In today’s competitive online world, social media is a must for any marketing strategy. The facts don’t lie: there are over 3.5 billion active social media users worldwide, and of that population, 54% use social media to research brands and products. Further, 71% of people who have a good experience with a brand via social media are more likely to purchase that product or service and recommend it to family and friends.
But when it comes to your brand presence, it’s not just about how many likes you can get. Social media marketing is about building your brand and establishing yourself as an industry leader, while giving your audience an experience focused on them.
Follow these steps to learn how to build your brand using social media marketing, and start fostering those valuable, successful connections with your audience.
Establish Your Brand’s Tone and Voice
This should be your first step. It usually happens when you build your buyer personas and establish the market you’re going to target. You need to determine what kind of voice you want your brand to have, and it needs to be a voice that connects with those specific people. Are you going to be a fun, youthful, energetic company geared toward millennials or generation Z? Then you need to reflect that in everything you do, from the way you write your captions to the visuals you choose.
Be Consistent
Be aware that once you start posting, you can’t just stop posting and disappear whenever you get busy. Don’t leave gaps in your activity. Consistent posting can also help with your SEO rank, which is an added bonus. Consistency also goes for your messaging and content. Your audience should know what to expect from you. If you’re a professional legal firm that works with elderly clients, don’t start putting out memes sprinkled with trendy pop culture references. You should also have a schedule in mind based on your strategy.
Focus on Engagement and Conversations
Social media is about making connections and engaging with your audience. When someone comments on your post, don’t just let it sit there. Respond to them and keep the conversation going. People don’t want to think they’re communicating with a customer service robot. Speak to them in a conversational tone that establishes that there are real people behind your brand. Additionally, don’t just plug your product every time people talk to you. Show that you’re interested in them and that you care about them and they’ll be more likely to choose your company when they need to make a purchase.
Provide Value and Don’t Make it all About You
Traditional marketing has been driven by the idea of shouting messages at your audience and hoping something convinces them to buy your product or service. This doesn’t work online. Social media marketing is about providing value and focusing on your audience’s needs and wants. Give them the content that will actually help them. Listen to what people are saying and promote content that solves the problems they’re facing. Don’t constantly go on and on about how great your brand is, or all of the things your product can do. Establish trust and establish your expertise in your industry. The more value you provide, the more they’ll trust you.
Create Compelling Visuals
It’s pretty common knowledge in the social media marketing world that people process visuals much faster than they process text. It’s also common knowledge that social media can be a crowded space. So what does that mean for you? It means that your visuals need to be eye-catching enough to get people to stop scrolling. Your visual content should be a reflection of your brand, but should also be compelling for your audience. Don’t just throw out generic, cheesy stock photos to fill up content on your page. Focus on quality over quantity and choose the images or videos that will reflect your story in an emotionally driven way.
Don’t Try to be Everywhere
Different social media platforms have different audiences and purposes. For example, you’re more likely to find crafty DIYers on Pinterest than you are on LinkedIn. Likewise, you’re not going to find businesspeople and tech professionals on Tik Tok. Your brand doesn’t need to be present on every single platform, as long as you are present on the platforms that your audience is actively using. This is what social media is ultimately about: being in the right place, at the right time, with the right message for the right audience.
