colors, whereas other, newer image formats support millions. This limitation in the range of colors can cause the images to have poor resolution. And, every time a GIF is shared, saved, or re-uploaded it will look worse because it gets compressed. Still, GIFs remain wildly popular on social media, web pages and in emails.

How to make a GIF

Making a GIF is not a complicated process so long as you know the steps for whatever device you wish to use. Let’s begin with how to create an animated GIF on your phone.

How to make a GIF on iPhone

There are three ways to make a GIF on iPhone. The first is to turn your Live Photos into GIFs. Live Photos record 1.5 seconds before and after the shot, so they can create a GIF effect when set to loop. Open the Live Photo you’ve chosen for your GIF, tap on the Live Photos button at the top left of your screen, and at the drop-down menu, tap Loop.

 

Unfortunately, a GIF made in this fashion will not play on non-apple devices.

To be able to use your GIF wherever you want, you’ll have to use a third-party app, which is the second method to make a GIF on iPhone.

These apps will help you create a GIF from your video or pictures and download it to your camera roll. Some examples of apps are GIF Maker-ImgPlay and EZGIF for iPhone and Android.

The third method to make a GIF on iPhone is to use iPhone’s Shortcuts app. With this app you can convert Live Photos, images and videos to GIFs without the need for a third-party app. To do so, follow these steps.

1. Open Shortcut and go to the Gallery tab
2. From here you have four choices depending on what you want to do. You can search for the Make GIF, Convert Photos to GIF, Video to GIF or Burst to GIF. The Make GIF shortcut will allow you to make GIFs from Live Photos and videos. The Convert Photos to GIF shortcut allows you to make GIFs from a number of your selected photos. The Video to GIF and Burst to GIF shortcuts do as their names imply.
3. Once you’ve selected your shortcut, tap Add Shortcut. This will add it to your MY Shortcuts tab where you will then tap on it.
4. With the Convert Photos to GIF shortcut, select your photos then tap Add on the top right of the screen. You’ll get a preview of your GIF. Don’t tap Done yet or it won’t save. Tap the Share icon in the top right and select Save Image. This will save your GIF to your Photos. Also, you can send it to others through Messages or apps like Messenger.
5. With the Make GIF shortcut, select a Live Photo and tap Add as before. This shortcut will send your GIF to your photo album. These GIFs will play automatically, even on non-Apple devices.
6. Use the Burst to GIF shortcut the same way. You’re likely to get a smoother animation using pictures taken in continuous shooting or burst mode. This is because the movement will be less jerky than if you use photos taken farther apart.
7. With the Make GIF shortcut, once you’ve tapped OK to give permission to access your Photos app, you will see all the videos in your library.
8. Once you’ve chosen the one you want to make into a GIF, use the sliders to crop the part of the video you want for your GIF. Tap Save.
9. A preview will be available within the Shortcuts app. Tap Done.

How to make a GIF on Android

Making a GIF on Android devices depends largely on the device. For instance, following these steps, you can make a GIF on a Samsung Galaxy device from the Gallery app.

1. In the Gallery app, long press on an image to select multiple photos.

2. Tap the 3 dots at the bottom right of the screen.
3. Select Create.
4. Review and edit your GIF. Then tap The GIF image that appears in your Gallery app.

To make a GIF on Android phones with the Google Photos app, follow these steps.

1. In the Google Photos app, at the bottom, tap Library > Utilities.
2. Under Create New, select Animation.
3. On the top right, tap Create.

You can also use third-party apps to make GIFs to save to your Android devices. Some free options are Ez GIF Maker and GIF Maker-GIF Editor.

How to make a GIF in Photoshop

Learning to make a GIF in Photoshop is a little more complex than the above methods. You have to work with layers. Follow these steps.

1. Copy and paste your chosen photos into a new folder.
2. Select File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack
3. Choose the folder you made, open it, and the photos will come out in different layers.
4. Choose Window > Animation or Window > Timeline
5. The Animation, or Timeline panel will come up at the bottom of the screen
6. Select Create Frame Animation.
7. Select Make Frames from Layers in the Timeline panel.
8. You can adjust the playing time of each frame as well as the speed. To do so, choose Select All Frames in the top drop-down menu. You can adjust by clicking on the dropdown menu at the bottom of each frame.
9. Choose the Repeat menu in the Timeline panel and select Forever.
10. You can preview your GIF by hitting Play on the Timeline.
11. To save your GIF select File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy).

There are free alternatives to Photoshop if you want this level of control without the cost. GIMP, an open-source image editor, is one such alternative.

How to make a GIF from a video

Making a GIF from a video isn’t much different than from photos. iPhone has a specific shortcut for that function: Video to GIF. On Android, the process may differ a bit according to your hardware and software.

1. Open Gallery
2. Open your Videos folder
3. Select the video for your GIF and tap Play Video
4. Tap GIF, which will start creating your GIF
5. Then you can adjust both the length and speed of your GIF
6. Tap Save, and it will save to your Gallery

Now your GIF is ready to share.

However, it’s essential to understand that videos are subject to copyright laws. Using them without the creator’s or actors’ permission could cause problems, especially if your GIF is for commercial use. There are exceptions such as creative commons, of course, but it might not be worth trying to rely on the somewhat nebulous “fair use”.

In that regard, using images and videos from your prior social posts to make GIFs is a great way of repurposing content for social media.

Tips for making your GIFs higher quality

First, it’s important to understand that size matters when it comes to GIFs. If a GIF file is too big, it can cause pages to load slowly and even have a negative effect on SEO. So, there is a balancing act between optimizing your GIF for size and optimizing its quality.

For instance, you may need to meet the size requirements of a particular network. In that case, you can do several things to retain quality while reducing the size of your GIF.

The quality of a GIF diminishes in two ways. First, by getting compressed each time it is shared, saved, downloaded or uploaded. And second, by using too many colors in the GIF.

So, one of the ways to improve the quality, and reduce the size, is to reduce the number of colors used in the GIF. Play with the presets available in some of the more advanced GIF-making tools to help reduce the number of colors used in your GIFs.

Another way to optimize the size of your GIF file is to reduce the number of frames in the animation. You don’t want to reduce them too much, or you’ll make the GIF choppy. You can use an online GIF compressor like EZGIF to reduce the size of the GIF file by 30–50%.

Best GIF creation tools

We’ve already talked about some of the ways GIFs can spice up your brand’s offerings on social. Here are seven more of the best free and low cost GIF creation tools to help you in building social media presence.

Make a GIF

With Make a GIF, you can make animated GIFs from images or URLs from YouTube or Facebook videos. You can also make them from your own webcam videos. And, like several GIF makers, they have an extensive collection of premade GIFs you can share.

EzGIF

This is a simple-to-use, free GIF maker and image editor. It can flip an image, reverse, resize, crop, optimize and apply effects and text. You can adjust the animation speed and frame order of the images you upload. With videos, you select the part you want by entering the start and end times. You can control the frame rate.

This tool will convert GIFs to MP4 or WebM videos, which, as stated above are of higher quality. You can also use this tool to edit, shorten or merge existing GIFs. Best of all, it doesn’t apply a watermark to your GIF as some GIF makers do. This is great for making GIFs for your social media content.

ScreenToGif

This unique, free, open-source GIF creation tool allows you to record your screen and make a GIF from all or a piece of it. You can do the same thing with the drawings on your sketch board. In fact, it will capture your drawings as you draw them.

Additionally, you can make GIFs from your webcam videos. When you edit, you can manipulate individual frames and images. You can apply captions and text. Share directly to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Reddit.

Imgflip

This creation tool has both video-to-GIF and image-to-GIF capabilities. You can use photo or video files from your devices (PC, iOS or Android), or you can paste in the URL of a video.

You can customize your GIF with text, images, stickers, drawings and animations. But, Imgflip will put a watermark on your GIF unless you purchase a Pro account.

Like Make a GIF, they have a whole library of GIFs for you ready to share.

Freegifmaker.me

Making GIFs with this tool is pretty straightforward. You can either make a GIF from images or from a YouTube Video.

If you’re using a YouTube link, you’ll wait for the video to load, then enter the start time and duration for your GIF. That’s it. There are several effects you can apply, including swirl and zoom. Finally, you can reverse a GIF from your device or from a URL. Quite simple.

Gifs.com

With GIFs.com, so long as you have the URL, you can make GIFs from videos from just about anywhere, including YouTube, Vine and Instagram. And you can drag and drop images or select them from your PC.

Of course you can add captions and stickers to your GIFs, or even make them black and white. You can also make animated stickers. This tool maker has an embed player that you can install to play your GIFs on your website.

Giphy

Giphy lets you make GIFs from images or videos, as well as from URLs. These URLs can be from YouTube or many other sites, including from Giphy’s large library of GIFs. You can apply a caption, text, filters, and other effects, including freehand drawings. And, it can produce GIFs in the WebM format for higher quality GIFs.

You will be able to add tags to your GIF as well as a source URL to give credit to the original source. And, as recommended by Giphy, you can change your GIF from Public to Private so no one but you will be able to see and share it. You can share directly to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Reddit and more.

Many of these GIF making tools allow you to attach tags to your GIFs. It is good social content strategy to tag them with keywords your audience uses to search your brand or product. Then, when people search for those, your GIF and any related content will pop up.

How to use your GIFs on social media

Each social media network is a bit different. Some have embraced GIFs, some have not. Most at least have the ability to use integrated GIF content to share in comments and sometimes posts.

How to use your GIF on Instagram

Instagram doesn’t accept the GIF format yet. So, you do need to know how to get your GIFs on the network. And let’s face it, it isn’t always easy to get your audience’s attention on Instagram when everyone is posting images and videos. But with the popularity of GIFs, you can stand out and increase your Instagram engagement.

To get your GIFs on Instagram, they must be MP4 files. You will have to either create your GIF as an MP4 file within any of the GIF creation tools that support this, or convert it to MP4 later. There are plenty of converters out there, like VideoPro Converter. Once you have it in the correct format, you can post it to your Instagram Stories, Profile or Newsfeed. Some mobile apps, like Giphy’s, will convert your GIF and save it to your camera roll so you can post from there.

Don’t forget to add those keywords as hashtags to your GIFs so people will find your GIFs and content in searches.

How to use your GIFs on Twitter

There are two ways to add a GIF to your Tweet. But first understand that you can’t add a GIF to a Tweet with more than one image, or one with another GIF. You may, however, add a GIF to a Direct Message. Twitter also has an integrated collection of premade GIFs you can use in your Tweets and DMs.

The first way to attach a GIF to your Tweet is to paste your GIF’s URL at the end of the Tweet. You can get the URL from the site where you created and uploaded your GIF. Remember to always mark your GIFs as private so no one else can see or use them.

The second way to add a GIF to Twitter is to start by downloading it to your PC or phone. Then add it to your Tweet in the same manner that you would add an image. This method is most helpful for those who haven’t uploaded their GIF to a creation tool’s library.

How to use your GIFs on Facebook

On Facebook, it is simple to upload your GIF to a post or comment. Use the photo/video options for each. This works for both PC and mobile. You only need to have your GIF downloaded to the appropriate place, i.e., the camera roll for mobile.

You can post a GIF by its link (URL) as text to your post. Once the GIF shows up, you can delete the link and add other text and it won’t affect the GIF. Do the same thing with comments, except remove the link at the image preview stage.

Facebook also allows you to use GIFs as your Profile Picture, Cover Video, and as Facebook ads. Your Profile GIF may not play automatically for all users. So, choose a custom thumbnail. You even have the option of making your GIF Profile temporary.

As with Twitter, Facebook has an integrated library of GIFs you can use by selecting GIF from the More option of Add to Your Post.

How to use your GIFs on LinkedIn

As of February 2023, LinkedIn does not support GIF files for Logo Images or Cover Images. But, you can add them to your posts, articles and article thumbnails. And, if you add them before your title, the GIF will display at the top, catching attention right away.

You can add GIFs to LinkedIn like images or by pasting the link into your post or article. Add a GIF to a comment by adding it as an image. LinkedIn also has premade options available for your use in comments and DMs.

How to use your GIFs on YouTube

It is possible to add a GIF to your YouTube video at a site of your choosing. But, you will need a video editor to do so. There are both paid and free options available on the web.

Your brand’s ability to post engaging GIFs on social media networks is only growing. You can greatly benefit from an effective content calendar to help you plan and implement your social posts. With Sprout Social’s comprehensive Social Media Publisher you can plan, compose and post your social content across all social networks from a single tool. It will even determine the optimal send times for each of posts with ViralPost®.

Imagine what GIFs can do for your social media engagement

GIFs have become an integral part of the social media landscape. They bring laughter and fun. This is something from which even the most serious posts can often benefit.

You can use GIFs to promote your brand, or get your point across in a few seconds of carefully curated images. And because GIFs are so simple and inexpensive, it’s easy to incorporate them into your social media marketing strategy.

Posts with images get a 98% higher comment rate on LinkedIn. And Tweets with videos get ten times more engagement on Twitter.

Yes, it’s true that GIFs are often humorous or even silly. But they can also be thoughtful and informative. And, they are indisputably eye-catching. Can you afford to ignore this phenomenon?

The post How to make a GIF (Photoshop, iPhone, Android & more) appeared first on Sprout Social.

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TikTok marketing: The complete guide for brands in 2023

If you’re not sure you should create a TikTok social media marketing strategy, we’re here to prove to you that you absolutely should.

TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform we’ve seen thus far, reaching 1 billion users in September 2021, a record four years since its worldwide launch. For comparison, it took eight years for both Facebook and Instagram to hit that milestone.

And while we don’t have more recent data on TikTok’s userbase numbers, there are other stats proving just how popular TikTok has become. For example, it was the most-downloaded app in Q1 of 2022 and the highest-grossing non-game app in both the Apple and Google Play stores. Find even more compelling TikTok stats in our 2023 roundup.

Throughout this article, we’re going to dig into what TikTok marketing is, how to create your own TikTok business account, provide six tips for ramping up your brand’s TikTok marketing strategy and more.

Table of contents

• What is TikTok marketing?
• How to create a TikTok business account
• 10 Tips for building your TikTok marketing strategy
• What are the benefits of marketing on TikTok?
• TikTok marketing brand examples to inspire your strategy

What is TikTok marketing?

TikTok marketing is the process of using TikTok and TikTok content to promote your brand and its products or services. Easily build up your own online presence through the use of short-form video content that engages your audience and helps show off your business offerings.

While social media marketing creates a cohesive strategy for all social media platforms—TikTok marketing focuses just on TikTok.

You’ll want to ensure your overall messaging on TikTok is similar to all other platforms your brand has a presence on, but as a rule, TikTok content tends to be much different than the content you’ll publish on other channels. (Though you may end up repurposing your TikTok videos for Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts to reach even more viewers.)

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How to create a TikTok business account

Before you create a TikTok business account you first need to know the difference between a TikTok business vs. creator account.

Here are a few of the main differences:

• Business accounts get access to business tools like ads and analytics
• Business accounts get limited access to sound clips
• Business accounts get the ability to create an ecommerce storefront
• Business accounts can use third-party tools to schedule and manage TikTok content
• Business accounts can add a website link to their profile

TikTok business accounts don’t have access to the full sound library, but the additional tools far outweigh that. To create your TikTok business account follow along with these quick steps:

Step 1. Download the TikTok app and create a new account

Step 2. Go to your TikTok profile and tap the hamburger menu in the top right corner

Step 3. Tap Settings and privacy

Step 4. Tap Manage account

Step 5. Tap Switch to Business Account

Step 6. Choose the category that best corresponds with your business type

And voila! You now have a business profile and can get started optimizing your account to appeal to your target audience.

10 tips for building your TikTok marketing strategy

Ready to dive in and learn more about how to create a TikTok marketing strategy and build a large following on the platform? While you likely won’t be “TikTok famous” overnight, these ten tips will help you get on the best path to success. We’ve also summarized our best Tiktok marketing tips in this video.

1. Create and brand your TikTok account

We’ve walked through how to create your TikTok business account. The next step is to fully optimize and brand it so that it’s recognizable alongside the rest of your social media profiles.

To brand your TikTok account, tap Edit Profile, then fill out the following:

• Profile photo or video: TikTok lets you add a video for your profile avatar. Make sure this is a high-res version of your logo if you choose to add profile photo. If you want to do video, consider creating an animated version of your logo.
• Name: Your business name.
• Username: This should also be your business name (if possible) with no spaces.
• Pronouns: If you’re a sole proprietor you might want to input your pronouns.
• Bio: You have 80 characters to give a quick synopsis of what your business does.
• Email: Input your company’s contact email.
• Nonprofit: If your business works with or supports a nonprofit, you can tag them right in your profile.
• Category: You may have already done this when creating your business account, but if not, select the category that best represents your industry.
• Social: Connect your Instagram and/or YouTube accounts.

Other options are setting up an auto-message when users DM you. You can do this by tapping the hamburger menu, then Business suite, then Auto message. You’ll also be able to add your website URL to your profile once you hit your first 1,000 followers.

Here’s an example of a fully fleshed-out business profile from Starbucks. They even have two videos pinned to the top of their profile to showcase new products.

2. Define your TikTok audience

To be successful on TikTok, you have to know who you want to target with your content. Otherwise, you might get great reach and engagement, but it won’t translate into sales or subscriptions—which is fun but means nothing for your business’s bottom line.

TikTok skews towards a much younger audience, with nearly 7 in 10 18-19-year-olds having a presence on the app and around half of all 20-39-year-olds using TikTok.

So while TikTok is definitely for younger audiences, you still need to dig a bit deeper than that. Think about the demographics you want to target. Conduct some of your own social media market research, then consider putting together a customer persona that showcases exactly who your business’s target audience is.

3. Create quality TikTok videos

Your next step is to learn how to make a good TikTok video. First, start by doing a bit of hands-on research. Unless you’re already an avid TikTok watcher, spend some time getting to know the platform and looking at the types of videos that pop up on your “For You” page.

You might also want to look at the TikTok Discover page to see what’s trending and discover some of the more popular TikTokers.

Here, you’ll be able to see trending hashtags, sound bytes, accounts and more. It’s a great way to get a bird’s-eye-view of what’s popular at the moment, helping you discover inspiration for your own TikTok content. Then, take a look at other brands that are killing it on TikTok to see what they’re doing well and how you can emulate some of those tactics for your videos.

When it comes to TikTok, you need to test a variety of different video types to discover what’s going to resonate with your audience. Diversity across your profile is key. Try filming your team creating the product. Showcase your product in action. Create funny videos using popular sound bytes. Here are some additional video ideas to help get you started.

And make sure you post consistently. If you want to make a splash, you need to pump out new content regularly. Start by publishing at least twice a week, more often if you can. (In fact, TikTok themselves recommend posting 1-4 times per day.)

4. Use ads in your TikTok marketing strategy

If you want to reach an even wider audience, allocate some of your social media advertising budget towards TikTok ads. The cost for these is based on bids, just like how you pay for Facebook and Instagram ads. You’ll choose your target audience, create a fun video ad then promote it based on your specified daily or lifetime budget.

5. Tap into TikTok influencer marketing

Another popular TikTok marketing tactic is to work with influencers. There are thousands of influencers and content creators that partner with brands on TikTok to create fun, engaging video content that both spreads the word about new brands and also provides said brand with user-generated content to share on their own social media channels.

A few TikTok influencer marketing tactics include:

• Sending your product to influencers. Brands with low budgets but tons of product can reach out to influencers and ask if they can send them free product. While this doesn’t guarantee a feature on their channel, if you reach out to enough influencers consistently, you might get a spotlight in an unboxing or merch video.
• Collaborate on a video. Collaboration on a video or series of videos that spotlight your brand exclusively. These are more expensive, but you can always partner with micro-influencers with a lower reach until you have more of an influencer marketing budget.
• Partner on a new product line. Partner with a mega influencer or celebrity and create a product line together that they’ll get a cut of and promote to their audience. This is a great win-win, but you’ll want to make sure you’re only working with influencers that are hyper-relevant to your niche. For example, beauty brands would only want to partner on a project like this with a highly well-known makeup artist.

6. Monitor TikTok analytics to track performance

Pay attention to your TikTok analytics. You only get access to this if you switch to a business account, and it can be a huge help in pinpointing your most popular videos and when the best time to post each day is.

Some of the best metrics to track include:

• Video views
• Growth rate
• Trending videos
• Average watch time

You can also connect your TikTok business account to your Sprout Social dashboard to access analytics right inside Sprout as you measure your other social media platforms.

7. Jump on popular TikTok trends

If you want to increase your chances of going viral, pay attention to trending audio clips, challenges and video types. If you can use a popular trend to create a video that’s relevant to your business, do so!

Here’s an example of a small jeweler that used a popular trending video type to go viral.

@stevepronkojewelers

She’s never “just looking” #engagementring #engagementringgoals #engagementringtiktok #jewelry #bridesoftikfok #diamonds

♬ original sound – K

Most of their videos of original content generate anywhere from 100-600 views and 2-20 likes. But the above video took a well-known trend and generated over 275,000 views and over 12,000 likes.

As we mentioned, you can use TikTok’s Discover page to find some of these trends; however, your best bet is simply to consume a lot of TikTok content. This will help you organically find popular trends—and see how various users are incorporating them into their content. (So the next time your boss finds you scrolling, you can tell him it’s work-related.)

8. Take advantage of TikTok’s editing capabilities

The best videos tend to be the ones that are shot and edited right within the TikTok app itself. This is because the app has a ton of editing features built-in, making it easy to create engaging content with just a smartphone and a single app.

Some of these features include:

• Filters
• Trimming video clips
• Text overlays
• Captions
• Stickers
• Visual and special effects
• Voiceovers
• Audio editing
• Slow motion
• Transitions

There are so many different ways to film and edit your TikTok videos right inside the app that there’s no need for additional video editing tools. Especially since the TikTok algorithm seems to prefer pushing TikTok-edited videos more than others.

9. Keep your videos short and sweet

According to the most recent data, TikTok states that the optimal length for videos is 21-34 seconds long (up from 11-17 seconds in 2020).

Mini scooplet: The sweet spot for video length on TikTok has doubled in the last year. Back in 2020, internal documentation provided to creators suggested 11-17 second videos performed best (left). This week, TikTok said 21-34 seconds (right) pic.twitter.com/tnRirJHbUS

— Chris Stokel-Walker ~ @stokel@infosec.exchange (@stokel) November 12, 2021

Although TikTok is still testing longer videos, videos over 60 seconds in length stress viewers out. This means you want to keep your video content short and sweet. Stick to an average of 30-second video content for optimal results.

10. Incorporate live video into your strategy

TikTok is one of the many platforms that offer a live-streaming feature on its app. Brands should take advantage of this as live videos pop up in viewers’ For You pages so interested users can tune in. Plus, TikTok allows viewers to send stickers and other accolades through live videos as a monetization perk, so your brand can add TikTok Live as an additional revenue stream if your videos get popular enough.

What are the benefits of marketing on TikTok?

So why bother adding an additional social media platform to your overall strategy—especially one as time-consuming as TikTok? Let’s cover three of the major benefits of marketing on TikTok.

People are using TikTok to find products

49% of TikTok users have said they’ve purchased a product or service from a brand after seeing it featured on TikTok. The hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has also been extremely popular, with users showing off products they bought fully due to the fact that they discovered it on TikTok.

If you’re wanting to increase sales through your social media marketing, TikTok is a great channel to do so. The platform is on track to gain 9.6 million social buyers this year, making it the third most popular social commerce channel.

You have a higher chance of going viral

Due to TikTok’s algorithm, the brand focuses more on content discovery rather than showing you content from your friends. There’s a separate feed to see content from those you already follow—but the For You page wants to help users discover new content.

This means TikTok provides brands with a unique opportunity to reach a wider audience than you can on other platforms. Get discovered by those interested in your content, generate more followers and increase chances of making a sale.

Influencer marketing opportunities are abundant

Influencer marketing is huge on TikTok, making it even easier for your brand to get discovered by new people in your target audience. There are creators galore on the platform, many in your industry, so finding the right influencers to work with is a breeze.

Plus, even micro-influencers can generate a lot of reach due to the flexibility of the algorithm, so you can get more bang for your influencer budget, reaching even more customers and building solid influencer relationships.

TikTok marketing brand examples to inspire your strategy

Get inspired by real-world examples of how brands have seen success on the platform. Let’s dig into a couple of TikTok marketing examples you can learn from.

Chipotle

Fan favorite southwestern fast-food chain Chipotle has made quite a stir on TikTok. They got a bit of help from TikTok food influencers reviewing some of their menu “hacks,” but Chipotle’s response to the hubbub is what wins them a spot here.

If you see people talking about your business and menu items, products or services at length, respond accordingly—and that’s exactly what Chipotle did.

It all started when TikTokers Alexis Frost and Keith Lee reviewed an off-menu meal—and gave it full stars. Chipotle customers flocked to their local stores to try the meal, causing some locations to fully sell out of certain parts of the order.

In response, Chipotle ended up adding the actual meal to their menu:

@chipotle

Everybody relaxxxxx. It’s coming to the app in March. @Keith Lee @Alexis Frost #chipotle #quesadillahack #fajitasquesadilla #chipotlehack

♬ original sound – Chipotle

The brand has also continued to work with Alexis and Keith, with the two almost becoming TikTok spokespeople for the brand. Take advantage of viral moments when you can, and create long-term partnerships with your advocates.

Washington Post

The Washington Post, as a well-known newspaper across the U.S., has an arsenal of rather dry content to share. However, the paper’s TikTok team has turned their account into a fun and engaging way for followers to keep up with the news.

Take this TikTok video about France raising the retirement age:

@washingtonpost

Working conditions in France have deteriorated significantly over the past decades, opponents to the new retirement age say. Unions argue that instead of raising the retirement age, the government should increase salaries and address precarious working conditions among many young and some elderly workers.

♬ original sound – We are a newspaper.

Or this video explaining the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank:

@washingtonpost

On Friday, Silicon Valley Bank went from being a key part of the tech ecosystem to collapsing in a matter of hours. Then on Sunday night, the Biden administration announced that all depositors at the failed Silicon Valley Bank would have access to all their money on Monday morning, approving an extraordinary intervention aimed at averting a crisis in the financial system. #SiliconValley #bankcrisis #useconomy

♬ original sound – We are a newspaper.

These bite-sized videos explain complex and dry topics in a fun and engaging way—it’s no wonder they’ve grown the account to 1.6M followers.

Even if your business is in a drier, less engaging industry doesn’t mean you can’t make engaging TikTok content. Take a lesson from WaPo for your own strategy.

Duolingo

Duolingo’s owl mascot is famous on the app. While its long had a reputation of being an evil, persistent presence for Duolingo language learners, the marketing team really leaned into that for its TikTok content. Their content features the owl mascot in nearly every video—and it’s chaotic.

Here’s one video showcasing the owl’s various threats to get its users to do their daily lesson:

@duolingo

Getting my steps in 😷 #duolingo

♬ original sound – Colin French

Here’s an example of what some of their other content is like, taking advantage of trending sound clips and popular video types:

@duolingo

bare minimum girlies please rise #duolingo #DulaPeep #languagelearningtip #frenchtok

♬ original sound – Depressed kinks

If your business gets a fun reputation, lean into it in your marketing content. Have fun with it and don’t take yourselves too seriously.

Get started with TikTok marketing today

Build up your TikTok presence using these six tactics. Start by creating your own TikTok business account, then create your own fun, engaging short-form video content. Learn even more about creating your own successful TikTok marketing campaigns so you can grow your audience and build your business.

The post TikTok marketing: The complete guide for brands in 2023 appeared first on Sprout Social.

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10 skills every social media manager must have

Social media skills have evolved dramatically over the past few years. Social network fragmentation, dynamic search engine optimization (SEO) changes, ever-growing content trends, emerging technologies and other complexities in the field have made it necessary for social media managers (SMMs) to sharpen and diversify their skills to keep up their game and be future-ready.

In this article, we’ll explore how the role has changed over time and what social media skills need to be in your toolkit for success.

How have social media manager skills evolved?

A social media manager has to be a marketer, strategist, copywriter and a customer service rep—and excel at each of them. Managing all these diverse responsibilities requires you to be agile and adept at new skills that are becoming more critical by the day.

A LinkedIn report shows that social media manager skills requirements in the US have changed an average of 24.9% since 2015. Some of the top new skills mentioned include social media outreach, social strategy, social media communications and platform expertise like Instagram.

Other pertinent skills include project management and the ability to conduct nuanced audience research with AI-driven technology to create more data-driven social strategies. 

Whether you are planning to become a social media manager or want to sharpen your skills for 2023 and beyond, here is a thoughtfully compiled list of the top skills every social media manager must have to thrive.

Level up your social media skills with the right social tools

As you master the skills in this article, start leveraging a social media management tool to further your social success.

Test out Sprout social with a free trial, or schedule a demo to learn more.

1. Communication

Of all the social media skills, I believe effective communication skills are by far the most important. From writing a brief to compiling a social listening analysis for leadership, social media managers have to communicate ideas effectively to a wide range of stakeholders. 

Communications skills are even more indispensable when you consider the breadth of internal and external audiences SMMs collaborate with on a regular basis, from teams as diverse as the legal and creative departments, to your followers and even social platform partners. 

There are two crucial things to keep in mind here:

• When communicating externally on social media, ensure you’re consistent. For example, employ a consistent brand voice when communicating with followers on social media. This holds true whether you’re publishing a planned post, dropping what you’re doing to hop on a trending topic or handling a customer complaint. You also need to be consistent in your communication with external stakeholders such as creators or influencers. Clearly define expectations and campaign goals, and how you’ll collaborate with them.

• When communicating internally, articulate your ideas and plans to decision-makers and cross-functional partners. This could be about your social media strategy, content distribution plan or the revenue impact you expect from a campaign.

Resources to build your communication skills

• Presentation template: Use this social media strategy deck template to effectively communicate your social strategy to the leadership team. 
• TED Talks on communication: Hear from some of the world’s most inspiring speakers on improving your social conversations, digital communications and storytelling abilities.

2. Writing

Social media managers have to be excellent copywriters who embody and enhance their brand’s voice on social. From witty, attention-grabbing ad copy to timely commentary, you should know how to write concise copy that speaks to your audience.

Whichever social networks you use, effective writers know how to tailor their writing for different audiences and platforms. 

For example, while you can use up to 2,200 characters in your Instagram captions, data has shown that the most engaging length is between 1-50 characters.

While writing is an important social media skill for creating engaging content and conversations, it’s also important for building your social media career. The ability to express yourself clearly in reports, emails and presentations will help your ideas make an impression.

Don’t hesitate to use AI-based content tools and other helpful apps that can assist you in ideating a topic or providing inspiration when you need it. If you do use AI tools to generate content, you will need editing skills to review and proofread the copy to ensure that it is aligned to your expectations and brand voice.

Resources to help with writing

• Grammarly: This free tool checks your grammar and proof reads your content while giving you prompts to make your copy more compelling.
• Copy AI: This free AI-driven tool can generate creative Instagram captions.
• Hemingway Editor: Use this website and app to make your writing more concise and readable. While it is geared more for long-form writing, you can also use it for creating impactful social media posts.
• Merriam-Webster’s Twitter feed: Broaden your vocabulary with words of the day, learn the difference between similar terms and enjoy a little snark when this dictionary Tweets about misused or made-up words in the news cycle.

3. Creativity

Differentiation is one of the biggest challenges for brands in the saturated social media space. That’s why it’s critical to create content that’s exciting, valuable and relevant. It takes creativity to: 

• Plan innovative social media ideas 
• Produce visually appealing multimedia content
• Consider every aesthetic detail of a social post, from images to links to copy formatting
• Lead productive brainstorms that bring out teammates’ best ideas
• Hone and expand your brand’s voice and persona

Infusing creativity across multiple projects can seem daunting to even the most seasoned social media manager. That’s where technology becomes your best friend. There are several AI-based creative apps for design and copy that can be your sparring partner to kick start your creative process.

On par with being creative is having a sense of humor and the ability to improvise in any given situation.

Resources to flex your creativity

• Creative Mornings events: Creative Mornings is a global breakfast event series for the creative community. Join a local event or the online community to connect with other curious, creative leaders in marketing, design and social.
• Vidyo: This easy-to-use AI tool helps time- and resource-strapped teams create social-ready short-form videos from longer content. 
• Illustroke: Use this tool to create quick AI-generated illustrations from text prompts to provide your design teams with more tangible direction.
• Fast Company and Campaign: These two publications offer thoughtful commentary and criticism on the creative ad world. Read for insight into brand and creative strategy, industry-leading campaigns and thought leadership.
• Sprout Insights Blog: You can find curated articles on content ideas for a variety of social platforms on our blog. Also check out this great video on how you can generate clever content and never run out of ideas.
• Improvisation classes: Taking improv classes can teach you how to problem-solve in a different way and give you more confidence in managing customer responses on the fly.

4. Efficiency and project management

As a social media manager, not only do you have to conceptualize campaigns and distribution rhythms, but you also have to lead and execute these plans from start to finish. To do this at scale, project management is a required social media skill. Becoming efficient at project management can also pave the road for future leadership roles in social.

Among the many time and project management tools available, such as Asana or Monday.com, a social media calendar (like the one in Sprout) can be super helpful in managing your different social tasks. You can use it to manage your campaigns more efficiently, keep all your collaborators on the same page, track your progress with different filters and more.

Resources to improve your project management skills:

• Asana Project Management: Use this tool to plan and manage your projects from start to finish.
• Pomodoro Technique and time-boxing: Sometimes you’ve got 50 messages to write and schedule all at once. Setting aside a limited block of time to work on a task helps keep things moving.
• Social Media Campaign Brief Template: Use this customizable social campaign brief template to organize campaign details, creative direction and other important directives.

5. Marketing strategy

Social sits at the intersection of marketing, customer experience and sales. It is also a source of valuable business intelligence. According to The Sprout Social Index™ 2022 social teams rank “proving ROI” as the third biggest challenge when it comes to strategy building. Marketing acumen combined with social intelligence can fill this gap to inform a more successful marketing strategy that is data-driven and customer-centric.

To create a social strategy that drives the most business impact, it’s important to incorporate both traditional and digital marketing approaches. This could mean documenting how your social efforts intersect with other tactics such as email nurtures, paid campaigns, corporate events, webinars and more.

More resources that you can leverage

• Sprout’s YouTube channel: Our YouTube channel is an excellent resource for videos on leveling up your social marketing strategy.
• Marketing influencers: Leaders like Joe Pulizzi and Seth Godin have stood the test of time with marketing wisdom all social pros can use.
• Textbooks and marketing courses: I find myself referring to my old sociology and marketing research textbooks all the time. If you’re learning on the job, check out LinkedIn Learning courses on marketing and strategy.
• Books by Malcolm Gladwell: Read “The Tipping Point” or “Outliers” to strengthen your understanding of human behavior and marketing.

6. Customer care

Customer care is one of those social media skills that combines customer service, people skills and an eye for uncovering opportunities. That’s why developing a social customer care strategy is an integral part of a social media manager’s job description.

Our Index shows that 44% of marketers use social data to inform customer experience. Brands also report that 53% of their social strategy is driven by insights from the customer service team. To truly be customer-centric, you must put the voice of the customer (VoC) at the core of your strategy.

Studies also suggest more than three-quarters of consumers expect a response on social within 24 hours. This means, not only do you have to listen to and understand the concerns of your customers, but also be proactive in your approach to handling emergencies.

For example, when a frustrated customer reached out to Delta Airlines on Twitter, the company responded immediately in a respectful manner, validating the customer’s feelings while offering the needed assistance.

 

As a social media manager, you are the brand’s biggest champion. Understanding customers and their perspectives enables you to make a positive impact in the hearts and minds of your community. 

Additionally, personalizing your interactions by referencing conversation history can help take an everyday interaction and turn it into an extra special moment.

Resources to enhance your customer care skills

• Zendesk’s Relate blog and events: Check out Relate for consistently great content on relationships, customer service and leadership.
• Podcasts: Customer care starts with customer understanding. Some of our favorite podcasts on this topic include Hidden Brain, Invisibilia and What It Means. You can check out our full list of favorite podcasts here.

7. Audience research and making connections

Researching your audience for brand experience (BX) intelligence is a critical part of a successful social strategy. These insights are even more vital when derived from social listening through machine learning (ML) processes like Sprout’s social listening solution, which uses natural language processing (NLP) to extract rich brand and voice of the customer insights.

This is because audience insights can inform everything, from the content formats you choose and trends you jump on, to the best times to post for your brand.

Establishing and building relationships with your audience is core to social media skills you must have in your arsenal. According to the Q1 2023 Sprout pulse survey, 77% of consumers are more likely to increase their spending with brands if they feel connected to them, up from 57% in 2018. 

That’s why social media managers need to be comfortable using AI-enabled tools to gather and act on VoC insights. This powerful, customer-driven, data-backed guidance can help you understand trends in audience behavior at scale but also fine-tune your brand’s social presence. 

These AI algorithms can also scan audience sentiment to discover which influencers are the best fit for your brand, so you can make strategic partnerships based on audience insights.

You can also measure brand sentiment through AI-based sentiment analysis. Proactively keep track of how audiences feel about your brand at any given time and also dig deeper to investigate why audience sentiment is dipping or spiking.

As a social media manager, your quantitative and qualitative audience insights give you a holistic understanding of what your audience wants and needs.

Resources for understanding & connecting with your audience

• Step-by-step social listening workbook: This workbook can help you get clear insights into what audiences think about your brand and how you can optimize your strategy accordingly.
• The Sprout Social Index™: Our annual report on the state of social contains data and insights on what consumers really want on social and what marketers are doing.

8. Agility

The social landscape moves fast and even best laid plans can become irrelevant. This is why the ability to quickly pivot and react to new trends, opportunities or crises is a fundamental social media skill. 

Being flexible can help you decisively respond to a frustrated customer (or an appreciative fan) in equally empathetic and personalized ways. But it’s also important to be agile when it comes to your long-term social strategy. 

Social strategies have to be as dynamic as the platforms they are executed on. As a social media manager, it’s important to experiment with different tactics, or even shake up your strategy entirely to adapt to new trends or competitive forces.

Learning from your data by listening to customer feedback and keeping a pulse on your competitors in a timely manner can make you a more nimble and hands-on social marketer.

Resources

• Know Your Meme: This site can be helpful in keeping up with daily development of new memes.
• The Twitter Trends sidebar is a useful resource to keep an eye on when looking for emerging trends and new content.
• Google Alerts: Enter keyword alerts for a variety of reasons: keep up on company mentions on the internet, industry news and world news.

9. Data analysis

We’re all familiar with end-of-month reporting, but skillful social media managers regularly look at data and apply it in their strategies to accomplish goals.

The impact is even more significant when your metrics include quantitative and AI-enabled qualitative data derived through social listening, such as sentiment mining of comments and posts. 

This gives you an accurate picture of your engagement levels and the “why” behind them. It also gives you tangible customer experience (CX) data to share with your stakeholders and cross-functional collaborators.

As the importance of social listening grows and brands feverishly compete for audience interactions, analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data will help you make a lasting impact on social. It will help you identify emerging trends and develop recommendations based on the voice of the customer to build a successful plan of action personalized to your audience and brand.

Resources for building your data analysis skills

• Marketer’s Ultimate Data-Powered Toolkit: This powerful toolkit is full of advice on how to use analytics to your advantage, from industry leaders including HubSpot, Litmus, Unbounce, Vidyard and ZoomInfo.
• Data storytelling: This article shows you how to build effective data storytelling so that you can communicate your data-driven strategy in a way that resonates with members in and around the marketing team.

10. Budget Management

As a social media manager, you have to expertly plan and manage funds for various programs including organic and paid media spending. 

This includes managing the budget for content especially if influencers or brand amabassadors are involved in your project, or if you need to hire freelance professionals. These costs may vary based on where you are located, the size of the influencer’s following and how freelance writers or editors charge their fees. You may have to decide which creator partnerships to prioritize based on available resources and production costs. 

To plan and allocate your spending wisely, you need to first thoroughly understand the goals of the project and conduct a social spend audit to compare the expenses from previous months or quarters. This will give you a better idea of which expenses are a one-time spend and which are ongoing.

Resources to enrich your social media skills for budgeting

• Annual Social Media Budget Template: Use this handy template to plan your annual social media spend so you can allocate your finances wisely, measure ROI and justify more investments in the future.
• Organic vs paid media: This article highlights everything you need to keep in mind when planning a hybrid social media strategy.
• Pattern89 AI Social Ad Budgeting Tool: This clever AI-powered social media budgeting tool helps you manage your paid social ads. You can optimize bids, plan spend and choose from the channels it recommends based on your audience. The tool is now part of ShutterStock.

Build your social media skills to transform your career

Social is a career path of lifelong learning, whether it’s your first social media manager role or you’re already a pro. 

Continuing to hone your social media skills will benefit you at every stage of your career. For example, if you’re already highly organized and efficient, you can spend time developing other skills such as building your personal brand, or preparing to move into people management. 

Mastery within an area of social media might open the door to your next career move. If you’re phenomenal at data analysis, perhaps you’d make a great social strategist. Or if audience research and connection are your forte, you might be an incredible community manager. Whatever your social media skills are, there is always room to grow.

To learn more, read this guide to building a long-term career in social.

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