Did you miss Social Media Marketing World in April?

Or perhaps you were there but weren’t able to attend all the sessions you would have liked to.

In this article I’ve assembled for you 15 actionable social media marketing takeaways from some experts who presented at the event.

Here’s what they had to say.

#1: Prepare for Social Displacement

With maturity of any new industry comes disruption. Just as email, the web and search disrupted entire industries several years ago (e.g., the postal service, print publications and traditional sales), we can also expect a lot of online disruption to happen because of social media.

• Facebook messages are displacing email (it’s becoming easier to send your friend a Facebook message rather than find their email address).
• Asking friends rather than searching (more and more people are asking their Facebook friends or Google+ circles for referrals instead of searching online for a product or service).
• Listening to podcasts is beginning to replace radio.

This obsession with social is happening because people love social media. According to a McKinsey & Nielsen survey, 76% of people feel good when they network using social media.

Michael Stelzner is founder and CEO of Social Media Examiner.

#2: Connect With Anyone You Want by Giving Value

Connecting is the ability to identify and relate with people to increase your influence with them. If you can add value, serve others and give freely, then you can connect with anyone, power your business and get whatever you want faster. Here’s what you need to do to become a valuable connector:

• Make meaningful and authentic connections with others
• Find out what’s important to them
• Help them get it
• Become a value-creator (by connecting people with other people, resources, tools or ideas)
• Follow up systematically (because out of sight, out of mind)

“The more you give, the more you receive; the more value you add, the better things become.” This is the secret sauce of making powerful connections.

Larry Benet is known as the Connector and president of the Speakers and Authors Networking Group (SANG).

#3: Invest in Passionate Community Managers to Improve Facebook Reach

“Content may be king but engagement is queen and she rules the house,” says Mari Smith. One of the best ways to increase your reach on Facebook is to invest in a passionate community manager who understands how to engage with fans. A great community manager is one who has these qualities:

• Proper training (knows how to be persuasive and is focused on good customer service)
• Focused on prompt engagement
• Focused on quick response to fan posts and comments. Responding to questions makes money (e.g., Gina Alexander Photo Handbags made $28,000 in sales within 24 hours of hosting a live Q&A about her handbags on her Facebook page!)

Mari Smith is a social media leader and Facebook marketing expert.

 

15 Actionable Takeaways From Social Media Marketing World 2013 | Social Media Examiner.