The Best Social Media Marketing Strategy - Full Masterclass

Social Media College Masterclass: Best Social Media Marketing Strategy for 2025 - Comprehensive Notes

1. Summary

This masterclass, presented by Jon Tanner of Social Media College, outlines the key social media marketing strategies for 2025. The focus is on helping small to medium-sized businesses move from consistent traffic and leads to significant revenue growth. The video emphasizes the importance of foundational elements such as niche marketing, audience personas, AI integration, and optimized conversion funnels. It promotes a shift towards a more paid advertising-focused approach while utilizing organic and email marketing for brand building and customer nurturing. The video also introduces the Social Media College's educational programs and resources.

2. Key Takeaways

* **Focus on Fundamentals:** Solid social media strategies are built on foundational elements like niche marketing, audience understanding, and defining a Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

* **Prioritize Paid Advertising:** Organic reach is declining, and a significant portion of the marketing budget (80-90%) should be dedicated to paid advertising, particularly on Meta.

* **Leverage AI:** Integrate AI tools for content creation, campaign simplification, and data analysis to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

* **Optimize the Funnel:** Focus on the entire customer journey, including post-click behavior, retargeting, and email marketing to increase conversions.

* **Build Brand with Organic & Email:** While ads drive performance, use organic content for community engagement and email marketing for relationship building and monetization.

* **Choose Platforms Wisely:** Focus on a select few social media platforms, aligning them with the target audience and content strategy (Meta is crucial).

3. Detailed Notes

#### 3.1. Introduction and Target Audience (0:00 - 0:02:28)

* **For:** Small to medium-sized businesses looking to scale revenue from consistent traffic and leads. Also, businesses experiencing inconsistent organic traffic, conversions, or feeling overwhelmed.

* **Goals:** Address frustrations with organic social media marketing and provide solutions to achieve significant revenue growth.

#### 3.2. The Power of Social Media Marketing (0:02:28 - 0:02:28)

* Social Media is the best platform for scaling sales in a cost effective way.

* Amazing platform for brand awareness, customer engagement, and audience targeting.

#### 3.3. Foundations of a Successful Social Media Strategy (0:04:50 - 0:05:19)

* **Building the long-term plan:** You can always jump on trends, but need to have solid foundations

#### 3.4. Niche Markets: The Key to Success (0:05:19 - 0:06:47)

* **Niche Market Defined:** A smaller subsegment of a larger market.

* **Benefits:**

* Less competitive.

* Easier to acquire leads.

* Develop stronger customer relationships.

* Write better copy with understanding your audience.

* Greater focus.

* Know acquisition costs and lower your marketing costs.

* Charge more since become specialists

* **Example:** Knee surgeon. Specialised and people will pay more.

* **Action:** Narrow your focus and niche down to a smaller subsegment.

#### 3.5. Increasing Average Order Value and Lifetime Value (0:06:47 - 0:08:57)

* **Average Order Value (AOV):** The average cart size.

* **Lifetime Value (LTV):** The value of a customer over a 12-month period.

* **Strategies for AOV:**

* Upsells (e.g., adding an irrigation system to a lawnmower purchase).

* Downsells (e.g., fertilizer with lawnmower, if irrigation is not an option).

* Bundles.

* Complimentary products

* **Why Important:** Increases the acquisition budget, and allows to outspend competitors and capture more market share.

* **Example:** Lawn Mower ($300), Maximum Acquisition budget ($150), with strategy to get LTV up to $600-$700.

#### 3.6. Understanding Your Audience Persona (0:08:57 - 0:10:09)

* **Audience Persona Defined:** Fictional representation of your ideal customer.

* **Benefits:**

* Base prompt for AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) to create targeted content.

* Write better copy.

* Create better images.

* Improve headlines and text.

* Improve social media video scripts.

* Refine bio and captions.

* Choose best content, and social media platforms, and develop lead magnets

* **Action:** Profile your ideal customers and understand their pain points, behaviors, and motivations.

#### 3.7. The Importance of Social Proof (0:10:09 - 0:11:34)

* **Social Proof Defined:** Content that backs up claims about your product, service, or message.

* **Types of Social Proof:**

* Video and written testimonials.

* Customer quotes.

* Customer data.

* Partner logos.

* Media mentions.

* User-generated content.

* Follower counts, shares, and views.

* **Most Valuable Forms:** Genuine video testimonials and verified online reviews.

* **Uses:** Share it in content, on social media, ads, landing pages, websites, and emails.

#### 3.8. Defining Your Unique Selling Points (USPs) and Risk Reducers (0:11:34 - 0:12:37)

* **Unique Selling Proposition (USP) Defined:** What makes you special.

* **Examples:** Lowest price, most convenient, widest range, best customer service, fastest delivery.

* **Action:** Define what sets you apart and make it consistent across your platforms.

* **Risk Reducers Defined:** Things that minimize the perceived risk of buying or taking action.

* **Examples:** Guarantees, free returns, bonuses, free trials, free shipping.

* **Action:** Define those and use them in marketing to increase conversions.

#### 3.9. Leveraging AI in Social Media Marketing (0:12:37 - 0:13:59)

* **AI Tools:**

* **Written:** ChatGPT.

* **Audio:** 11 Labs.

* **Image:** Midjourney.

* **Video:** Runway, Descriptor, Opus Clip.

* **Benefits:**

* Completing tasks faster.

* Improve content quality.

* Generate creative and strategic ideas.

* Save money on traditional marketing.

* Deliver greater personalization.

* Optimize data and improve audience engagement.

#### 3.10. Focusing on Your Funnel and Follow-Up (0:13:59 - 0:16:34)

* **Focus:** Focus on the entire customer journey, not just getting people off-platform.

* **The Audience Journey:**

1. Awareness

2. Consideration

3. Conversion

4. Decision

* **Metrics:**

* Video views.

* Page likes.

* Follows.

* Link clicks.

* Email captures.

* **Action:** Map out and understand the customer journey.

#### 3.11. Creating a Robust Conversion Funnel (0:16:34 - 0:24:08)

* **Funnel Components:**

1. Social Media Engagement.

2. Off-Platform Action (Lead Magnet or Website).

3. Opt-in Page (lead magnet).

4. Sales page (promoting service or product)

5. Thank you page, checkout page, upsell/downsell page.

* **Mere Exposure Effect:** People need more exposure to a brand (45-50 touchpoints) to build trust.

* **Email Marketing:** A cheaper way to generate touchpoints.

* **Email Marketing Components:**

* Email Sequence (7+ emails) to nurture people.

* Email Campaign (monthly)

* Retargeting ads (after not opting in).

* **Campaign Types**

* Awareness

* Consideration

* Decision (which combines retargeting and prospecting)

#### 3.12. The Mere Exposure Effect and Email Marketing (0:21:31 - 0:24:08)

* **Why Email is important:** More affordable alternative to social media ads for building touchpoints with a potential customer.

* **Lead Magnets:** Provide value to get email address in return.

* **Email Sequence:** Automate content to build trust.

* **When to monetize:** Utilize Black Friday sales or limited offers.

* **Lead Magnets:** Create things of evergreen nature.

#### 3.13. Developing a Solid Social Media Strategy (0:24:08 - 0:26:43)

* **Key Components:**

* **Goals:** Define clear, SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) objectives. (e.g., grow sales by X% by Y date using Z metric)

* **Target Audience:** Audience personas.

* **Platform Selection:** Consider audience, reach, content alignment, brand alignment, resources, and how long content lasts.

* **Content Strategy:** Define the content topic, theme, purpose, format, source, placements, and platform.

* **Ad Strategy:** Determine which ads you will run to complement organic efforts.

* **KPIs and Measurement:** How will you measure success?

* **Budget:** What’s your cost?

* **Execution:** How will you make it happen.

#### 3.14. Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms (0:26:43 - 0:28:11)

* **Platform Considerations:**

* Target audience.

* Platform reach and features.

* Content alignment.

* Brand alignment.

* Available resources.

* Trends and longevity of content.

* Focus on building community and engagement.

#### 3.15. The Dominance of Facebook in Traffic Generation (0:28:11 - 0:28:36)

* Meta is the best way to generate the most traffic and reach the largest audience.

* **Stats**

* 45% of Facebook users under 34.

* Facebook is the best traffic source.

* The organic reach for Facebook is low so need to use paid advertising.

#### 3.16. Choosing the Right Ad Platform for Your Audience (0:28:36 - 0:29:07)

* **Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp) for Ads:** Often the most effective.

* Exception: A younger demographic and Tik Tok objectives

#### 3.17. The Importance of Being Discoverable on Google (0:29:07 - 0:30:20)

* **Long Sale Cycles:** Some businesses need to get in front of their audience multiple times before they decide to buy.

* **Discoverability:** Must be discoverable on Google to capture demand at the point of decision.

#### 3.18. The Shift from Organic to Paid Advertising (0:30:20 - 0:31:22)

* **Tipping Point:** Organic alone is no longer a viable strategy for most small to medium-sized businesses.

* **Reasons:**

* Increased competition.

* Improved paid ad platforms and features.

* Declining organic reach.

#### 3.19. Challenges of Organic Social Media Marketing (0:31:22 - 0:35:10)

* **Challenges:**

* Takes a long time.

* Uncertain reach.

* Limited data.

* You're not free. You pay with content and time.

* Subject to the platform's algorithm.

#### 3.20. Leveraging AI and Short-Form Video (0:35:10 - 0:36:19)

* The increase in volume and quality of content is the main challenge.

* Using short form videos such as TikTok, and Reels is one method, but there is a lot of competition.

#### 3.21. Simplifying Ad Campaigns with AI (0:36:19 - 0:42:05)

* **AI-Driven Ad Tools:**

* Advantage Plus Shopping Campaign.

* Advantage Plus Audience.

* Advantage Plus Catalog Ads.

* Advantage Plus Creative (improves ads).

* Advantage Destination (optimises where the site sends traffic).

* Advantage Plus Placements (Let Meta work out the best placements).

* Advantage Campaign budget (dedicates to the best ad sets).

* **Budget Allocation:**

* 80-90% on the decision stage campaign.

* 10% email list building.

#### 3.22. Building a Brand with Organic and Email Marketing (0:42:05 - 0:47:09)

* **Brand Building vs. Marketing:**

* Paid ads are marketing (prompt, immediate, transactional).

* Branding is investment (gradual, emotional).

* **Organic Focus:**

* Value-adding content (entertain, inspire, educate).

* **Email Marketing is Important**

* **Email vs Organic**

* Average open rate in email is 19%

* **Action:** Nail one platform (Meta)

#### 3.23. Options for Implementing Social Media Strategies (0:47:09 - 0:51:06)

* **Options:**

* **DIY:** Requires effort and knowledge, potentially with mistakes.

* **Outsource to Agencies:** Can be expensive and challenging to manage, requires understanding of their processes.

* **SMC's Done-With-You Services:** A combination of learning, implementation support, and coaching (workshops, on-demand courses, weekly group coaching).

#### 3.24. Overview of SMC Plans and Services (0:51:06 - 0:55:19)

* **SMC Plan Options:**

* **Free Plan:** Access to community, masterclasses, and recordings.

* **SMC Pro:** Includes Free Plan features, monthly live workshops (6 hours of learning), 18 on-demand courses, and three weekly group coaching sessions. $277/month (annual)

* **Mastermind Plan:** One-on-one coaching (with Jon or other coaches), with minimum ad spend and revenue requirements (book a call for details).