These days, all businesses need to know how to use social media to maximize their chance of success. Social media is a fantastic way to engage with existing customers, attract new customers, and increase the awareness of your brand. Deciding on the best social media strategy can be difficult as there are so many possibilities. In this article, we will look at the best marketing methods to increase brand awareness on social media.
1. Choose Social Media Platforms that Suit Your Brand
Over 25% of us use social media every day which makes it one of the most effective ways to increase brand awareness. The first major decision you are going to have to make when planning your social media strategy is which social media platforms you want to utilize. There are hundreds to choose from but as long as you choose correctly, you will only need a few. Facebook is the most popular social media network in the world and is also the best for building brand awareness. Facebook is very user-friendly and enables you not only to attract followers but to engage with them in real-time.
Business to customer engagement is the most important factor in building a successful brand. Seth Winterer from Digital Logic says that one way to increase brand awareness through social media is to directly interact with your followers by having them leave comments, participate in contests, or take a poll. Businesses are able to do all of these things on Facebook. Customers love it when businesses reply to their comments or create a poll on social media as it creates a much more personal relationship between the customer and the brand.
While there are exceptions, most social media strategies should start by building an effective Facebook page. Other social media platforms that should be considered depend on the type of business. Instagram is far simpler than Facebook as it is just for image sharing. This is perfect however for businesses where just an image is enough like fashion designers or galleries.
2. Share Content that People Want to See
It sounds obvious but the number one factor in successful social media usage is the quality of your content. If you share quality content that is interesting, entertaining and unique, then people will click on it. Your brand awareness is intrinsically linked to your content and so you should give careful thought to what you are putting out there. Every social media post must support your brand messaging. Use analytics to see what content your customers want to see and whether your strategy is working. Research what your competition is doing. If there is a direct competitor with a really strong brand message that they are successfully portraying on social media, look at their content and see if there is anything you can learn from their contest strategy.
3. Expand Your Customer Base
It is so important to take into account who your audience is when planning your social media strategy must be carefully planned. Pinterest for example is a very popular social media platform amongst women so if you are planning to use Pinterest, you will need a totally different strategy to that of Facebook and Instagram. But you should not allow yourself to be limited in terms of your targeted audience. Most brands when they are first conceived are aimed at a certain demographic of people. This may be Millennials, women aged 31-49, retirement-aged men, or first-time mothers. The great thing about social media is that it is so universally used these days, you are able to expand your customer base far beyond the original target audience.
If you think about the most successful brands in the world today, it would be impossible to say exactly who their target audience is. Nike, McDonald’s, and Coca Cola have all transcended the idea of targeting one specific group. In the beginning, you should have a strong feeling about who your target audience is and must plan your strategy accordingly, as your brand starts to gain traction it is crucial to take as many people along with you as you can. Think about how to attract new customers through your content. The best brands have enormous customer bases that are multi-generational, multi-gender and multi-national.
With careful planning and a well-executed marketing strategy, social media is the best way to increase brand awareness. Decide which social media platforms are best suited for your brand’s message and then absolutely maximize your engagement with your followers. The more engagement you have, the more connected to your brand they will feel. Look at what your competitors are doing and see which of their ideas would work for you and areas where you can improve on what they are doing. Social media marketing is all about content, content, content. Every post must have a purpose and must reflect your brand’s central message.