“Things I’ve Learned from Lately” is a regular compilation of articles that have made me a smarter social media marketer. Hopefully, they’ll help you, too.

From Rhetoric to Action – Amy Kauffman addresses the fact that marketers often give into the allure of social media and get caught up in the rhetoric only to fail to take action. Action requires the development of compelling content (easier said than done), rethinking your role and the role of employees, and having a strategic framework to guide decisions moving forward.

Key Takeaway: I just attended the WOMMA conference last week, and it was a great event with some incredible speakers and presentations. Still, every successful case study was the result of hard work, time and a lot of headaches. Yes, social media marketing can be powerful, but it’s not magic. Don’t let flowery words muddle your view of doing hard work and being a savvy marketer.

We Never Held the Cards – Recent tweaks to Facebook’s algorithm have caused marketers frustration as they’ve seen the number of messages getting to their fans diminishing, according to DigiDay. This has led to the realization that marketers may need to change their approaches by doing more than creating engaging content. They may have to pay for advertising as well.

Key Takeaway: Marketers never held the reigns with Facebook. The jury is still out as to whether or not Facebook’s actions were motivated by the idea of forcing marketers to pay for advertising, but the bottom line is they are offering a product (users) that’s very hard to pass up. Advertisers should evaluate their current efforts and determine if more should be done to optimize their Facebook presences. They should also balance their “rented” presences (Facebook Pages, Twitter profiles, etc.) with owned efforts (websites, email lists, etc.).

Measurement is Work – Olivier Blanchard writes about a new calculator from HubSpot to determine the value of a Like. Blanchard pints out that most people in marketing won’t take the time to qualify the algorithm the calculator uses, so he does it himself, revealing the calculator isn’t as valuable as marketers would hope.

Key Takeaway: Marketers are under pressure to show results, which is why what seem like silver bullets such as Klout and the like calculator appeal to them, but just because it’s easy, we must still dig in and qualify it.

How Company Leaders Can use Social Media Today - FastCompany discusses the impact social media is having on boards of directors from brand-building opportunities to the risks associated. The article reveals that boards see the opportunity but few are really talking action.

Key Takeaway: Most business leaders are hands-off when it comes to how their businesses approach social media, but that’s a huge missed opportunity. Success requires buy-in from the top-down, so teams need to be communicating with their leaders, educating them and getting their buy-in for further integration and bigger ideas to improve the business.