Want to get started on social media but aren’t sure how?

We caught up with a few social media experts – people who truly live and breathe social media day in and day out – to get their tips on how to get started on social media.

We asked business owners, marketers, social media experts, influencers, bloggers, entrepreneurs, and more to share their secrets for social media success.

Many of them echoed similar themes, such as authenticity and focusing your efforts. All of them shared valuable advice that any business can use when getting started.

Here are our 12 favorite tips for getting started on social media:

1. “Remember it’s not about the numbers. Focus on making a big impact on a small but relevant group of people. Become invaluable for them and watch what happens.”
– Mike Stelzner, Founder, Social Media Examiner
@smexaminer

2. “Own your audience: If you’re going to spend money on social media advertising, make sure to get them to sign up for your email list, follow you, or give you a way to keep in touch with them so you don’t have to pay to reach people over and over again”
– Patrick Gillooly, Director of Social Engagement, Constant Contact
@constantcontact

3. “When you’re first starting on social media, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the different providers. My recommendation is to choose a few and be consistent on those platforms. Regularly share content and engage with your customers. Make sure to use hashtags where applicable, so others can find you. Bonus: you can use scheduling tools like Hootsuite and Buffer to help automate some of it for you.”
– Syed Balkhi, Founder, WPBeginner
@syedbalkhi

4. “Social media is all about connecting people. Don’t be afraid to weave in some personal content even when you’re representing your brand to create connections and build trust with your customers.”
– Alyssa Gregory, Founder, Small Business Bonfire
@smallbizbonfire

5. “First, do a self-audit of where you already are on social media. Check each platform you are on and look for things like broken links, contact info, outdated cover photos. Fix the things you can fix right away and if there are certain platforms “collecting dust” perhaps move them to inactive until you put together your strategy.”
– Katie Lance, Social Media Strategist, www.katielance.com
@katielance

6. “Pick ONE platform and go all in consistently with a message that would resonate for the most specific client or customer you are trying to attract. Wait until you get significant traction there before expanding.”
– Sue B. Zimmerman, The Instagram Expert, www.suebzimmerman.com
@suebzimmerman

7. “You’ve heard it said for the past few years that UGC (User Generated Content) creates a better consumer engagement experience and increases sales. But with over 86% of brands using it, how do you stand out? The problem is most brands use it as a selling point and that’s it. UGC works best when it tells a story that connects with the consumer’s needs, wants, and passions. Don’t just share your customer using the product or service, show how it’s improved their lives, let them achieve their goals, and how they got there. Consumers are creating incredible stories daily using it, it’s your job to share that with the world.”
– Jeff Higgins, Social Media Strategist, AMI Social Media
@itsjeffhiggins

8. “If you’re just starting out on social media, you first need to decide on What and Where: What content are you going to post on which social networks? You don’t need to be everywhere so just start with two social networks and A/B test your performance on them. For content ideas, look at your competitors or similar companies for ideas of what they are posting that gets engagement from their fans. The benefit of being a beginner is that you can learn from the experiences of your predecessors!”
– Neal Schaffer, Social Media Expert, www.nealschaffer.com
@nealschaffer

9. “Be vulnerable. People like to know that they’re not alone in their challenges, and when you share your insecurities, personal truths, and battles they connect with you on a deeper level.”
– Holly Reisem Hanna, Founder, The Work at Home Woman
@thewahwoman

10. “LEARN YOUR AUDIENCE — that’s who you’re doing this for, after all! Learn how to read your analytics and base your posts off of what works for YOU + YOUR UNIQUE AUDIENCE, not what works for everyone else on the internet.”
– Megan Collaso, National Events Producer, Unique Markets
@uniquemarkets

11. “Don’t fall into the trap of feeling like you need to be everywhere. Find the right channels for your business and do those ones well instead of spreading yourself thin! Not only will it save you time, it will also lead to more valuable content for your followers.”
– Ashley Perssico, Strategic Marketing Manager, Constant Contact
@ashleyperssico

12. “Something I would stress strongly to any small business or individual trying to get started on social media is to be much more personable than promotional. Using traditional marketing strategies and tactics on social media is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. A small percentage, about 20%, of the content you share on social media should be promotional. The rest of it should be a blend of educational, informative and entertaining content that either you yourself create or that is curated from other sources.”
– Bob Cargill, Social Media Expert, www.thebobcargill.com
@bobcargill

(We also shared these tips on the Constant Contact Instagram Story recently! You can view them in our profile highlights or by clicking here.)

Still have questions about getting started on social media? We can help! Tweet us @ConstantContact.

You can also get going by deciding which social media channels your business should be on.

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