Learning Your Way in Social Media
Regardless of your goals as a brand—sell your products and services, entice people to follow you, encourage loyalty, etc.—it is imperative that people have to know you first before you are able to achieve any of the aforementioned objectives.
With the world becoming increasingly connected, your brand’s capability to achieve said objectives will depend on one important component—the savvy use of social media.
That being said, it’s not surprising why brands are increasing their social media marketing budget and even investing in a social media course, all in the effort to build brand reputation and gain new followers.
If you want to reap all the peerless benefits social media has to offer, below are some of the essentials you need to take to heart:
Ensure you are active in social media platforms that support your brand’s image.
Research shows that in the United States alone, at least 22 percent use social media several times a day, making it the ideal platform to build both your brand and following.
However, if you have not enrolled in a social media course and you’re still trying to find your way around, navigating the complex and exciting world of social media can be both perplexing and overwhelming.
One of the basic challenges marketers and business owners encounter when it comes to social media is finding the right platforms to invest time, effort, and money in.
To help you narrow down your options, keep the following tips in mind:
If your primary goal is to promote brand awareness, Facebook is one social network you should be active in.
With a heterogeneous user base, it is deemed the perfect vehicle to promote virtually any brand.
Google+
While Google+ has not taken off as well as predicted, it is still considered the best platform to use when targeting men in the technology industry.
At least two-thirds of the network’s current users are men, many of whom are engaged in engineering and other technical professions.
Brands (i.e. retailers and clothing companies) that rely highly on images would do well on image focused platforms like Instagram.
The site is also considered highly effective when targeting young adults, African Americans, and Hispanics.
For business-to-business companies, an active presence in LinkedIn is highly recommended.
The site is also deemed ideal if you want to connect with other corporate influencers and promote business-related content.
For brands engaged in selling clothing or jewelry, Pinterest is considered consummate.
It is also a superb option when targeting women.
Ensure content you create and share are valuable, captivating, and interesting.
If your goal is to create a more robust brand reputation, you should consider creating (and sharing) useful content a priority.
Rather than producing (and posting) content just to meet arbitrary publishing calendars, aim to produce content social media users would want to read and share.
Observe the following principles when creating content for social sharing:
- Content you post and share should support your brand’s image. Also, resist the temptation to engage in clickbait strategies as it will reflect on the company poorly.
- Prior to sharing, determine which content are most likely to gain visibility on social channels. Pictures are likely more to resonate with your audience but double check your data just to be sure.
- Don’t shy away from utilizing visual content. Studies show that content with images receive views nearly twice as that of text posts alone.
Leverage the power of social media influencers.
Posting killer content is just one part of the equation.
If you are still relatively unknown as a brand, there is a huge tendency for your voice to get lost in all the social media noise.
While you will be able to eventually build your own audience through great content, the strategy is going to take some time.
However, you can hasten the process by leveraging the audiences existing social media influencers in your industry have built.
- Cite their websites or mention their names in your content pieces. Those with notifications will be able to see your content after it has been published.
- When sharing content to any of your site’s social media profiles, consider tagging influencers you have referenced.
Send an e-mail to influencers after you have published your content to inform them they have been referenced in your published content.
David French is an avid tech enthusiast. He loves to read about new innovations and technologies as well as share his thoughts on what he finds. He has a degree in English from the University of South Florida, but spends most of his time writing about technology rather than reading literature.
