The web is getting so competitive; everyone's already advertising on Facebook and Google. ►►Subscribe here to learn more of my secret SEO tips: goo.gl/ScRTwc Find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/neilkpatel/ Read more on my blog: neilpatel.com/blog Prices are going through the roof. Social media marketing, it's already competitive. How are you going to stand out from the crowd when your mom and dad are already on Facebook? Hey everyone, I'm Neil Patel, and today I'm going to share with you how you can stand out from the crowd with social media marketing. Tip #1: Leverage the new innovative channels out there. Facebook and Instagram are old. But you know what? On these social sites, they continually innovate. Who's Facebook trying to be? YouTube. So what does Facebook roll out? Facebook Watch. It's their version of showing live TV shows, just like YouTube. Facebook wants a slice of the action. If you post your video content to Facebook, they'll instantly give you a ton of views. Why? Because they want you to move all your video content over to Facebook. That's innovative, right? #2: Be transparent. The thing with marketing is that everyone sees it for what it is. Consumers these days see right through the gimmicks. So whatever you do, do you. But if you really want to stand out with social media marketing, be transparent. Lying and telling people that they're going to get results that they're not going to get, it's just going to make people not like you. Look at sites like smartpassiveincome.com run by Pat Flynn. Pat was an architect, and now he's just like, "Hey let me create a blog telling people and showing them "how I'm making money online "and let me even show 'em my numbers "and prove that these are my real stats." And people love it. It's all about being transparent, his marketing has taken off, and he's one of the most popular bloggers and even podcasters out there because he's transparent. And that's the cool part. By being transparent, you're gonna get a following of people being like, "Oh, cool, you're showing all of your amazing moments "and all your terrible moments." If you want to be transparent with your social media marketing leave a comment with your ideas and I'll tell you if it's going to work or if it won't. I've tested a lot of this stuff out, like on the Neil Patel blog; I shared my journey all the way from going from zero to a hundred thousand visitors a month. #3: Use videos. Look, you're watching me. You know the past few months I've been doing a ton of videos, I've been going to conferences, events, and you know what people have been saying? Neil, you have amazing content. I'm like, "Great you love my content. "What was the latest piece of content that you liked?" I'm just trying to get feedback on how I can improve. And they're like, "Oh, your video on X, Y, and Z topic." They're not talking about my podcasts; they're not talking about my blog content even though my blog content gets way more traffic. Everyone's talking about my video content. Why is that? It's because it's helping me build a deeper connection with you. Sure, there are lots of comments on my videos, but I also do that in my blog comments. Why isn't my blog growing as fast? People want videos; it's how they connect with one another. So, create videos. It's not about text-based content these days; it's not about audio-based content, if you want to stand out from the crowd it's all about videos. #4: Be a long-term thinker. Look at Gary Vaynerchuk; you think he's successful, right? He is. Did it happen overnight? No, it didn't. He had Wine Library TV before that, then he created his agency, then did the DailyVee, and eventually, yes, you're seeing him everywhere, but it took him a long time before he got to where he is. And the same with me. You think I'm an overnight success? No, I've been doing this for over 16 years. That's a long time. No, you don't have to put in 16 years like I am before you start seeing results and making money, but if you want to really succeed in the marketing world, you have to think of it as a three-plus year plan. Don't expect amazing things in the first six months; you'll see some traction. After the first year, you're going to start seeing growth. After the second year, things are going to start skyrocketing. After three years, assuming you're pushing hard every single week, then things are going to start blowing up. But, if you don't do it consistently you won't do well. It's all about the long game. Follow these tips, if you're not sure which one of them you should be leveraging first in your social media marketing arsenal so you can stand out from the crowd leave a comment, I'll respond, and I'll help you out. If you need help with online or digital marketing leave a question or comment below and I'll be sure to answer!