SMM Expert Shares His Best Tips (After Creating 130+ Marketing Strategies)

In today’s interview, we’ll resolve all the most popular doubts businesses have when it comes to social media management. For this, we’ve talked to Robert Catoir, SMM at Metricool.

Every single day, Robert works on real-time marketing strategies for brands to help them grow, reach new audiences, and build loyal fan bases. So, he definitely knows what he talks about.

Note: There are two guides in this series. You’re about to read one of them. The second one is the interview with our Head of SEO at Adsy, Daniil Denchik. So, if you have any SEO-related questions, chances are we’ve addressed them in this guide.

Now, let’s get straight to the SMM insights.

1. If you're starting SMM from scratch with limited resources, what should be your first step?

The biggest thing you should do when starting from scratch is to focus on:

• Your target audience;
• And your brand.

Don’t immediately start posting. Instead, you should be defining your audiences and the mission of your brand.

Doing this does not require a handful of resources. You are basically starting from the bottom, where strategy is most important, and this doesn’t take a fancy budget or a big team. But it is absolutely crucial as you’re building the foundation.

Without that, your content won’t connect, your growth will feel slow and random, and it’ll be harder to make bigger decisions.

As an example, think of Dollar Shave Club.

When it comes to social media and content marketing, their case comes up very often. Why? Have they created tons of posts? Did they make some fancy CGI videos? Did they have a huge ad budget at the beginning? Not at all.

They’ve just had a clear vision for their brand and understanding of their audience. And then, they’ve started transmitting that in their content (like in this iconic video):

Source: YouTube

And yes, they do have 28 M+ views on that one — just saying…

2. What’s a “SMM best practice” that’s actually outdated or overrated, in your opinion?

Having a strict content calendar is an outdated tactic in the social media space, no matter how popular it seems.

With that said, planning is still essential. After all, being ahead of the game makes you more adaptable.

But when your calendar doesn’t leave room for real-time marketing, trends, and cultural moments, you’re likely to miss out on golden engagement opportunities.

Let’s check one quite recent viral example on TikTok. Duolingo shared the news that Duo died, and this video went crazy, reaching 66.7 million views.

Source: TikTok

And there were several brands reacting to this, driving more views and engagement for their posts. This is one of those videos by Byoma that got over 2.7 million views.

Source: TikTok

This is why you need that flexibility instead of a strict content calendar.

Note: You can get some inspiration for your trendy campaigns by checking out these real-time marketing examples.

3. What’s the most underrated SMM tactic, then?

Maybe not underrated, but definitely underutilized, is reusing your old top-performing posts.

This is a strategy I think everyone should be using. If it worked in the past, why not use it again? Refreshing high-performing content is an easy way to keep your engagement up.

Add new info, ideas, and captions to make it feel fresh, or even try a different format. You’re not only maximizing the value of your best content, but you're also giving it a chance to reach a new audience or gain additional traction.

For this, simply keep an eye on what performs well, and think about how you can reuse the same idea. Here is how Gymshark does it, for example.

They posted this Reel in Sep 2023, and it went viral, reaching 6.3 million views.

Source: Instagram

After seeing this success, they reposted the same video on Nov 2024, getting 3.7 million views — again, another viral post.

Source: Instagram

Do you think they’ve stopped there? Not exactly. Instead, they’ve rethought this video by giving it a slightly different touch. As a result, a new one surpassed 1.4 million views.

Source: Instagram

This is a great example of how the same well-performing idea can get even more eyes on your brand.

4. How do you figure out which tactics will bring the fastest SMM wins?

I think the most beneficial thing to do is to look at the data:

1. Conduct an audit to check the performance of your content from the last 1-3 months.
2. See which posts brought in the most engagement, reach, conversions, and clicks.
3. From there, check the types of formats, topics, and delivery that you used.

This will help you identify different patterns, and now you can double down and reuse these posts where you see the best fit.

If you need more ideas, you could also try to check what worked for your competitors.

5. What kind of content tends to perform best in SMM right now?

Educational content works very well in the social media industry. People are always looking to learn new strategies, tactics, formats, updates… You name it.

Whether it’s keeping up with the latest algorithm change or discovering a new content format, the passion for knowledge is constant.

Besides, sharing educational content isn’t just for beginners or those trying to break into the industry. More experienced individuals are often looking for ways to level up their skills, stay ahead of the curve, or find fresh approaches.

Something interesting from personal experience with educational content is that keeping it simple and direct works best.

There are tons of examples of this one on socials. So, just research what’s going on in your niche.

For some inspiration, you could check out what Salesforce does on TikTok. Basically, they’re educating people on CRMs and their solution in a very easily digestible format.

Source: TikTok

Here is also a great example by Notion, where they talk about their AI feature and show real-life examples. This post got over 3 million views (even though it is purely product-based). Of course, it’s never just about the views, but still…

Source: TikTok

6. What are your go-to SMM tools or platforms for doing your job well?

There are so many great tools available for social media managers, but these are at the top of my list:

• ManyChat — Perfect for chat automation, whether it’s your DMs or messengers.
• Metricool — Scheduling and analyzing the performance of your posts gets much easier with this one.
• Google Drive — Both file storage and collaboration features.
• Asana — Anything project management is quite intuitive here.
• Capcut — This is my personal favorite for video editing.
• Canva — An amazing tool for your designs, especially if you don’t need anything more complex, such as Adobe Creative Cloud or Figma.

7. What’s one trend or shift you're paying close attention to right now?

For me, AI is one of the biggest shifts I’m keeping an eye on, especially after the recent updates from ChatGPT.

The way you can now create images, infographics, and visuals with just a few words is honestly mind-blowing. Even the social platforms themselves are starting to integrate AI tools in different ways.

Besides, many brands are using AI for some of their posts, adding a fresh and more creative look to their social media.

Source: Instagram

The possibilities feel endless, and it’s been really cool to watch it all evolve in real time.

That said, I’m still a big believer in the “human touch.” It’s essential for building real community trust and meaningful engagement. AI can enhance, but not replace, that connection.

8. What should a business do if it hits a plateau (i.e., stops growing) in SMM?

This might sound simple, but honestly, experiment.

If your usual content isn’t performing, it’s time to switch it up. Try out different formats like videos, memes, voiceovers, or whatever feels fresh.

You could even tap into EGC (employee-generated content). It’s a great way to humanize your brand and make your content feel more real and relatable.

There is a cool case of how ClickUp turned their TikTok into the “actual footage of the corporate world.” It’s filled with humor, and the main stars here are their employees.

Source: TikTok

Here is another example of how Deloitte funnily shares its Gen Z employees' “struggles.”

Source: TikTok

Think outside the norm, try something unexpected, and don’t be afraid to test. The magic often happens when you step outside your comfort zone.

9. How important is posting frequency? Is it better to post more often, even if you sacrifice quality to some degree, or stick to fewer, highly polished posts?

Posting frequency is not as important as people may think.

Think about being consistent rather than frequent. If that means you're posting consistently 2-3 times per week, it’s more than enough.

But you need to be intentional about your content — quality content wins over quantity, but posting “less polished” content is not a social media crime. Unpolished content is often seen as relatable and fun.

Take the popular Duolingo’s TikTok. Most of their videos are super simple — no professional shooting, editing, or special effects. They’re just being fun and relatable. For example, in this video, they’ve been simply filming their owl toy in everyday settings on their iPhone (most likely). And this video got 66.5 million views.

Source: TikTok

A mix of high and “low” polished content is the secret sauce for me!

10. Should businesses use AI for social media? What are the best use cases you’ve seen in your experience?

100%. Businesses should be using AI on social media as a tool, not a replacement.

It’s become a super helpful resource across so many parts of the process, from content creation and caption writing to design and planning. AI helps save time, brings in fresh ideas, and gives you new ways to bring your content to life.

One of the best use cases I’ve seen is content creation. If you have an idea but don’t know how to build it out, AI can instantly give you five or more directions to take it in with different tones, formats, or angles that you might not have thought of.

Also, Canva’s Magic Design feature is a total game-changer. It helps turn your visual ideas into polished content fast, even if you don’t have a design background.

Source: Canva

11. What’s the most effective way to analyze your competition?

The best way to check out what your competitors are doing on social media is by using a tool like Metricool. It seriously makes things so easy.

All you have to do is search for your competitors, and Metricool will pull the data for you. The side-by-side comparison is my favorite part. You get a full snapshot of everything: follower count, engagement, and even a list of their posts.

It saves you so much time, instead of going to every platform and pulling the numbers manually.

Bottom line

In this interview, I’ve addressed some of the most popular questions out there. Yet, if you still have some doubts, feel free to ask me below, and I’ll address them.

Besides, the great news is that it’s just one part of useful expert insights. You can find the second guide on SEO here, where we’ve interviewed Daniil Denchik, the Head of SEO at Adsy Enjoy!