Social Media Branding Tips

October 31, 2018

Your Brand on Social Media

In today’s ever-growing digital environment, it doesn’t matter if your business is based online or not, you’ll need to devise a strategy for your company’s online presence if you plan on finding success. One of the biggest components of your branding strategy, other than your website, will be your company’s social media presence. Building a strong, consistent brand online requires a cohesive brand image and voice. Above all, you want to be easily found and recognized by both new and returning customers. Below you’ll find some thoroughly vetted tips and strategies for building your brand on social media.

Targeting your Target Audience

Let’s face it, pretty much everyone in today’s world is using social media to some capacity. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or any of the other major social media platforms, there are hundreds of millions of users engaging on each one of these platforms daily. So, the question is, will they find your company on the platform they’re using most? To properly answer that question, you’ll first have to do some research on your company’s target audience.

While some social media marketing companies suggest putting your business on every single social media platform, here at Let’s Bee Social, we believe in building a presence on the platforms your target audience uses most. Rather than try and be everywhere all at once, we believe in focusing your brand’s resources in the places where we know you’ll be found by the people who are looking for you. Ultimately when it comes to building your brand’s social media presence, you don’t want to bite off more than you can chew. Rather than have 10 different channels that you’re trying to build content for, focus your resources on the 3 main platforms where you know your audience is regularly active.

Tips for Building Brand Recognition

After you’ve decided which platforms you’re going to target, it’s time to start building out your social media channels. The best social media strategy is one that builds upon brand recognition. You want to make sure that anyone who is looking for you, knows where to find you. Here are some tips for building brand recognition on social media:

example of a good default photoPick the Right Default Photo

Just like in the real world, first impressions count online too. That’s why choosing the right default photo can make or break your brand’s ability to leave a great first impression. It’s one of the first things that a potential customer sees when they go to your social media pages and look for information on your business. When choosing your default photo remember:

 

  • The photo needs to be high resolution.No one wants to go to your page and see a pixelated default picture. That would actually bring down your credibility with a customer. Your default picture MUST be high resolution.
  • The photo needs to be the proper dimensions.Formatting is important too, and if using a photo that is too big or too small, it might raise concerns with people who are exploring your brand in more depth.
  • It needs to be a relevant photo that gives the customer a snapshot of who you are.If you have a storefront, it could be a picture of that. It could be your logo. If you’re a realtor, it could be a picture of you. It could be a picture of your awesome logo, but it needs to build brand recognition, so choose wisely.

Last but not least, use the same default photo across all your social media platforms for the best results.

good bio exampleWrite a Great Bio

Deciding what’s going to go in the Bio or About Me sections on your social media accounts can be challenging. It’s hard to convey everything you feel like you need to say in such a short amount of space. But it has to be done. If you want to create an engaging bio, keep these tips in mind:

 

 

  • It needs to be concise and to the point.Most people don’t want to read a novel when they are trying to figure out what you do on your Instagram or Facebook. They want you to tell them, but kind of like the Reader’s Digest version, nice and short.
  • You need to showcase your strengths and services.Give your potential customers the information they want. Tell them what you’re good at, how they can reach you and what makes you different. Whatever industry you’re in, your bio is the best place to give customers the information they need most.
  • Include a call to action that drives traffic to your website.Your social media accounts all have one main purpose, to engage your audience and drive traffic to your website. Creating a call to action pushes people to your website by asking them to book your service, contact you or to simply learn more.

Ultimately, you want to use this space to convey who you are as a business and drive traffic back to your website to help with lead generation.

building your brand voiceFind Your Voice

Brands, like people, have to be living, breathing organisms online. It’s not enough to just look great, you have to sound great too. That’s where your brand voice comes into play. Here are some tips to help you hone in on your brand’s voice on social media:

 

 

  • Watch your tone. Whether we realize it or not, tone can be perceived differently by everyone online. So, try to avoid sarcasm at all costs and stay away from sounding overly salesly. Your social media posts shouldn’t be a sales pitch, they should be an in-depth look at who your brand is, almost as if your brand was using social media as the rest of us would.
  • Pay attention to punctuation.Remember how punctuation is read and perceived. For example, You! Don’t! Want! To! Sound! Like! You’re! yelling! All. The. Time. Try to creating pauses in your copy, and hone in on the emotion you’re conveying when you’re using commas, periods and exclamation points.
  • Stay true to yourself. A genuine, honest voice will always make the biggest and best impact. People can see right through a fake internet persona, so rather than try to build your brand voice around something that fits neatly into a company profile, have some fun and stay true to yourself. It’s ok to be transparent, people will love you more for your honesty than anything else.

A Consistent Brand is a Memorable Brand

At the end of the day, you want to use social media to build brand recognition but more importantly you want to use it as a vehicle for showcasing your brand consistency. A company that is well branded, both through image and voice, is one that leaves a lasting impression on its followers and builds a genuinely engaged audience that gets excited about what you’re doing.

It’s a great place to grow your business, build your network, and showcase your services. One last tip, remember to stay genuine and organic to the platform and its community. Don’t get so caught up in selling yourself that you forget to have some fun. People love to be talked to, not talked at. Recognize this difference, and you’ll find social media success for your business sooner rather than later.