Best Bets for Branding with Social Media

ThinkstockPhotos-477402918With the explosion in popularity of social media platforms, a wealth of marketing initiatives are within the grasp of any and every business with a desire to get the word out about who they are and what they do. And isn’t that why you’re in business, to advertise the awesome products and amazing services you offer?

Social media is uniquely positioned to do just that and do it in a huge way. By establishing and growing brand recognition, directing you toward qualified leads, and improving customer relationships, social media can rocket your business to a new level.
Study these “best bets” for getting the most from your social media marketing strategies.

1. Understand It’s all About Community. For a lot of people, a lot of the time, social media is an easily accessed source of entertainment, a fun way to chill. That means the advertising copy created for an email list isn’t going to net great results when repeated via social media. Why? Because what gets attention by landing in an email inbox, won’t get the same attention when splashed across social media. It just doesn’t work that way.

Engaging content is what grows a brand via social media channels. So, the goal has to be more than garnering followers. You need followers who engage with and pay attention to your content. HINT: social media does have the word “social” in it. So insert some personality, humor, and spunk into your content. That in turn will inject an element of fun into your brand because that’s the kind of content people will LIKE, SHARE, Retweet, and remember. It’s that engagement and interaction that will net awareness for your brand and accumulate followers, leads and customers.

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2. Take a Lesson from Starbucks. With nearly 36 million Facebook “fans,” Starbucks has positioned itself in the very center of the public eye. Their massive online branding strategy has paid off, due in large part to their focus being on the consumer rather than the company itself. Their offline brand values — honesty, sincerity, and connecting with its consumers — have been intentionally carried over to their online marketing initiatives. Through aggressive reaching out and connecting with the consumer, they’ve established a unique and compelling online personality.

Their attention to interacting with Facebook commenters earns points in the “caring about the customer” department. Whether the comments concerns a praise or a complaint, a prompt, personal response will always leave a good impression.

3. Make Consistency a Priority. Who you are, what you stand for, what you offer and how you differ from the competition should be disseminated across all social media platforms with the utmost consistency. While the “how” of conveying the message can and should be unique to each social media channel, the meat of the message must be consistent with the company’s brand values. All ideas, advice, commentary, promotions — everything must clearly support and reflect your company’s brand, no matter where it’s shared.

4. Avoid the News Feed “Blacklist.” Earlier this year, based on feedback from users, Facebook adjusted the algorithms used to determine what type of content will get the most “space” on newsfeeds. People noted that posts with these traits had less appeal due to the “too promotional” feel they created:

  • Posts with the sole purpose of pushing a product or app
  • Posts that push entry to a promotion or sweepstakes with no real context
  • Posts that reuse exact content from ads (Hmm, see No. 1.)

In short, people what to see more stories from friends and the pages they care about and less promotional content.

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Steve Isenberg

Steve Isenberg
Steve Isenberg is president of ASJ Partners, a marketing agency for the staffing industry. He can be reached at steve.isenberg@asjpartners.com

Steve Isenberg

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