How to Master Social Media Marketing in 2019 What is social media marketing and why does it matter in 2019? Explore what it takes to build a social media marketing strategy that works.

Social media marketing can do wonders for a company's brand. For the best example, look no further than Wendy's Twitter account: After pivoting to a sassier, oft-"savage" brand voice on the platform and making user responsiveness a priority last year, the company increased its Twitter following by 300,000 users in just six months.

Not every company's social media strategy can (or should) include roasting potential customers or dropping literal beef mixtapes about competitors. That's where social media marketing professionals come in: They determine the best methods of interacting with an audience based on the company's unique brand in the hopes of increasing its following and revenue.

If you're looking to stand out among other applicants in the fast-growing field of social media marketing, you could start by enrolling in the Silicon Valley Social Media Marketing Certification Course. This training leaves no stone unturned, so to speak, with lessons on marketing psychology to optimize campaigns across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and beyond.

But before you jump into your future, it's important to note that working in social media is not be as as simple as managing your personal Facebook account. To land a top-tier social media marketing job or be successful at your current company, you'll need to understand the ins-and-outs of these key platforms — and you'll need to evolve along with them.

What Is Social Media Marketing

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, social media marketing is defined as "methods for advertising products, services, or brands using the internet.." That's an oversimplification to say the least. In 2019, social media marketing is about creating online content in order to engage a targeted audience, in an effort to reach goals specific to your company. Those goals could be anything from increasing brand awareness to acquiring new users to driving purchases to driving actual people to a physical store. Hence the first step of any good social media marketing strategy: setting realistic and relevant goals.

Then there's the element of predictability to keep top of mind. From Facebook's constant algorithm shifts and policy changes to Google's lengthy history with search engine algorithm changes, the social media marketing landscape is one of the fastest moving and most complex. Understanding the industry and pivoting along as it ebbs and flows is just as much as a part of social media marketing as anything else.

Where to Learn Social Media Marketing

The best way to start learning social media marketing is through hands-on application — and the Silicon Valley Social Media Marketing Certification Course does exactly that. Through videos, quizzes, and other learning resources across 38 hours of content, you'll learn how to increase an account's reach and attract more clients, with the end goal of selling more products.

If you get stuck on a lesson or are curious about your progress, you'll even get feedback from experienced social media marketing instructors available through the course. Once you complete all 12 training modules, you'll receive a résumé-boosting certification from the Silicon Valley Digital Marketing Institute to prove you put the work in.

For a limited time, this essential training is on sale in the Entrepreneur Store for only $19.99.