With 71% of consumers more likely to recommend a brand to others if they’ve had a positive social media interaction, utilising social media effectively can give a huge boost to your business’ reach and reputation.
Social media has enormous power to influence consumer decisions, so you simply can’t afford to miss out with a bland, dull and soulless online presence.
Worried you’ve fallen victim to being “boring” on social media? Not to worry. At PMW, we know a thing or two about managing your social media. Here are our top five tips on how to craft a social media presence that will help you connect with customers and build your brand.
1. Prioritise communicating over promoting
Your social media page should be focussed on building a rapport with your audience, so don’t make the mistake of using your social media feed purely for churning out promotional content. Engage your customers through Instagram polls or the question box feature, listen to and produce the content that they want to see, interact with their comments and repost reviews. Not only does this approach create a loyal customer base that isn’t bored to death of a feed spammed with promo, but it also indicates to any new customers that they will be valued and cared about, not just viewed as cash machines.
A good piece of advice to bear in mind is the 80/20 rule. 80% of your content should be focused on resonating with your audience, be it through interactions with them or entertainment focused content. The remaining 20% is where the promotional aspect comes into play, and with the solidified grounding of your customer relationship gained in the 80%, you may find that your promotional content gains more traction than it would otherwise.
2. Understand the importance of user-generated content
Sharing user-generated content (UGC) is a great way to connect with your customers and build a trusting relationship with them.
UGC is any content related to your brand that’s created by your customers. For instance, a fashion brand might see posts of customers wearing clothes from their store, or a theme park might find videos of visitors having a great time at their attraction. Research suggests that people are 2.4 times more likely to view content as authentic when it is user-generated, compared to when it is created by a company.
To find UGC, look out for customers tagging your brand in their posts, search for hashtags relating to your business, or repost any great written reviews and testimonials you receive.
You can also encourage your followers to create UGC relating to your brand. Popular methods include competitions and hashtag campaigns, but you can really get creative. Anything that gets customers involved with your brand in an authentic and engaging way will create a positive and trusting experience for your audience.
A strong user-generated focus builds a community around your business, letting your customers feel as though they are participating with the development of your brand, instead of watching from a distance.
3. Don’t underestimate the power of video
Imagine you’re scrolling through photos on your social media feed, and you come across a video, prompting you to lift your thumb and pause scrolling for a moment. Even for a few seconds, this little nudge to the algorithm means that video is gauged as content that more people stop and interact with. As a result, video content is pushed out to a greater number of people than image content, because the algorithm knows it receives greater engagement and views – clever, right?
Making video clips and giving platforms such as TikTok a go can be really valuable to your brand. But don’t get too bogged down in worrying about creating the perfect video – even some simple animated text or a small GIF can be enough to satisfy the algorithm.
4. Stay true to your brand
Your social media feed needs to show your customers who you are. This means making sure that your posts are consistent with the values and aesthetics of your brand. Most social media platforms are very visually-led, so the visual language of your feed – such as the colours and fonts you use – is important, and should be consistent with your company’s branding.
You should also develop a tone of voice that reflects the personality of your brand, as well as producing the content that is right for you – whether that’s informational/instructional videos and tutorials, employee profiles, case studies, or posts that are just for fun.
When it comes to responding to social media trends, make sure you think before you post. Social media is a fast-paced world, and new trending content formats are constantly arising. It can be great to jump on a trend if it will actually add value to your feed, but avoid swerving from one trend to the next without a thought to whether it will resonate with your customers. Make sure you’re always led by what will work for your brand and audience.
5. Do a few things really, really well
Don’t make the mistake of thinking you need to have a presence on every social media platform going. For small to medium businesses, it can be best to do a few things, or even one thing, really well. Having a great social media presence takes a lot of time, commitment and dedication to creating content, replying to customers and keeping up with changes on the platform. If you know you don’t have hours a day to dedicate to your social media accounts, then pick one or two platforms to focus on, post once or twice a week, and do a quick check every day to reply to any comments and share any new user-generated content.
Still finding the prospect of updating your social media a little overwhelming? It might be time to consider hiring a team with the time and expertise to take your social media strategy to the next level. We get excellent results for all our clients across a range of sectors and platforms. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for more support, by calling 01403 458129, or emailing info@pmwcom.co.uk.
