You’ve probably seen lists that include the best brands on social media. Depending on who’s article you are reading, the list often changes. And while these are usually big brand names, like Nike or Starbucks, there is no reason why a smaller brand can’t be just as successful.
What Brands Can Do To Have Success on Social Media?
So, how can you be successful on social media? You need to act like a member first and a brand second. As a brand, you are not on social media to just to sell a product or service; you are there to engage with your audience and learn more about them in order to improve your product/service offering.
In a previous post, I talked about the three E’s of social media posts: Educate, Engage, Empower and Entertain. If you are being strategic about your posts, they should fall into one of these categories. Also keep in mind these best practices:
- Engage often with your audience. Brands need to engage with their audience; they need to be aware of what posts encourage their followers to respond. Successful brands not only listen to their audience, but they also respond to comments/questions/concerns. An easy way to get your followers to engage is by asking them a question, such as ‘What feature would you like to see in our next update?’ ‘When did you first discover our product?’ Ask your audience what you can provide them to make their lives easier.
- Humanize your brand. Brands need to show their human side. It’s important to not get stuck in thinking about things in terms of B2B or B2C, but in terms of H2H (human to human). At the end of the day, there is a person behind your brand logo talking to another person (or person behind a brand logo); your audience needs to know that there is a real person behind that logo interacting with them. Social media profiles are a great way to humanize your brand and to put a face to a company. Social media lets audiences know you are a reputable business they can trust. People like seeing the behind-the-scenes activity; it makes these brands feel more accessible and human – like someone you want to do business with.
- Adjust strategy when something isn’t working. Successful brands know when they need to adjust their strategy if a message or platform isn’t working for them. They also recognize when something is resonating with their audience, and they continue to do it. Too many times I have seen brands using the exact same message on Twitter that they do on Instagram and Facebook. While the post may do well on the latter, there is no post engagement on Twitter, and yet, they continue to do the same thing. Brands need to understand how their audience uses a platform and respond in kind.
If you are not sure where to start, or if you are ready to begin integrating this into your strategy, I recommend starting with an analysis. This will help you understand what it and isn’t working and can help you better understand what your audience is looking for. If you still need more help, feel free to contact me today!