4.48 billion people. That’s how many people actively use social media.
Yes, you read that right. That’s more than half the world’s population. You don’t need to connect with all of those people to grow the reach of your product or service, but tapping into a fraction of that user base can mean the difference between building a loyal following for your brand and toiling away in relative obscurity. Growing a loyal following is important, because it can translate into steady customers for your business.
While the traditional ad model of billboards next to highways or TV spots can still be effective, these forms remain incredibly expensive and less accessible to the vast audience used to tailoring their content online.
For those fearful of new technology, not to worry, using social media platforms to promote your brand is more accessible than ever. They’re also great listening tools for entrepreneurs to gain more insight into their audiences’ desires, which can be tracked through their engagement. You can use this valuable data to better understand the needs of your customers, while finding fresh ways to attract new users.
Start early, but it’s never too late.
Online presence is everything. And a clear online presence is king. It’s why securing a username on the various social media platforms early on (even before your product has launched) is incredibly important. Think of something easy for customers to remember and for people to type out. Ask yourself, if someone is looking for your company on Instagram, can they easily find your company? Are there too many symbols?
While it’s ideal to set up your social media accounts before product launch, it isn’t too late if your company is already live. Give yourself a day or two to learn about the different social media platforms, like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Linkedin to see how they differ and what works best for your brand. From there, secure your username handles. The more you spend time on each app, the more you’ll learn about the flow, and how to use each platform to enhance your own brand.
Think: How do I best convey my brand to others?
What do you want your customers to know about your brand? Why will they want to work with you compared to your competition? Think about content that relates to the ethos of your company.
For example, if you’re a family business hoping to work with other families at a community level, it may be beneficial to speak to your customers in the first-person to break that fourth wall that often makes companies unrelatable to customers. This could mean creating a video that features your own family as a means of building trust with your audience. Using this family-oriented approach, your future content will also be viewed through this lens by your customers.
Come up with a plan
Once you establish the ethos of your company, think about how to convey it to audiences. If you’re familiar with design and aesthetics, this may be a piece of cake. Often, entrepreneurs hire social media consultants and designers to help the feel of their brand, down to social media assets, captions, and designs. Social media consultants can also help with training, and are a great option for empowering yourself on the ins and outs of social media.
It also helps to find examples of successful brands you align with. How are they positioned to bring in an audience? How do they share their product with people? Also take notes on brands that don’t work as a guide for yourself.
What does well on social media?
Bottom line, humans are the driving force behind every business. So it’s important that your content is relatable and useful for people. People like to trust brands, and want to learn about new things in their industry. They also like to know they’re working with real people who care about them, and want to see stories of success associated with your brand. A great example is Humans of New York, an Instagram account now boasting 11.5 million followers that started with one goal: telling the real everyday stories of New Yorkers in snippet form. Find the human aspects of your brand and use them to your advantage to engage a diverse audience. If you have questions about a particular post or caption, it’s best to get another set of eyes on it.
Influencers
Launching your social media platforms can be daunting. And no, you aren’t always going to see a ton of followers pop up on the first day. Engaging with others in your industry, for example, following and connecting with influencers in your field are some of the key starting points for an impactful social media presence.
Think Casper. Known to many as a portable, shippable, and comfortable mattress rolled up in a box, the Canadian company found major success by reaching out to many influencers to gain awareness. One influencer, JerryRigEverything AKA Zack Nelson, who earned more than 7 million subscribers on Youtube by reviewing household items, was early on the Casper train and gave the company major attention. His review of a $300 pillow sent by the company in 2017 garnered close to 3 million views. By using influencers who already have a massive following, Casper found success in gaining even more customers and audiences.
If your budget allows, working on campaigns and partnerships with influencers, or sharing products with them, can also help drive awareness to your page. If your content is gold, followers will follow. The influencers just give you that little boost to get more eyes on your page.
Consistency
Within your work schedule, figure out an editorial schedule for social media posts. That means posting consistently, whether that means five times a week or three times a week, even once a week if you’re strapped for time and resources. This could mean one day of planning and creating posts for the future. Without consistent posting, your social media accounts will never see an increase of followers, and those who have followed you may opt to unfollow you if you provide no use to their feeds.
Understand the insights
Whether your company hires a social media producer or not, understanding social media insights is important. Within each app, there are ways to see how well a post has done in terms of likes, comments, and shares. The more people interact with your account, the more eyes see the page. Social media platforms have even gone a step further to break down the demographics of your users by gender, country, age, and more. This is an easy way to use data to learn about your customers and potential customers. It can also inform what posts work for your prime audience and, importantly, which audiences you met yet. With this knowledge, you can tailor future posts to bring in even more customers.
Be aware of trolls
Unlike the physical world, the online world allows complete strangers to interact over many different topics and platforms. While social media is an integral part of advertising and marketing in this day and age, it’s also important to be wary of harassment or abuse online. Create a plan early on to ensure how you’re able to handle these types of interactions. Each app has different solutions to lessen toxic comments. Instagram allows users to delete or report comments, while Facebook also allows for restrictions on certain words on company pages. Social media can be a great positive tool for storytelling and sharing your vision, but it’s important to stay aware of your online surroundings.
Have fun!
When you have a clear plan and understanding of your brand, you can have fun within those parameters. Fun sells, and huge companies like McDonald’s, Burger King know this too, often hiring young people with a great tone on social media to speak with customers, create memes, and use a fresh voice to engage with their audiences. While you may not have all the time or capital in the world to create the same level of content as these mega brands, it’s important not to take yourself too seriously.
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