Social media is a powerful marketing tool. Whether you’re looking to bring awareness to your brand, generate leads, or sell products, social media can help you achieve your marketing goal. Although social media marketing can widen your reach, it can also backfire if not done with care. Here are 5 social media marketing mistakes you’ll want to make sure to avoid.

In the digital age, small businesses have limitless choices in how to market to their target audiences. Small businesses can use a variety of social media platforms, from Linkedin to YouTube. They can announce new product lines and directly respond to customer questions on Twitter for everyone to see. They can use geofilters on Snapchat to transform a person's face into a cyborg, dog, superhero, or taco. These marketing options are available even for businesses with limited budgets, and the possibilities are limited only by the marketer’s creativity.

Of course, it’s difficult to make a noticeable splash in a large body of water, and the internet is a virtual ocean. To be successful, a social media marketing campaign must be crafted and delivered strategically.

Social media is transforming the way America does business, but it may be even more important in the nonprofit world. Nonprofits, after all, rely on personal connections to reach donors, and social media is all about forming personal connections. Janine Jacques – associate professor and Digital Media program chair at New England College of Business, and founder of her own nonprofit – explains it all in our latest Skye Learning video.

Have you ever had customer complaints posted to your social media channels? As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Rather than being caught off-guard when disgruntled customers show up in your social media feeds, create a plan for how to handle complaints when they arise.

While each industry and organization is unique, the following five tips are universal best practices when it comes to managing customer complaints.

No question, posting an inappropriate photo or ill-considered comment on social media can hurt your chances of landing that dream job. But when used appropriately, social media can actually provide a huge boost to your job search. Our latest Skye Learning video offers some valuable pointers for job-hunting in the digital age.

Social media marketing has quickly become an essential piece of an organization's marketing strategy. With millions of potential customers trafficking the Internet on a daily basis, social media platforms serve as centralized hubs for conversation and content sharing. Engaging with social media allows organizations to add their voices to the conversation and ultimately increase sales, promote brand recognition, and foster customer loyalty.

Marketers today understand that most of their target audience is using some type of social media platform. Social media is a great way for people to connect with one another, and it also provides an opportunity for businesses to connect with their consumers. Marketers use different forms of social media marketing to advertise to their target markets. By using various social platforms, they can create partnerships with social media influencers, post engaging videos, and use strategic hashtags, among other things. For more on social media marketing, check out our latest infographic that covers some of the most popular social media advertising tactics.