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Social branding has become the hallmark of digital marketing. From the smallest local businesses to major internationally recognized brands, social branding is being used to raise brand awareness, entertain and engage, provide a real-time customer service channel and, of course, sell.
Although most marketers find it difficult to identify proven ROI when it comes to social media, most brands see the value of these channels. According to research, 91% of retail brands used at least two social media channels in 2018. It was also reported that 81% of small businesses were using social media.
Smart advertisers are increasing their involvement in social media because of these statistics. The 7 ways to boost the social branding are discussed here.
1. Pick Your Channel Wisely
It might be tempting to open an account with every social channel out there. This approach, however, is not very strategic.
First, managing these platforms is not realistic, and secondly, not all social platforms are equal. Despite the popularity of so many channels that they are popular with, it’s very important. No two apps are exactly the same, so neither are two audiences.
You need to use the platforms that are aligned with your brand. For instance, if an app has a demographic target of 18-24, it wouldn’t match your brand if your demographic target is 35-50. Do your homework and look for specifics that are important to your target audience using the demographics of social media.
When researching the channels, ask yourself a few questions:
- Will the people who use this channel help us meet our business objectives?
- Are they using this channel in a way that makes sense to our needs?
- Will the content we intend to share fit into this channel and how do people use it.
Another good thing to tell is to watch your metrics on existing social media pages to see how your brand is going across channels.
2. Use Your Channels Wisely
Once you have chosen your platform(s), make sure you use each channel wisely. Just because you post something on one channel, it doesn’t mean you should post it on all of them. And there’s a good reason to do that. Actually, there are a few of them.
As discussed above, each channel has its own audience. Each audience uses social services for a variety of reasons. Indeed, according to the Global Web Index, the average person has 5,54 different social media accounts.
With these different audiences and uses, you need to make sure that you provide content that is engaging in the context that is presented. According to Buffer, the best content on top social channels is as follows:
- Facebook: Videos and curated content
- Instagram: High-resolution photos, quotes, Stories
- Twitter: News, blog posts, and GIFs
- LinkedIn: Jobs, company news, and professional content
- Pinterest: Infographics and step-by-step photo guides
By ensuring that you choose the right content for each platform, you will be more likely to engage the users of the platform in a more meaningful way.
3. Set the Right Tone for the Visuals
One thing that happens most often when you take Buffer ‘s advice to your heart is the use of visuals. Although the visual type varies from channel to channel, there is no doubt that images still speak louder than words.
Visuals also play a key role in setting the tone and image of your brand. They offer a first look at your brand identity and help build brand equity.
The important lesson here is that although you use different types of images across each channel, the tone and manner should be consistent, including:
- Logo as your avatar: use your logo or logo symbol on all social media channels when using an avatar on social media. Create a logo using the specifications for each platform, so it’s never skewed awkwardly to fit into the space allocated. Symbols work well to build brand awareness, such as McDonald’s golden arches or Nike swoosh.
- Colour palette: Use the colours of your logo to create a consistent colour palette. Make sure your main logo colours are used for all images in some way. You can add colours outside your logo, but use them consistently and make sure they work well together.
- Templates: Save time and face by using the graphic templates used on social media. You will then have consistency across all aspects of your design for colours, fonts and the way you use your logo and symbols.
4. Find Your Voice
Create a voice that fits into your brand. The words you use and the tone and manner of your posts will make a strong impression even if it’s just a few words for a hashtag.
Your style of communication should create a personality that fits with your brand. Think of the following to find your voice:
- Company culture: What does the company stand for? What’s important to you, huh? What separates you from the contest? Whether you’re fighting for the planet, loving dogs, or supporting strong women, your voice should reflect that.
- Your audience: How is your audience talking? What kind of lingo do they use? What’s common in pop culture, or inside jokes that they might understand? Whatever is going to resonate with them, use it, but make sure you remain authentic. Nothing is worse than someone who’s trying to be something they’re not. You can sniff out on social issues faster than you might think, and turn people off when they feel you can’t be trusted.
- Unique value proposition: Your UVP can help you find your voice. Focusing on what you have others don’t add to your culture while helping to define who you are as a brand.
5. Choose Your Topics Wisely
Streamline your efforts to keep the topics you post consistent. You’ve got to avoid having a random collection of posts that will confuse your message.
Don’t be too worried that you are going to have to create your own content. The curatorship of content is an excellent way to remain authoritative in your industry. You can build authority by sharing posts that are relevant, meaningful and useful to followers. This encourages likes and shares while showing people that you are not strictly focused on promoting yourself. It creates trust, instead.
Don’t be afraid to use humor when your brand calls for it; 3 out of 4 people appreciate humor. You can also use a platform-based mix of curated content such as videos, gifs, memes, and links to blog posts and articles.
To stay on the point, choose a few themes that make sense for your brand and industry, whether it’s celebrity fashion, designer trends on the runway and shoe fetishes for a fashion boutique or recipes, food trends and seasonal products for a grocery store. The goal is to stick to your area of expertise, so people depend on you for the information they need.
Last but not least, be good to me. 88 per cent of consumers find it irritating when a brand goes wrong with competition. Consumers, instead, purchase from brands with the following top three qualities:
- Honest (86%)
- Helpful (78%)
- Friendly (83%)
6. Cross Promote Your Profiles
Don’t forget that all of the marketing needs to work together. If you are on media, spread the knowledge through all your accounts and marketing content. That is:
- Links to your social pages on your website.
- Provide URLs or at least logos for social channels that you use on all of your printed materials, brochures and signage.
- Sharing links to content on your social pages, such as your blogs, or from channel to channel when it works.
All of these steps are going to help build social traction. You should also encourage staff to like your social to encourage followers in their groups: tell two friends to tell two friends, and so on.
7. Engage and Leverage on Comments
Social media is just that: social. Many organizations have forgotten that this is one of the most important aspects of social media. You can’t keep posting stuff. Instead, you need to look for comments and join conversations to engage followers. Make sure you have got someone on board who’s reading comments and replying. In fact, try to post content with a question: We love these shoes, what do you think?
If you take on the burden of responding, you need to be consistent. This is crucial if you find negative comments or customer complaints. 32% of consumers complaining about social issues expect a response within 30 minutes, and 42% expect to hear from you within an hour. They found that 57% expect the same response 24/7, so it is important to have a social approach. If you can’t manage your demands, you might want to avoid using Twitter because 80 percent of social customer service requests are on Twitter.
Use comments to generate more content. You will often see common questions or get some really good insight from comments and answers to comments from other followers. Following threads and finding out what people are talking about can give you ideas for blogs, more content, and opportunities to engage in awesome conversations that show off your expertise, not to mention the fact that you care about what people are saying.
These seven steps can give your business better control over your social strategy and fine-tune the tactics you use to boost your social branding.