How to Utilize Social Media for your Brand

It’s a given that we spend the majority of our free time on social media, and for those who don’t, kudos to you. Social media has taken over our lives. It’s how we get our news, it’s how we communicate with our loved ones, and it’s how we get our entertainment. We may be using it for personal pleasure but understanding how to use social media effectively for your brand is game-changing. Most of a brand’s audience has transitioned to social media, so a brand must follow its audience. Here are our best tips and tricks to utilize social media for your brand and how to stand out. 

Find your audience

One of the biggest mistakes a brand can make when using social media is posting and promoting their content on the wrong social media platform. At the beginning of the utilization of your accounts, do your research. I know you may think you know where your brand’s audience is living within the internet and social media, but there is a good chance you could have it all wrong.

Developing an understanding of where your audience is living is going to be the foundation of success for your brand’s social media presence. They will be more likely to see your content, engage with you, and give you earned media. Building your brand in the right location will also allow you to develop the best brand and content strategy based on your audience.

Each social media platform is unique with its different features, trends, and audiences. Understand where your brand is, why they are on the platform(s), and how your brand can utilize the platform(s) to develop the best content and strategy. 

Stay on brand

Let me say it for those in the back, STAY ON BRAND!

One of the worst things you can do for your social media presence is post content that is not relevant to your brand. Although you might be tempted to repost a cute meme you saw, if you can not directly relate it to your content, do not even think twice about posting it.

Your content should be about your brand, what your brand stands for, what your brand promotes/sells, and trends that could potentially involve your brand. Along with the type of content you are posting, it should all be cohesive within your brand guidelines.

Once you start to stray away from your brand guidelines and content relevant to your brand, your audience will not view your brand as credible. Image and aesthetics are a must on social media, so stick to what you know and run with it.

Post often and frequently

When you are ready to post your content, it’s vital to understand where you should post and how often you should be posting. If your brand wants to reach a generous amount of visibility, it should be posting on all social media platforms, but utilizing the platform the most where you know your audience is.

If you know your audience is on Instagram for example, you should also be posting content on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. What you do not want to do is repost the same content onto all of these platforms. As I mentioned earlier, each social media platform has its unique voice, so use that to your advantage and make relevant content for each platform.

For Instagram, if it is your most popular platform, utilize all of its features. Post on your story, create reels and IGTV videos, get tagged in posts, and post your relevant content. If people like your content, they’re going to want to see more and more of it. Stay consistent with how much you post and use a scheduling website/app to help you stay on track.

You should be posting on your most popular platforms at least two to three times a day. There is a point when posting content can become too often, so find a nice balance and what works best for your brand.

Engage with your audience

If you are looking specifically to grow your following, this is the best way to do so. Your audience and your potential audience enjoy likes, comments, and replies on their social media just as much as your brand likes it.

You should have someone in charge of engagement that is looking to please your current audience by responding to comments and direct messages and looking to engage with your potential audience.

A great way to generate more followers is by searching hashtags that best align with your brand. Go through the posts under the hashtags and like and reply to people’s posts with a witty remark or a compliment. People want to feel appreciated, and they will then generate trust within your brand.

Engagement is easily overlooked, so make sure you are consistently engaging with your audience.

Overall, building your brand on social media will not happen overnight. It will take weeks, months, and even years. Be patient, and keep in mind that many brands are trying to achieve the same goal as you. Do the best that you can to understand your audience and make sure their needs are met. Doing this will create a connection between foundational trust.