The way customers identify with a company has changed dramatically over the last two decades. It used to be that the quality of a product was the most important to a customer; today, image and identity are nearly as important. It is crucial to understand that fact and how it relates to social media. It may be that you did all the right things with your branding. Your company has a branding style guide that directs what language, images, fonts, and colors are to be used. Your website is engaging, and your web host is fast with no downtime.
Does your website accurately convey your brand? You started a campaign to improve your SEO and build your brand through PPC, but are ignoring your social media? An effective inbound marketing campaign in the digital age should include social media. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are the most effective platforms to reach your target audience and allow you to build your brand at low or no cost.
Here are some suggestions on how your company can use social media to build its brand.
Be Active on Social Media
It’s pointless for your company to have social media accounts if you only post every six months regarding a company event? To build your brand on social media, you need to post or tweet several times a day. Be sure to use brand approved language and imagery that evokes emotion and reflects your brand when you post.
Use Brand Reflective Imagery
The use of images gets noticed more by users. Use attention-grabbing pictures that are in line with both what your subject is touching and your company’s branding. Be sure not to post the same image on all platforms, as each one has differences. Look at the best practices for posting images for a particular platform before posting yours. That being said, images provide an invaluable opportunity to state what your company’s brand is all about and create emotional responses related to your brand.
Interact on Social Media
Since the beginning of social media, one thing has continued to be true; users react better towards accounts who interact with them. If there is a trending subject that relates to your company, it is wise to post about that subject or hashtag. Another excellent practice is to comment on the posts of those who follow your account. In this way, you won’t seem to be spamming when you post about your business, and customers feel that you care about them individually. Use scheduling apps like Buffer to post overnight; be sure to answer any customer responses to it the next morning.
Express Your Brand Through Your Profile
Your Company’s profile should stand out and truly express your company’s brand. Luckily, it’s not that hard to create a profile that relays your brand. Make it clear who your company is, what it stands for, and what it does in the bio. A picture of your logo that is not pixelated and can easily be seen is essential; having a low-quality logo in your profile will give an unprofessional impression to potential customers. Use images in your banner on Facebook and Twitter that express your brand and can bring about a positive emotion in customers. If you are an airline, a sunset or blue sky with puffy clouds immediately states what your company does.
The imagery used in your profile should be consistent with your company’s branding. Similar images should appear on your website and other social media platforms. Consistency ensures brand conformity and less confusion when a customer visits your site. Be sure to link to your website and your other social media accounts. Create a bio that uses language from your branding style guide and succinctly states who your company is and what it does.
It’s Not Always About Business
Post fun things regarding holidays or some (positive) event that has captured the attention of the public; this makes your social media account more personalized, and customers will better relate to your company.
Use Videos
Video is predicted to account for over 70% of all internet traffic by 2020. Social media has long shown preference to posts with video so that prediction is no surprise. When you can produce high-quality videos about your company, then you will be able to express your brand even more effectively.
If your company follows these suggestions, they will help to improve your branding on social media!
Is your Social Media working for you? If not, MosierData can help. Contact us here or call 863-687-0000 to find out more.