Social media marketing can get pretty complicated because there are so many variables that fluctuate from brand to brand and industry to industry. With that said, there are some common variables that remain true no matter what kind of business you're trying to promote through social.
Here are 7 Elements of Every Successful Brand on Social Media.
1. They know their audience
This means everything from what time they're online to what types content resonates with their fan base, down to what colors their followers react to.
Knowing your audience is a key factor of setting up a successful social media presence for your business. Audience insights will help you figure out what what kind of content to produce, where to find your target base, and will give you ideas on how to make your product or service relevant in your audience's lives.
2. They don't waste time on networks that don't work
Ever notice that not all brands cover all networks. Expending energy on a network that doesn't yield any results for your business is just not a good use of time and resources.
You should try and test where you can, but it's more useful to spend time further developing the networks and campaigns that offer a return on your activities.
3. They have clear and consistent branding
Visual content gets better reach than plain text posts. But, lets now throw in the fact that more people are getting better at creating content - not only do you have to keep the quality of your content in mind, but you also need to consider how to create content that your audience recognizes as yours as soon as they set eyes on it.
People and brands that have the most successful social media presences take the time to create a visual "experience" for their customers by incorporating brand colors, editing style, lighting and/or framing for all the photos and videos they publish.
4. They've developed a clear "voice"
Visuals and your brand voice go hand-in-hand. You want fans to know they've landed on your brand's account and submerge them in your brand experience. Your voice on social media relates to the language in captions and messaging, to showing the "personality" behind your brand.
Clearly defining your voice and tone can attract the right people to your account, as well as reinforce the relationship between brand and fans.
5. They track and measure results
You won't know how far you've come unless you know where you've been.
Brands that are successful on social media keep track of the health of their accounts and campaign results. Analyzing your account will give you insight into the growth (or lack thereof) of your social media presence. You can replicate the activities that have been proven to work and stop doing the things are aren't bringing you any results.
6. They define benchmarks and set goals
Setting benchmarks and goals is the next part to analyzing your social media accounts. If you've been feeling a little stagnant in your social media efforts, or you just need to re-energize your strategy, try setting benchmarks for yourself. These can be based on industry standard benchmarks or on your account's past performance.
Having a goal to work towards or benchmark to beat will help you get motivated to increase your results.
7. They leverage influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is a great way to get in front of new eyes, and get more content into your own feed. Brands that are successful on social media take advantage of influencer marketing by creating content based on influencers, or creating influencer campaigns that fit their industry. This can include inviting an influencer to take over your account and more.
The ultimate goal is to align yourself with the right influencers for your business, to get your product or service (as well as your social presence) out to people you may have not been able to reach before.
I hope this post helps you towards understanding how to build a successful brand on social media.
This post was originally published on Dhariana Lozano's blog.