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Tips For Building A Strong Brand On Social Media

With over 70 percent of Americans using some form of social media, it’s never been more critical to have a social media presence for your business. But more is needed to have a Facebook page or an Instagram account. To build a strong brand on social media, you’ve got to put in some effort, starting from the ground up.

Know Your Audience

You first need to know your target audience to create a strong brand on social media. Your target audience will depend on what your brand is trying to promote. Do you sell handmade jewelry? Do you manage a spa? Consider who you are selling to. Once you know the answer, you can determine which social media sites to focus on.

Though there are plenty of social media platforms out there to pick from, the top five will generally cover all your bases in terms of customers and will get you the best results. 

Facebook

Almost 75 percent of American adults use Facebook, making it an excellent place to build a solid social media brand.

Instagram

Instagram is great for businesses that sell products or have photos to showcase. According to Entrepreneur, It is also popular with younger people, Hispanics, and African Americans.

For ELMNTL client The Tourism Authority of Thailand, we showcase breathtaking photography (original and UGC) of Thailand’s landmarks such as temples, beaches, and historic sites. These images help reinforce the aesthetics of Thailand’s brand: bright, vibrant, and rich with history.

Instagram post for The Tourism Authority of Thailand highlighting the travel destination

Pinterest

Pinterest is more popular with women but has become an excellent site for showcasing retail products. Pinterest not only allows businesses to create “pins” that can link to your products on your website, but users can also save those pins to their boards for inspiration and share them with other users.  

You can also host live showcases of your products or services on Pinterest. For instance, if you sell clothing, you could host a live shopping stream with live models wearing your clothing to give clients a 360-degree view of your products. Best of all, your video stays up after your live presentation, unlike other social media networks where videos expire and go away after 24 hours.

Pinterest Live shopping event for fashion

Furthermore, for a fee, you can boost your pins toward your target audience by age, location, and topics of interest, such as travel, weddings, spa services, and more.

Pinterest Pin promoting wedding trends for Tribeca private event venue in NYC

Twitter

Twitter is another popular platform to market your brand, primarily if you use images in your posts. Tweets with pictures get double the views of text-only posts! 

TikTok

Chances are you’ve heard about TikTo, or already have an account. In fact, TikTok has 1.6 billion users worldwide, and 1.05 billion of those users are considered active users. TikTok is a social media platform where users can post short videos, including product demos from influencers, product reviews, and even product advertisements. TikTok is an excellent marketing tool, especially for consumers in the 16-34 age group. A whopping 80% of TikTok users fall into this demographic.

@shoandtech iPhone 14 Pro Max Review. This was easily my favourite video ive made in the last year. #iphone #iphone14promax #apple #tech #shoandtech ♬ original sound – Shomes | Tech & Lifestyle

Influencer TikTok video showing a product review for iPhone 12 Pro Max

Strategy

Once you have identified your audience, the next step towards building a strong brand on social media is to develop an effective strategy. After all, it isn’t just about posting pictures and captions occasionally. A robust social media presence must include regular posts, so customers and followers will remember your brand and be more likely to engage with your content. Here are some content types that should be part of your overall strategy. 

Blogs

Posting a blog on your website lets people know what your business is up to and can also help drive traffic to your website. When you post a blog, use relevant and exciting content to engage your users. 

When posting a blog, choose relevant topics to your industry that will benefit your audience. At ELMNTL, our social media links to our blog posts with helpful infographics that summarize the blog posts. These posts help clients who follow our page learn more about digital marketing and the importance of social media in their marketing strategy. The reader still gets some of the information about the blog when they read the Instagram post but is enticed to read more for a complete education. You may have even found this blog through our Instagram page!

ELMNTL Instagram post promoting a company blog

Influencers

Another popular way to build a strong brand on social media and increase sales is through influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is when you use influencers (people on social media substantial following whose recommendations to followers ‘influence’ them to make purchases) to generate buzz about your product or service. 

Influencers can help run contests, offer discounts, or promote your product to their audience. But remember, only use influencers that target your established demographics, so you don’t spend your hard-earned money to market resort getaways to teens or acne medication to seniors!

Influencer marketing is a proven method of helping build your brand on social media and grow your sales. In fact, according to Hubspot, businesses earn $6.50 for every dollar they invest in influencer marketing campaigns!

Influencer post for Victorinox SEA Travel Collective

Paid Campaigns

Paid ads and campaigns are a necessity in this day and age. Whether boosting a post or creating a targeted ad from scratch, you want to get as much visibility as possible when strengthening your social media brand.

Boosting posts is a great way to improve your conversion rate, which can, in turn, help increase your click-through rate.

Targeted ads can appear in social media feeds, like Facebook or Instagram. Targeted ads allow you to get your ad in front of specific demographics that would benefit from your product or service, for example, brides-to-be in the Long Island area or spa-goers in the Myrtle Beach area.

Facebook/Instagram paid ad promoting Cinzia Spa in Myrtle Beach

Contests and Giveaways

Everybody loves freebies, and contests appeal to the competitive side in all of us, so what better way to increase your social media brand than to host a game? Have a lucky winner or winners claim one of your products or services by sharing your content, tagging friends, or submitting UGC with your product that you can then share on your social media channels.

Your marketing team can arrange to have influencers help promote your contest to increase your reach and generate a more significant buzz.

Influencer post for a contest to promote The Halal Guys 100th Store Opening

Identify Your Social Media Goals

You’ll also want to identify your social media goals. Some essential questions to ask yourself include:

  • What is the purpose of your business? 
  • What are your company values (e.g., how does it behave, and how do your employees behave and interact with the world)? 
  • How will your business achieve its goals?

Once you know the answers to these questions, you can start cultivating your brand on social media.

Important Reminders

Testing 1, 2, 3

Now that you’re on social media, remember to nurture your strategy and switch things up once you figure out what works and what doesn’t. Give your social media regular refreshers if A/B testing or data reveals that specific posts resonate more than others. Your marketing team can assist with this and make recommendations based on monthly data.

Feedback and Comments

Your social media will likely receive comments, both positive and negative. That’s par for the course when it comes to social media. What you do next is just as important, however. In fact, for better or worse, how you respond to that feedback will get you noticed. Whether rectifying a negative experience or thanking followers for a positive review, it’s always a good idea to weigh in on your posts and stay engaged with your audience.

Keep it Up

Be sure to update your social media regularly so your followers remember you. Posting once or twice a month will not be as effective as posting two or three times a week.

Also, remember to update your bio information so it’s accurate (it’s a good idea to do this in your Google Business listing, too) and your customers can find you.

Find Your (Brand) Voice

Before you get started on social media, remember the importance of maintaining a consistent brand voice in all your posts. Whether it’s email marketing, paid ads, or social media, keeping consistent with your tone and images will help your customers get to know your brand and rely on you for informative posts. Customers will likely engage with your posts as they know your brand.

Maintaining a brand voice is why having a brand guide for your business is essential. A brand guide can help point your team in the right direction when creating a social media presence. If you need a brand guide, contact the marketing team at ELMNTL, and let us discuss the benefits of us making one for you.

Remember, a brand voice should include consistency in your storytelling, brand voice, and the look and feel of your social media posts.

In Conclusion

Building a strong brand on social media is an effective and vital way to market your business, but it often takes a village. Take your time handling all the details yourself. At ELMNTL, our marketing team can help you develop a strong foundation for your social media brand and maintain that brand to stretch your marketing budget and grow your social media presence.

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Julie Chung

Julie Chung

Account Director
Romey Louangvilay

Romey Louangvilay

Head of Communications

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