Best Social Media Marketing Tips from Experts: How to Build, Grow, and Adapt Your Strategy
There’s no shortage of social media marketing tips, strategies, and advice. Scroll through any platform and you’ll find someone telling you to post more (or less), chase trends, stick to one niche, or reinvent your brand voice entirely. It’s easy to feel like you’re constantly one step behind or that everyone else has it all figured out.
But the truth is, the most helpful insights come from the people actually doing the work. Those who spend their days planning content, responding to comments, digging into analytics, and adapting strategies on the fly. That’s why we asked the Metricool team to share their top tips. These experts manage everything from organic content and paid campaigns to community engagement and platform growth.
Whether you’re managing a business account, building a personal brand, or supporting clients behind the scenes, their tips will help you create a strategy that’s grounded, sustainable, and ready to grow with you.
Here’s what they shared:
1. Build a Strong Foundation
Before you start posting, think about why you’re showing up on social media in the first place. What are you offering? What makes someone stop scrolling?
Oriane Caurant, Social Media Team Lead at Metricool, puts it simply:
“Be consistently useful. Create content your audience needs, not just what you like. The magic formula? Balance your pillars: educate, entertain, inspire, and humanize.
Don’t show up like a brand, create like a creator. That’s when people actually connect.”
Her point gets to the heart of modern content strategy. Brands that feel too polished or overly formal often struggle to connect. People respond to content that feels helpful and human.
Robert Catior, Social Media Manager at Metricool, adds that structure matters just as much as creativity:
“Posting with a purpose… You see many brands come onto social and start going crazy with content. It’s best to think about your content pillars that are solid and have a clear direction. Social media content needs to be high in quality, not quantity. And many people mistake ‘quality’ content with super-edited and polished content; that’s not the case. If your content has a purpose (educate, engage, entertain, etc.), then it’s well-thought-out and is high quality.”
When you’re building that foundation, you’re not just thinking about what to post. You’re creating a reason for people to follow and stick around.
2. Know Your Audience
Even the best content can miss the mark if it’s not built for the right people. Knowing your audience isn’t just a box to check. It’s the anchor for every strategy.
Anniston Ward, PR, Events & Education Specialist, explains why this mindset creates long-term growth:
“My core advice for brands looking to grow their social media presence is to position their target audience at the core of their strategy and adopt a long-term mentality… Brands prioritizing cohesive visuals, consistent messaging, and a clear ‘why’ behind their content stand out online. Why? They demonstrate reliability, passion for their mission, and a commitment to showing up for their customers.”
Yas Algarra, Social Ads Specialist, shares how to take that knowledge further and turn it into strategy:
“It starts with building strong buyer personas, then analyzing the customer journey both on our website and in their everyday experience on social platforms. Truly understanding who they are, what they want, and how they behave is key to building converting audiences and choosing the right platform.”
Once you understand who you’re talking to and what they care about, creating meaningful content becomes a lot easier.
3. Let the Analytics Guide You
Every post is a chance to learn something. Analytics show you what’s working and where there’s room to improve.
Yas points out two common mistakes:
“Overlooking many key metrics. Even if you’re tracking your main objective, other metrics can give you insights into what’s really happening and how to improve your strategy.”
“Stopping once a strategy works. Yes, you should continue down that path, optimize it, and understand why it works, but you should also keep testing to find new opportunities.”
Robert backs that up with a reminder to keep analytics part of your routine, not just an afterthought:
“The biggest mistake I see social media marketers make is ignoring analytics… Social media marketing is all about testing and understanding what works specifically for you… Block out a weekly time to review your analytics. Check your social media profiles for top-performing posts, impressions, reach, and any other metrics you want to track. Tools like Metricool help so much with this, because you can see all your platforms in one place.”
Analytics aren’t just numbers. They’re your roadmap to smarter content and better results.
4. Plan Your Content (But Stay Flexible)
A clear content calendar helps you stay consistent without burning out. Planning ahead doesn’t just keep your schedule full. It creates space to be creative and responsive when trends or moments pop up.
Robert explains how planning brings both structure and peace of mind:
“Planning, hands down. It removes the daily pressure of figuring out what to post and ensures your brand stays visible even with a crazy task list… I also find myself calmer. I’m not scrambling to post something last minute, and I can still leave space for real-time, trendy moments when they come up.”
Planning helps you stay ahead while keeping room for the moments that matter most in real time. Scheduling tools like Metricool make it easier to keep content flowing, even when your to-do list gets out of control.
5. Don’t Chase Trends for Trends’ Sake
Jumping on the latest meme or sound might get short-term attention, but it won’t build a loyal community if it doesn’t fit your brand.
Alexandra Caceres, Growth Specialist, shares this from what she sees daily:
“Something that I see often is the chase for ‘virality.’ Brands are quick to jump on the next trend without fully thinking the concept through… Rather than trying to go viral, brands should focus on their content strategy… Through testing, brands are still able to have fun and get creative, but with strategy still in mind.”
If you can tie a trend to your audience and goals? Great! But if not, you’re better off skipping it.
6. Engage with Your Community
Publishing content is only half the job. Social media is about connection, and that comes through conversation.
Alex points out how much of a difference simple engagement can make:
“My go-to tip for growing a brand’s presence may seem simple, but it’s to have a solid engagement strategy… A brand could be posting seven days a week, but if it doesn’t prioritize engagement, then a loyal audience isn’t being built… I’ve always been big on replying to all comments… A simple thank you or continuing a conversation goes a long way in building a community.”
Responding to comments, asking questions, and sharing user content aren’t just nice-to-dos. They’re must-dos if you want real connection.
7. Match the Content to the Platform
Each platform has its strengths and one message doesn’t always fit every channel. Adjusting your content to fit the platform can boost performance without having to reinvent the wheel.
Robert breaks it down:
“Utilizing different formats is key… Carousels work great on Instagram, but videos work better on TikTok, and polls perform on LinkedIn… Maybe a follower scrolls past the carousel on Instagram, but then answers the question poll on LinkedIn.”
Repurposing content doesn’t mean copy-pasting. It means rethinking format, tone, and delivery for where your audience is watching.
8. Provide Value
Every post should offer something worth someone’s time. Whether it’s answering a question, sparking a thought, or offering a quick win, your content should always aim to help or inspire.
Alex explains how staying valuable means staying curious:
“In order to stay engaging and provide that valuable content, we are constantly doing research into the market… Our department’s overall goal is to grow, and we can’t do that by doing the same things we have always done.”
Oriane offers a quick gut-check for whether a post is worth sharing:
“Fix it with this mini pre-post checklist:
Would you stop scrolling for this?
Would you read it, save it, share it?
Would you comment?
If it’s a 0/3… well, you know what to do.”
If your content doesn’t offer something useful or memorable, it’s not likely to perform (no matter how often you post).
9. Empower Your Team
When everyone has a chance to contribute, you end up with more diverse ideas and stronger content. Collaboration is one of the best ways to keep your content fresh and your team motivated.
Oriane shares how the Metricool social team stays inspired with Jam Sessions:
“Once a month, 2 hours, all social team + design team. Everyone brings ideas, references, and vibe. One raw idea becomes five polished ones. It clears the noise, boosts alignment, and fills our calendar with content that actually hits.”
“Give ownership, not just tasks. Let each teammate ‘own’ a project, they’ll step up and thrive. Find their genius zone. Feed it. Let ideas flow from everyone.”
When people feel ownership over their work, they bring more energy, creativity, and care to the process.
10. Adapt
Trends shift. Algorithms change. Audience preferences evolve. Even your own strategy should evolve over time. Staying adaptable is what keeps your content relevant and your growth steady.
Anniston encourages brands to think beyond products and adapt with intention:
“You don’t have to be as unhinged as Duolingo to stand out, but your content, platform choices, and brand voice should evolve alongside your audience’s needs and interests… I urge brands to think outside of their product or service on social. Incorporate industry news and trending topics to expand conversations and connect with customers on a human level.”
Robert adds that change is constant, but growth comes from learning:
“The social landscape is always changing and evolving… Not only are platforms changing, but users change too… When you’re adaptable, you’re able to listen to your community, respond in real-time, and adjust your tone, content, or timing to stay aligned with what your audience wants. Adaptability fuels growth, it encourages testing, learning, and continuous improvement.”
Flexibility in your strategy doesn’t mean chaos. It means staying in tune with what your audience needs today.
Bonus: Which Platforms Have the Most Opportunity Right Now?
We asked the team which platforms they think have the biggest potential in 2025. Here’s what they said:
Yas:
“It depends on the target audience, but in general I’d say Instagram and TikTok.”
Robert:
“I am enjoying Threads! I think it’s a great platform for people to let loose. But my favorite thing about the platform is that it’s great for building a nurturing community. There are no ads on the network yet, and it seems like users are enjoying it.”
Anniston:
“Right now, the platform with the most opportunity is, without a doubt, YouTube… YouTube’s vast ecosystem offers unparalleled growth potential for businesses. Plus, as a Google network partner, YouTube offers powerful SEO opportunities.”
Oriane:
“LinkedIn is the plot twist of social media: high organic reach and an audience that actually reads…
Also: Pinterest. It’s not a mood board anymore, it’s a traffic machine.”
Alex:
“Personally, I think it’s YouTube… if you can leverage SEO, build a community, and stay consistent on the platform, YouTube is the best in the long run.”
Final Thoughts
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer in social media marketing. But these expert social media marketing tips point to a few clear themes: Know your audience, create with intention, engage often, and never stop learning. When you treat social media as more than just another marketing tool, it becomes one of your brand’s strongest growth channels.
