Essential branding strategies for social media

Essential strategies for brand development through social media:

1. Consistency is key

If there's one thing that can quickly kill a brand, it's inconsistency.

Remember that in order for your brand to flourish on social media platforms, you must be constantly seen by your audience. This allows you to stay at the top of your audience's mind.

If you don't post content regularly, you will lose your momentum and people may forget about you. The best way to avoid this is to be organized, categorize your social media content by batch, and create a content calendar that makes it easier to schedule your posts. This will also save you time and effort.

How often you should post on all relevant social media platforms to stay active and consistent.

2. Use your brand's unique tone of voice. 

Do you remember the brand identity you worked on? Based on that and the core values you have established, you need to come up with a unique tone of voice that you use at all times. That tone should reflect the personality of your brand, whether it's informative, professional, witty, friendly or funny.

You may not always hit the right tone right away, and it may even take you a while to find it. But if you succeed, you should continue to use that tone until your audience identifies it with you. 

3. Make use of Social Media Automation Tools, but don't be robotic

Did you know that 75% of all companies already use at least one marketing automation tool? These automation tools are not only popular, they have proven to be effective. So go ahead, take the time to learn more about the tools that are available to you and use the ones that best suit your needs.

However, you need to pay attention to how and to what extent you use them. You don't want to lose the elements that make your brand "human." Sure, social media marketing tools can be used to make tasks like scheduling posts so much easier, but don't forget the quality of what you post.

It also helps to have chatbots to directly respond or initiate interaction with your potential customers, but make sure you have real people to take that interaction to another level and make your connection more meaningful when the need arises.

4. Focus on your presence on social media platforms that are relevant to your brand.

Contrary to the belief that you should be present on every social media platform to increase your brand awareness, it is actually better for you to focus on platforms that are most suitable for your business.

To do this effectively, you need to do your research and study each platform to know their differences. Find out the demographics of the users on each platform. Know what formats work best for them and who they are best suited for.

For example, if your brand sells fashion items, platforms that are primarily "visual" work best, such as Instagram or Pinterest. On the other hand, if your brand focuses on being a thought leader, then channels like LinkedIn might be a better choice.

Also consider your goals. If you want your brand to be part of trending conversations to create awareness, Twitter might be for you. If you want to reach a larger audience and connect with them, Facebook and YouTube might be the platforms for you.

Keep in mind that it is equally important to be most active on where most of your target audiences are.

5. Be Hyper-Focused on Content-Wise

A common mistake that even some pros still make is trying to come up with content that they think will please everyone. The problem with this is that you will only create content that is, at best, just okay. And "okay" won't really appeal to your target audience, right?

Remember, the right voice and sound will only resonate if the message is right and relevant to your target audience. It would also help tremendously if you know their preferred format for content. Because ultimately, even if you come up with breathtaking live video content, if your audience spends time checking the latest tweets, you won't be able to reach them. So don't just create and post content without considering your audience.

Proven social media branding strategies to capture and retain your target audience

1. Marketing with influencers

Although influencer marketing has been a staple for a number of years, remember that you don't have to choose influencers with the largest number of followers. Choose one (even those with a small or moderate number of followers) whose image aligns with your brand and who can actually represent your brand and speak for and about your brand.

Often these micro-influencers have a better connectedness with their followers, making them more effective ambassadors.

2. Consistent messaging

Even if you don't have enough resources to invest in advertising and influencer marketing, you can still market effectively by being consistent with the visuals and texts you use to get your message across.

Even if you've just started your social media efforts, you can immediately capture the attention of your audience with consistent messaging.

3. Ongoing engagement.

Once you've begun to engage your audience, don't lose that traction. Keep their engagement with your brand going by hosting social media events, contests and promos and encouraging your audience to participate.

You can also share content from your users, such as reviews and testimonials. Creating groups where you can interact with your audience would also work wonders.

4. Ongoing Analysis

You should regularly monitor your social media efforts. This is the only way to be sure that your strategies are producing results. Measure your engagement, your reach, and other relevant metrics.

There are a number of tools that can help you do this, while the platforms' own analytics features are also a good place to start if you haven't already. Be sure to track progress so you can see if your strategies are working or if they need a refresh.

Social media branding may not be rocket science, but it takes more than just posting and sharing content to get more likes and followers. Think about the goals you have for your brand. Think about how every social media "action" you make affects your brand and check that what you are doing is still in line with your brand identity. Social media is a great tool for delivering content that can boost your image, increase engagement and ultimately help your business grow.