Originally published February 12, 2022

Having a social media presence is necessary for every business, big or small. But you’re probably looking at your insights and wondering:

“Why is my engagement so low?”

“Why aren’t my sales increasing?”

More likely, that means your branding strategy is not working. In a time when there are already many brands and voices out there, it’s tough to stand out online.

But that doesn’t mean to stop trying. You just need to step back and redefine how you want to communicate and represent your brand.

Why Social Media Branding Is Important

Whether you’re on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, etc., your social media posts become the voice of your brand. When someone wants to learn more about your business, they’re likely to look you up on social media. They’ll surf through your feed and immediately make first impressions about your brand.

In addition, they can increase awareness, drive web traffic, improve SEO, and even sales. When your brand strongly resonates with people, it builds trust and puts you at top-of-mind. So you don’t gain just any supporter. You gain a loyal follower who will keep coming back for more.

Branding should be the core of your social media marketing strategy. While it is important to put out engaging content and keep up with social media trends, an effective social media campaign will create and maintain a consistent brand. 

The goal is to drive brand awareness among your business's target audience. Your marketing strategies need to work together to convert potential customers into loyal customers, and good marketers will have a distinct, well-known brand.

6 Tips for Improving Your Branding Strategy on Social Media

With that being said, here are six tips to put you at top-of-mind.

1. Establish a visual identity

These are things that potential customers will see. They include your logo, colors, fonts, and other visual imagery. Sticking to a common aesthetic helps users quickly identify and connect with your brand. They take one look at your profile and will automatically create expectations about who you are and your personality.

Let’s look at colors, for example. Are you familiar with color psychology? You want to be intentional about the colors you choose because emotions are tied to them—such as blue signals trust, dependability, and strength. Therefore, it’s critical that you select the right ones that match your values.

So when you’re creating content, keep in mind to be consistent with your visual elements. This will help your brand awareness exponentially if your audience can identify which content is yours in the sea of content on social media platforms.

2. Know your tone of voice

The way you communicate and write is another key indicator of your brand personality. It’s a good idea to know who your target audience is beforehand so that you can better determine what writing style to use for your social media advertising.

To help you with this process, use the four dimensions of tone of voice. Do you want to be:

• Funny or serious?

• Formal or casual?

• Respectful or irreverent?

• Enthusiastic or matter-of-fact?

Maybe making memes and being casual won’t resonate with your audience if you’re a law firm. Instead, it might be suitable to try marketing with a formal and matter-of-fact tone.

Defining your voice will be critical in your social media strategy when attracting the right audience.

3. Be consistent across all platforms

Everything we talked about before—visual identity and tone of voice—should be the same across all platforms. You want everything to be unified and consistent. When one of your platforms doesn’t match the others, it could cause confusion and be considered off-brand.

Now we’re not saying that the content itself should be the same. We know that each social media platform is used for different purposes. Rather, the aesthetic elements such as color, logo, font, and writing style should travel across all platforms.

4. Post engaging content

Think about your audience and what kind of stuff they might be interested in seeing. What content could you post that will be of value to them? What visuals will grab their attention? Asking yourself these digital marketing questions will propel you to generate ideas that people will like.

There are many types of content you can post. You can present your company culture and offerings through compelling pictures and entertaining videos. In addition, you might even showcase your industry expertise through educational graphics and how-to guides.

People want to have a personal connection with your business, and content is the key to strengthening the bond between you and your target audience.

5. Get active and engage!

There’s a reason it’s called social media—it’s a place where you can socialize. Sure, it helps to have quality content. But, if you’re not actively engaging with the other users, then you’re doing yourself a disservice.

All these social media platforms exist for people to connect and build relationships with each other. So, it’s beneficial for your brand to interact with users, even if it’s just a like or comment. It sends the message that you are active, responsive, and—most importantly—human. 

If your audience is engaged and talking about your brand online, social listening can inform your brand awareness, competitor analysis, and industry trends. 

Remember that social media is a two-way street, and it’s instrumental to your brand that you give back and take part in the community.

6. Be authentic

Don’t present something that you’re not. It’s much easier and rewarding to be yourself. If you are a person who is casual and funny, reflect that in your branding strategy. Create memes and use internet lingo like “lol” and “OMG” if it suits who you truly are.

Don’t be afraid to comment and share news about causes and trends you care about. Things like that make you more relatable and likable. A potential customer is more likely to purchase a product or service from you if they can connect with you first.

What sets your brand apart from everyone else is your story, and only you know the best way to tell it.

Consistency Is Key

The most vital thing in branding is to always be consistent. Social media is an evolving landscape with new trends and developments happening every day. But as long as your brand stays the same, you will be solid. 

Don’t worry—you don’t have to navigate social media alone! People First Content can help you with social media branding, messaging, and posting. Get in touch with us to learn more!

Related Articles