Keeping your brand current in social media conversations is one of those tasks that just never ends; it’s the sort of thing that can’t just be crossed off of a monthly to-do list. Rather, keeping your brand relevant in the sm world is an ongoing challenge that requires you to continually ask yourself how and with what audience you’re communicating.
The brands that are popular now in social media didn’t get that way by chance. Someone came up with a strategy that caused the popularity of their brand to bloom and grow, and while each strategy naturally has it’s own set of goals, there are some universal actions taken by all these brands that can help you stay relevant no matter your goals.
• The time to update is always. Whichever social site is the mainstay of your branding efforts, be sure to update your content continually and consistently, and keep in mind that each site is different. LinkedIn, for instance, should require at the most one post per day outside of normal job postings. The same holds true for Facebook. On the other hand, Pinterest and Instagram require a lot of content linked closely to the time of its posting. Twitter sits right in the middle—tweeting about five times a day should be about right. Stick to a schedule for updates–set reminders or consider automatic content updates! (Ask Us!)
• Engage the audience. Use your online social presence to talk with your followers, not at them. When you add content, ask what the viewer thinks. Engage followers in a conversation that promotes a back-and-forth interaction, and answer questions soon and accurately to get the best results.
• Lead with your ideas. When an event becomes the topic of the day, be the first one who posts an opinion on it. Take a position—don’t ever try to be even-handed unless that’s the characteristic you’re going for in your campaigns.
• Understand your audience. Don’t switch topics on an audience. They have begun to follow you because you’re saying something of interest to them. If you switch topics, therefore, they’ll leave. Period. Understand that this tactic applies across all platforms of online social interests.
• Know your plan. It’s key to not just go online at random and post wherever you feel like posting. You may be surprised to find that the most popular places online, though seemingly casual, all have plans for engaging with their audiences! There’s a message going out, and it’s going to those specific online places where it will have the biggest impact. Can you say the same for your message? Do you know what your message is? Who do you want to reach out to? When? Where? How? And why?
Regardless of your strategy or goals, it’s important to keep the above tips in mind when engaging your audience with your brand through social media. People like consistency and feeling like they’ve been listened to. With a little planning and clarification of your plan on your brand’s side, you should be able to connect with your audience online and build your brand in a positive way.