SOCIAL MEDIA BRANDING FOR NEWBIES
Whether you’re trying to sell a product or service, gain subscribers to an email or newsletter list, or invite your followers to join your cause, they’ll need to know who you are, first.
Your ability to persuade people and make these things happen will come from your brand’s online authority and brand reputation. One of the best ways to build your online credibility is with smart and consistent use of social media.
Here are 3 simple tips for using social media to build your brand online:
Choose the right platform(s) for your industry and goals.
Facebook – is the overall best platform for increasing exposure to potential customers and growing brand awareness. (over 1.9 billion users)
YouTube – is best for brands producing a large volume of Video content. (over 1 billion users)
Instagram – is ideal for businesses like retailers, restaurants and travel agencies who rely heavily on images for their marketing. (approx. 800 million users)
Twitter – is the fastest way to get your message out (whether it is a photo, video, text or link) and makes it easy for businesses to stay on top of their industry or market segment. (approx. 70 million users)
Pinterest – is great for reaching women, especially if selling jewelry, home goods or clothing. According to comScore, 71% of Pinterest’s 72.5 million users are women.
Linkedin – is perfect for B2B companies promoting business-related content and connecting with other corporate influencers. (approx. 500 million users)
Google+ – although not as commonly-used, can be good for reaching men in the technology industry. According to Entrepreneur Magazine, two-thirds of Google+ users are men, most of whom work in engineering or other technical professions.
Provide Consistent and Shareable Content
Your followers follow you for a reason — because they are interested in the things you’re posting. Having a consistent daily posting strategy is key for any business. Make sure you’re posting content that is of value to your audience (not just self-promoting content) and that the content remains consistent with your brand’s image and/or voice.
For instance, if you’re a pet food/supply company… in addition to posting your products, promotions and links to your website, you can curate and share fun or interesting articles, images or videos related to pets, such as: Simple Tips for Training Your New Puppy or Why Do Cats Love Cardboard Boxes. This type of content is considered “shareable.” The goal is that your followers will like and share your posts to their friends, family and followers – ultimately extending your reach and increasing awareness for your business.
Most importantly, be sure to post regularly. Posting once a week or twice a month will not help you get noticed on social media.
According to DowSocial research, the optimum/minimum number of daily posts for each network is:
Twitter – 8 times per day (or as often as you can)
Facebook – 2-3 times per day
Instagram – 1-3 times per day
Pinterest – 1 time per day
LinkedIn – a few times per week
Engage
In addition to your regular, consistent posting schedule, be sure to monitor your accounts daily for comments, re-tweets, direct messages, etc. Always reply to questions or messages in a timely fashion and remember to thank your followers for any brand mentions, shares or re-tweets.
Particularly in the beginning stages of social media, when your brand is still un-known, it is important to make time to interact and engage with other users. Search for content relevant to your brand, give out likes, leave comments and share or re-tweet posts.
Social media branding can help to:
increase brand awareness and loyalty
connect with your target audience
increase traffic to your website, blog or e-commerce store
keep track of your competitors
improve client retention
Using social media will give you the ability to directly connect and deliver your brand’s message to prospective clients or customers. The more time you invest into immersing your brand into social media, the more benefits you will reap.
