The rate at which social media influences the brand’s growth in today’s world is alarming. Over the years, social media has become home for large and small brands. They engage different social platforms to stay ahead of the industry’s competition.
In 2015, the social media marketing Industry published how small brands used social media. It showed that 93 percent of small business owners use Facebook and 71 percent use LinkedIn. This means small brands are very involved in social networks. How much more the large corporations and organizations? But, staying relevant in today’s world requires more. It takes more than signing up on every social platform. The processes take commitment and time.
For instance, businesses need to schedule and track their campaigns on such platforms. Here are 20 tips for brands to improve their awareness of social platforms.
How To Increase Social Media Presence
Most brands, businesses, and agencies belong to at least one of these social networks.But are they active on these social platforms? Do their social networks bring them closer to their goals? The truth is, a brand needs a marketing strategy for social media to work for it. Also, they must follow the basic principles of SMM. Read through the guide to find out how to increase social media presence.
1. Get On The Right Social Media Platforms
Social networks available for marketing and awareness have grown over the years. Though they share many things in common, they still have their separate uniqueness. Some platforms are great for building personal relationships and others for sharing content.
For instance, Instagram is suitable for posting visuals than posting articles or blogs. Want to choose the best social community? Business owners should consider these:
- The social networks where they can connect with their target audience.
- The online community that supports the type of content they want to post.
- And the platform that offers affordable campaign services.
Also, they must consider social networks with the highest trends for their niche. Now, get on social media. And start with about four of the most popular networks.
2. Outline The Right Goals
Social media offers great opportunities, but it can also be overwhelming. Staying focused on different platforms requires a plan. For social media goals to be right and SMART. Moreover, coming up with a workable plan involves asking questions. With the right answers, building social presence becomes easy. Goals and questions basically:
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3. Target The Right Audience
There could be nothing more painful and unproductive than addressing the wrong people. Hence, building a social media awareness requires the relevant public.
Remember, not everyone is an audience. If a business desires to stay top-of-mind, it must not address everyone.
The target could be customers, professionals in some fields or industry players. Whatever the case, narrow down who the target group is to get the most result on social campaigns. Doing this makes it effortless to understand their needs, wants, and motivations. Keen on targeting the right people? Answer these:
- Which platforms are the audience hanging out?
- What content gets their attention?
- What exactly interests them?
- What part of the day is best to engage them?
As a business owner, make the right connections with the audience. This gains their confidence and loyalty.
4. Be Loud On The Brand’s Presence On Social Media
Let the world know that the brand is present on social media. Friends and family are the first set of people to talk to. And start-ups should give details of their social handles with them.
Then, search for customers, old and new, to connect with on social media. Everything about the business should showcase its presence on the internet. From their website homepage feeds, footer icons and email signature. This is how to build a social media presence that achieves goals.
5. Be Human And Real
Nobody likes to monologue. Instead, we all want to interact and relate. The same thing goes for online communities.
Social media is not just a monologue. Instead, it is a medium for a give-and-take relationship that ebbs and flows.To remain top-of-mind, have real-human relationships with the target. And regardless of their number, keep in touch with them.
6. Create And Post Valuable Content Of Related-Niche
Businesses mustn’t craft or share posts that revolve around their niche. As much as they want to stay top-of-mind, they must be creative in their approach. Be a smart salesman. Use other valuable industry-related content to appeal to the emotions of the audience.
People like reading other industry-related topics through a channel. A brand that does this gets the attention of the audience. And this makes them read more content on the page. Since variety is the spice of life, no one will forever want to read self-absorbed blogs. Create means to intrigue them with other industry-related posts that give value.
7. Choose Social Media Tools To Schedule And Automate Posts
A one-person team might never have the time to do all they have to do on social media. Even essential things like scheduling, posting content and replying followers’ messages. In short, staying active and productive on social media takes devotion. But with automated tools, scheduling, and managing campaigns become seamless.
Some of the tools include Buffer, Hootsuite, MeetEdgar Sprout Social, BuzzSumo, IFTTT, & SocialOomph. Investing in these tools means more accuracy and productivity. To find, schedule, manage, and cumulate report on social media become effortless. Remember, time is money. The more time businesses save, the more time they have to do other things.
8. Engage Audience In Creative And Relevant Ways
The least a start-up should do for the audience is to bombard them with loads of content. Though posting great and engaging stuff is cool. It is still not enough to convert people to paying customers. Ways to engage the target include:
- Posting engaging and valuable content on schedule.
- Talking to the target in a direct manner.
- Getting into conversations with them.
- Replying to their messages and questions.
- Treating them with respect and showing appreciation.
9. Maintain A Familiar Tone And Frequency
Though being real and creative is vital, learn to maintain a familiar tone and frequency all the same. The tone of voice must be unique and amazing. Though, it could take a while to achieve this. But once the brand discovers the tone people resonate with, they must keep the tone.
Social media campaigns with a consistent tone and frequency build familiarity. Messages passed across in relatable manners help increase trust for the label.
10. Build Relationships With The Audiences
Remember, social media is a give-and-take platform. It allows agencies to build relationships with their followers. Don’t dump content here and there on the platforms. Because that only creates awareness without helping them build the necessary rapport.
It is more attractive to have fewer people they can interact with than having millions they don’t. For good relationships with followers, one should tag and mention their names in relevant posts. Also, be free to slide into followers’ DMs. Like, share and comment on their posts to start a conversation.
11. Set Up An Editorial Calendar
Now that the brand is on social media make a long-term social media plan. With an editorial calendar, they can:
- Highlight the topics; they want to share.
- Outline the relevant posts for each of the platforms.
- Decide when it is best to post for greatest engagement.
- Avoid content repetition.
It is good to have like 6 to 12 months’ editorial plan for social networks. This will not only afford them more time but also avail their content more reach.
12. First, Add Value, Then Sell Later
Yes, we know the business wants to grow and expand their presence on social networks. Besides, they don’t have to be salesy. Value creation of forums is the easiest way to achieving business goals. And the more influence they have on the audience, the more top-of-mind they are.
Thus, forget about the hard sell and focus on making real impacts on them.Do this by sharing links, tips, quotes, blogs, and other relevant information.And doing this improves their lives and make them more open to more content.
13. Do More Of Visuals; They Are More Appealing
Still finding it hard to grasp how to build a social media presence? Use visual content to keep the audience engaged.
Some of the ways include:
- Team photos and videos.
- Infographics.
- Pictures of customers and events.
- Quote photos.
14. Automate Social Media The Right Way
Agencies want to get much done in no time. But they shouldn’t automate everything about social networks.
Plan social media and define how and what to automate. They must use automation without losing the trust and confidence of the audience.
15. Use More Images In The Content Than Words
The social media has gravitated more towards image-oriented content. More reasons Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat, are more popular than ever before.
16. Promote Content Across All Social Media Channels
Social marketers must link social media accounts across their platforms. Doing this helps them promote their content across social channels. More so, add relevant social communities icons to the website.
17. Integrate Social Media Into Event Planning
With social media, digital marketers can do more than event promotion. They can live tweet the event, share photos during the event and many other functions. Weave social media into event planning. It boosts engagement with followers.
18. Stay Connected
Being relevant and active on social media takes consistency. When this is missing, the goals become difficult to achieve. So, choose an enjoyable social platform to use. And let automated tools help the start-ups stay connected with their audience.
19. Advertise The Brand
Don’t be afraid of paid advertisements. It helps the business to be better optimized. Paid ads on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn enable subscribers to run great campaigns. And this is possible because the platforms have extensive access to data.
20. Use Analytics To Track And Measure
Check and measure the impact of social media on the business. Marketers must find out their business growth. Note whether the relationships built on these platforms has increased growth or not.
Use analytics to examine the impact of social media. And as well check the social ROI. Moreover, this will help to discover where to make amends and improve.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does Social Media Presence Mean?
It means being present and active on social platforms. Social media is an excellent tool for businesses and agencies. And these platforms make marketing to the right persons less cumbersome.
When brands sign up on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter, that means they are ready to build relationships. Moreover, a good rapport with old, current and potential customers will do the magic.
How Can Social Media Be Improved?
Since social media is essential to business growth and development. Business owners have no choice than to improve their campaigns on social sites. Here are some tips for doing so:
- Choose the right network.
- Set SMART goals.
- Develop a strategy.
- Put the audience at the center of the content.
- Use automated tools to schedule and track posts.
- Engage the audience in a creative approach.
- Maintain a familiar tone and frequency in content.
- Use analytics to track and measure the campaigns.
How To Develop A Brand Strategy?
Developing a brand requires some key steps. These means to:
- Review the business strategy.
- Identify the target clients.
- Research, the target client group.
- Develop the positioning of the brand.
- Craft a unique message strategy.
- Develop the name, logo, and tagline.
- Craft a content marketing strategy.
- Develop a website.
- Build a marketing toolkit.
- Put in place, track, and adjust.
The Final Word
The goals a brand sets for social media determines its approach. And it points out the metrics that are vital to the social media presence. Thus, just track and measure these to know if the strategy is yielding the desired results.
Measuring and monitoring these metrics is easier than expected. Analytics Tools from Google, Facebook, Hootsuite, Buffer, Twitter are great for metrics. Which goals are most important for your team or company? Let us know your approach and any changes you want to implement after reading this guide.
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