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For most brands, it is relatively easy to establish a presence on a single social media platform such as Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, or TikTok. However, it’s quite another thing to wrap together these various social media platforms into one comprehensive social media branding strategy. If you’re wondering how to get started, here are the three key steps for a well thought-out social media plan.
Step 1: Define your brand
This might sound obvious, but brands should not attempt to be all things to all people. That type of approach rarely works well on social media. People want to know about your values, goals, aspirations, or inspirations. They want to know what makes you unique. And they want to see how the people working at your company follow through on your mission. So it’s absolutely critical from the outset to define your brand. What do you stand for, and why?
Step 2: Develop content that fits this branding
Next, it’s time to develop content for the desired audience. For example, if you primarily want to appeal to young twenty-somethings, then you probably need different content than if you were planning to appeal to an older demographic. For younger audiences, short video content works best.
People are spending time on your site for very specific reasons, and you need to respond to that. For example, if you’re an outdoor lifestyle brand, then you need to post content related to the types of adventures or vacations these people will be taking. And you will need to address the types of issues that are top-of-mind for them, such as issues related to the environment or the climate.
Moreover, you need to seek out the social media platforms that will appeal to your audience. If your target audience skews younger, you might want to seek out social media platforms such as TikTok or Instagram. If your audience skews toward women, then you might want to focus on platforms such as Pinterest. And if your audience skews toward older professionals, then you might want to experiment with LinkedIn.
Step 3: Build engagement
Too many brands make the mistake of confusing their social media presence as just another form of advertising. While it is true that social media is part of digital marketing, there’s a big difference between the two. And to put it bluntly, it comes down to this: you can’t win over people on social media the way you might with a splashy TV commercial.
On social media, it’s all about sharing stories and establishing trust with your audience. They don’t want to hear a lot of empty slogans and throwaway advertising lines. They want to see the real people behind your business, and they want to see the real people using your products or services. One way you can do this on social media is by sharing recent customer reviews and testimonials. You can also give your audience opportunities to interact one-on-one with members of your team.
Follow the metrics
Of course, along every step of the way, you’ll want to monitor your impact with metrics. At the very least, you’ll want to monitor the number of people who are engaging with your content. This will let you know what’s working, and what’s not. And it might just give you some creative ideas about how to engage even more people on your social media platforms. When your consumers and customers care just as much about your brand as you do, that’s when you know your social media branding strategy has been a success.
