Yes, there are plenty of great tools and solutions for leveraging your social media marketing efforts into bigger and better things.

But what about you?

Yes, you. The entrepreneur reading this article who’s come to find some insights. You’re interested in reaching the 2.5 billion estimated social media users in 2017 because you know that if your business manages to capture the imagination of even just a small sliver of that audience, it will change your life forever.

You’re the one who’s going to have to reach that audience, not any specific tool you use. That’s why you can’t just upgrade the tools in your arsenal. You also need to upgrade yourself.

Here are some super helpful social media resources that will provide the insights you need to dominant social media:

1. Social Media Marketing Made Simple by Neil Patel

Why Read It: Neil Patel is one of the biggest names in social media and online marketing, and for good reason. His online tutorials contain treasure troves of online marketing insights that get into the exact details of how to construct your own marketing campaigns.

Key Insights:

• Audience targeting. As Patel points out, there are ways to narrow down your social media efforts to target specific segments, thus saving you from spending money on people who have no interest in your product or service. Patel even uses 45-54 year old management executives in the Bay area with a Facebook Ads demonstration to relate how powerful this can be.

• Platform-specific strategies. We like to throw this phrase “social media” around like Facebook ads are the same as Twitter promotions. But Patel goes into what makes Google+, for example, unique from the other popular platforms—and how you can exploit that.

• Using social media together. In explaining YouTube strategy, Patel points out that you can use Twitter clips to tease an entire YouTube video, which in turn might link back to a specific product you have at your website. This allows you to make the most of your marketing efforts across platforms—not just viewing them each as individual tools.

2. The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media at Moz

Why Read It: This is a bit more than just an article. It’s a complete introduction to all things social media — why you should include it in your marketing efforts, which platforms you should consider, and how to get started with your own efforts. If you’re already in the field, you might even want to read it just as a refresher.

Key Insights:

• Quantitative vs. Qualitative Data. What’s the difference? One you can measure — like the amount of followers you have on one page, or the amount of engagement/shares you get. The other has to do with influence and sentiment, which are equally valuable but hard to quantify. The article explains why.

• The connection of blogging. Blogging is typically relegated to the niche of “content marketing,” but the truth is blogging is highly linked to your social media efforts. Not only should your blog include buttons for easy sharing on social media, but this article gets into what should drive your blog, including some details that many people ignore, such as the timing of post publication.

• Multiple platforms. The article goes in depth on the big platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but doesn’t leave out Reddit, Quora, Tumblr, Instagram, and even public forums. “Media,” after all, is plural — and it pays to explore all avenues for social media success.

3. How to Find Amazing Content for Your Social Media Calendar (And Save Yourself Hours of Work) by Buffer Social

Why Read It: One of the most underrated elements of social media marketing is generating the content that will actually engage users and followers. While many focus on outward tactics like audience demographic targeting, there may be nothing more vital to your social media efforts than the simple act of being interesting.

Key Insights:

• Discovery and inspiration for content. Coming up with valuable things to say isn’t always that easy. Maybe you’ve already exhausted your most obvious insights. Buffer Social goes into the details of discovering interesting new content and topics with specific tips for finding inspiration on platforms like Twitter.

• The ever-important issue of feedback. Buffer Social doesn’t advocate generating content in a vacuum, but keeping a close eye on analytics to find the content that’s finding its mark.

• Post timing. Notice a theme here? The in-depth articles that deliver value never fail to mention the best times of day to post up your content. Here, Buffer Social notes that the best time to Tweet tends to be in the morning hours of the American work day.

4. 20 Social Media Marketing Tips from the Pros at Social Media Examiner

Why Read It: Rather than focus on any specific issue, this article simply takes lessons from some of the most renowned social media marketers to find little jewels of inspiration and insight.

Key Insights:

• Make your social media efforts visually interesting. A lot of people are scanning the web daily — and it means a lot of content gets lost in the weeds. Guy Kawasaki recommends supplementing tweets with either one great image, or even multiple images, to excite the curiosity of social media passers-by.

• Utilize a social media scheduler to keep your content consistent. One tool recommended here: Edgar, which makes posting and scheduling new content a breeze.

• Don’t cast a wide net. If you have a specific target audience you need to reach — and they’re not on Facebook — then why use Facebook heavily and spin your wheels for months, even years? Jeff Korhan, author of Built-In Social, recommends focusing your efforts for maximum impact on one platform.

What do all of these key resources have in common? They ask their audience to expand their social media reach beyond simply brainstorming a few good social media posts and get into the nitty-gritty of what makes social media marketing effective. Tools are great, but when it comes to marketing, the fundamentals will always reign supreme.