Social media has completely changed the ways in which you should be communicating with your clients. Stay on top of these platforms with these three essential tips for social media branding:
- Listen What are people saying? Social media is a collaborative space, and you need to ask yourself, “What are people saying to me?.”
It’s no longer us just telling them the messages we want them to hear; clearly you will deliver some messages, but you really need to listen to feedback. You need to engage and be part of the collaboration with people, and then you need to work to influence.
- Engage It’s really important in most businesses that we ultimately find a way to encourage action and conversion of some sort. This is usually what we’re after, sometimes in the mid-term, sometimes in the short-term, sometimes that’s longer-term, but ultimately you’re trying to influence your audience.
Every time you embark on a social media platform for your business or brand you need to think, “How am I funneling and listening? How am I funneling the feedback I’m getting and listening from it? How am I going to engage with the feedback I’m getting? And how am I going to convert that sort of funnel of collaboration into my influence?”
- Influence So, where do you start? You need to have a plan. Start with the end in mind. Think about why you’re using certain platforms, and think about what you’re trying to achieve. You don’t have to open an account with every social media platform. It’s very legitimate to just start with one thing, and then evolve from there.
Think about your audience. In the old days we used to focus really on consumer demographics: “How old are they? Are they blue collar, white collar? How much money might they earn?” Now, because of the way people use social media, there’s a third tier, and it’s almost a focus on sociology, not just people’s psychology. The questions have become: “What are the user patterns? How are they behaving? What are their needs? What language or tone are they using in the context of this new media space?”
Decide your desired outcomes, then choose your social media platforms. Don’t choose platforms first and then decide outcomes later; that’s a ‘throw it out there and see what sticks’ kind of approach. Choose your social media engagement once you know what you’re trying to achieve. If you choose to use Twitter, that’s fine, but know why you’re using it. Don’t just use it because everyone else seems to be using it. Use it and use it smartly; otherwise, you’re putting a lot of time and energy into something that’s not going to give you any traction in the context of your business.
- Listen What are people saying? Social media is a collaborative space, and you need to ask yourself, “What are people saying to me?.”
