By Candice Georgiadis, contributor to Rolling Stone
Social media is a powerful tool for building your brand, with over 59 percent of the world being active on social media. If you’ve been overwhelmed in the past by managing multiple social profiles and groups, or if your posts have received little feedback from readers, then this guide is meant to help you take control of your social media presence. These tips aim to ensure that each post gets noticed by potential customers and followers alike — and won’t leave you feeling overwhelmed with too many tasks on your plate.
Know Your Audience and Be Where They Are
Learn about your customers’ needs and interests, as well as their habits and preferences. This can help you craft content that resonates with them, so they’re more likely to share it with their friends or social network members.
Be sure that the content on your site is relevant — and it should be something people want to see. That means creating high-quality images that appeal specifically to each segment of the market (e.g., travel bloggers might want photos of beautiful destinations).
Create a Content Calendar
You should have enough content to fill your social media calendar, but not too much that you’re overwhelmed by a lack of time. Make sure that each post is relevant and engaging for your audience, and consider scheduling posts in advance with tools like Hootsuite.
Craft Compelling Posts
A good post is one that speaks to the reader on a personal level. It should be relatable and make them feel like they’re part of your company, not just another number in a sea of customers. The key to crafting compelling posts is using language that’s conversational and believable — you want people to feel as if they’re talking with you or someone else who has gone through similar struggles.
Consider using emojis and GIFs when appropriate; these can be fun ways to add personality without sacrificing professionalism. Images can also help convey emotion without overcomplicating things. Don’t forget hashtags. Hashtags can be great for getting attention from social media platforms such as Instagram because they allow users who search for specific keywords associated with your brand/product/service, etc. This, in turn, means they instantly see what other people have posted about related topics within their feed while still keeping up to date on current trends in their industry.
Get Your Staff Involved
Social media can be a great way to get your employees involved in the marketing process, and it can be an easy way for them to share content they’ve created or liked on their own time. This is especially true if it relates directly to what you do as a brand — maybe you have a blog about customer service or maybe you host an Instagram account where customers can ask questions about products or services. If so, then having people who are dedicated followers of these channels could be invaluable when it comes time for promoting new campaigns or events.
Schedule Your Posts
It’s important to remember that social media marketing is a long-term effort. The more time you spend on your page, the better chance you have of building an audience and earning credibility with them. This can help boost engagement and ultimately lead to new sales or partnerships in the future. If you want results fast, scheduling posts might not be enough. You might consider automation tools that allow users to schedule their content ahead of time so that it automatically appears on various platforms when its date arrives.
Know Your Brand Vocabulary
You can’t create a cohesive, engaging social media presence without knowing your brand vocabulary. It’s important that you use the same words and phrases in your content because they can help you build trust with your audience. If you aren’t sure what those terms mean or how they should be used, take the time to determine your branding vocabulary.
Promote Your Social Media Presence
Use a consistent hashtag. This is one of the first steps to getting your brand noticed on social media, and it’s crucial to use hashtags effectively. A good hashtag can help you find new followers who are looking for exactly what you have to offer — and that means more opportunities for engagement with them. Some people use social media as an extension of their own blog or website; others use it just as a way to connect with friends, family members and followers from around the world (or even just local). The point is that whatever role you see yourself playing on these networks, make sure that your content is being seen by those who might be interested in what you have available at any given time.
Get to Know One Channel Well
One of the best ways to get started with social media marketing is by focusing on one channel. You can’t be everywhere, so pick one and make it your priority. It’s easier to manage, measure and understand one platform at a time than trying to master all channels — and those three things are what can help you build a strong brand over time.
Once you’ve mastered one platform, it’ll be much easier for you to add another one later down the line.
Conclusion
Social media marketing can be a great way to raise awareness of your brand, build relationships with existing customers and attract new ones. By being strategic about the channels you use, you can create meaningful content for your audience at just the right moments. If this sounds like something that would be useful for your business, then it’s time to start planning and strategizing.
Article originally appeared on Rolling Stone.
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