7 Steps To Level Up Your Business With Social Media
As of January 2019, there were 3.4 billion users of social media – that’s almost half of the recorded world’s population.
Although here in Cayman we have a slightly smaller pool of users...there’s no denying social media packs a punch for your brand awareness and customer loyalty and should be one of your key tactics to launching and maintaining your business successfully.
It’s safe to say social media should be an integral part of your business, from initial launch to supporting continued growth and we’re here to show you how to use it to level up your brand or business.
With seven major platforms to consider, it can be tricky to know where to start! When consulting, strategising and implementing social media for our clients at Lustic Media, we like to break it down into 7 objectives to consider in your social media strategy:
1. What’s your story?
It seems like an obvious place to start, but for good reason.
Time and time again, marketing campaigns that tell a story are the ones that stick. Consumers want to engage with honest, good content and good content always tells a story.
Ask yourself, what is my brand all about, why does it matter and how is my story different from the rest? All of your marketing efforts should reflect this and don't be afraid to let your audience in, Show them the behind the scenes, how its made and how you do it, this will not only show them your story, it will make them a part of it too.
2. Who are you talking to?
Defining your audience is key when it comes to marketing your business on social media. You want to make sure you’re sending the right message to the right people at the right time, to get the most engagement with your brand.
We focus on our audiences as real-life people, and it makes it much easier to speak to them! Create an audience based on the profile of an actual person, think about who they are, what they like, where they work and live, what they earn and hold old they are, they types of products the buy, where they vacation etc to create a full picture. Based on the audience you create, you can target them with different messages.
3. Define your content
Your social content is anything you’re putting out on social media whether it be images, video or copy. It’s best to decide in advance the type of message you want your content to send, the type of content you realistically can produce and whether or not you’ll do it in-house.
It doesn't always have to be new ideas, but we’d recommend repeating several content messages (perhaps 3-4) which echo your overall brand identity. Keep things fresh enough to keep your audience engaged, by keeping things consistent enough so that they know what to expect.
4. Choose your platforms (wisely)
It’s better to be on two platforms and doing them well rather than be on 5 and doing them poorly. A poorly managed presence on multiple channels will do you brand more harm than good. Think about your audience and the type of content you’ll be producing to decide what your core platforms should be.
We’d always recommended Facebook and Instagram for brands as the best starting point. Instagram in particular has performed the best overall with continual year-on-year growth. As a brand, have a sit down (or call us) and hash-out which platforms will work best for your audience, and stick to them.
“Social marketing eliminates the middlemen, providing brands with the unique opportunity to have a direct relationship with their customers.”
5. Be realistic
The hardest part about being on social is comparing your brand to others. If your business is selling windows and doors…it might not perform as well as on Instagram as a hotel on Seven Mile beach, for somewhat obvious reasons.
Being realistic about how far social will take your brand and what the goals of it are, will help you to manage expectations if you don't see likes going through the roof. Always remember, the impact of your brand is not measured in likes, but in the value you provide your customers. You can have a more success as a drainage company using social to create brand awareness than a hotel with loads of likes on Instagram but no-one staying there half the year.
6. Get online
The best way to have people engage with your brand is to engage with them!
People want to feel part of a community online, and engaging with your audience makes them feel as though you are all part of the same community.
Firstly, post and do it frequently, we would recommend 3x (or more) per week.
Secondly, don't post and ghost! It’s better to post less and engage more, these channels are built on networking and you need to do it in order to receive engagement back. Spend a few minutes each day engaging with your audience and also your audience’s audience to get the most out of your platform.
7. Partner Up With Influencers
Partnering with well aligned brands and influencers can help your brand through association. If it’s not feasible for you to allocate budget for this, see what you can give away for free to encourage key players to partner with you or share your product. This way you can grow brand awareness, but also align customer interests with something new that is recommended by a brand they already engage with.
“Social Media is about the people! Not about your business. Provide for the people and the people will provide for you.”
Social media is an incredibly powerful tool which allows you to connect with customers and clients while providing you valuable insight into your audience’s behaviour and interests. Used correctly it can be an amazing tool to grow and expand your business. We hope these tips have shed some light on the benefits of social media and how your brand can utilise it best.
It’s not always easy, but it is meant to be fun! If in doubt, try and try again, social media is a constantly evolving tool and there is no quick fix to mastering it!
If you feel in over your head or have any questions whatsoever, give us a shout.
We’d be more than happy to help create a social media strategy that works for you!