How to Create a Brand Identity Using Social Media
Thanks to internet entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg (co-founder of Facebook), Reid Hoffman (co-founder of LinkedIn), Jack Dorsey (CEO of Twitter), and many more; brands are given an abundance of opportunities to expand their image by using the internet. Social media is at the forefront of this direction towards online business advertising, and is playing an increasingly important role in brand identity today.
We see it more often than not; Large Fortune 500 companies all the way to small family owned stores are putting their businesses on channels like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Why are they doing this?
- Social media is cost efficient. Signing up is free, and paid advertisements can cater to almost any budget.
- Reach your target audience. According to Statista, “78 percent of U.S. Americans had a social media profile, representing a five percent growth compared to the previous year.”
- Manage your campaigns. Promotion of events and services are easy to do though social media and are effective for driving brand awareness.
Setting up an account for any platform is relatively quick and simple to do. The part that will separate your business from others is how well you can create and spread your brand’s identity. The amount of people that use social media is a double-edged sword. Sure it’s a great chance to spread awareness considering how many users you can reach, but at the same time it’s difficult to distinguish value from your company that’s different from others.
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There are a few guide points every business should follow on how to successfully develop their name and identity on social media.
Which Platform Works Best?
It goes without saying that the more social channels your business is on, the higher the chance of someone viewing its profile. That being said, some platforms are more effective than others depending on what industry your business is in, and what market you hope to reach.
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The mammoth platform and most popular by far, for online social interactions is certainly Facebook. According to Statista, “As of the second quarter of 2016, Facebook had 1.71 billion monthly users.” With such a large user base, Facebook allows businesses to build a presence in the online community and reach as extensive of a chain as possible. Facebook tends to be a bit more personal, so this is the platform you’ll want to leverage for creating a more intimate connection and humanizing your brand identity.
This channel also provides a great and relatively cheap, paid for advertising tool for businesses to gain a bigger amount of reach and engagement with consumers. Leveraging advertising in Facebook is a great way to maximize your business’s potential in creating an increase in brand recognition and a strong brand identity.
Everyone loves to tweet. Whether it’s just a quick life update or a post about a tech news article, people love to engage with what’s out there in the world. Twitter is a great tool to develop the voice of your brand identity, as the posting frequency is higher, and it’s more verbal than other platforms. The value of Twitter relies on how viral your post can be. The amount of people that like what you post and how willing they are to spread it, is what determines how popular your brand can be on this channel. The usage of hashtags and how appealing your content is can help your business gain momentum in the world of tweeting.
Making content posting easier, Twitter recently announced that: “photos, videos, GIFs, polls, and Quote Tweets no longer count toward your 140 characters”. If you have content that can easily go viral then Twitter is your place to be; if not then Twitter can be a difficult place for your business to gain traction in when it comes to building a significant base of consumers on social media.
The photo sharing giant of social media marketing, Instagram allows users to post pictures to their followings with tremendous reach. With 500 million monthly active users, the potential your business’s pictures can have of spreading brand awareness could be pretty significant. A platform driven by beautiful photography, Instagram is the right tool to create a visual identity for your brand. Instagram adds a personality to companies and can be a great tool to have in building a brand’s image.
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Hands down, LinkedIn is the largest social media network for professionals and companies that are in a B2B field. With around 450 million members, LinkedIn is a fantastic tool for businesses to build corporate relationships and move on new sales leads. This is the place to build your corporate brand identity between peers, coworkers and potential clients. Connecting with industry wide updates and news articles can help your business build an identity as a brand expert. LinkedIn is a platform that is strictly for people looking to build a rapport in the professional world and one that is predominantly only meant for serious users.
When should you Post?
Once you understand which platforms work best to create a strong identity in different ways for your business, the next step is to learn when to post. According to Hubspot, “Different businesses may find different days and times work best for them. In fact, timing often depends on the platform you’re using, how your target audience interacts with that platform, the region(s) you’re targeting, the content of your post (e.g. funny or serious), and your goals (e.g. clicks versus shares).”
There is a science to posting. And if you want your brand identity to be observed by your target audience, getting in their schedule is important. Strong correlations of how consumers interact with your social media presence, makes it important to know when to post. Understanding the industry you are in and relevant statistics regarding to the times to post, can be crucial for your firm’s brand. There are plenty of articles out there on the web, suggesting the best times and days of the week to upload content. However, it is up to your own brand to test the waters and determine what works best in engaging with consumers. Social media is a great playground to test your brand identity and find out something about your brand placement that you might not have known before. Learn from your consumers, and define yourself according to how you’re providing them a solution.
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Engage, Engage, Engage!
Posting consistently on social media is good because it builds a presence, however to really separate yourself from the rest of your competitors, engaging with users is a great way to build and maintain a brand identity. Facebook is especially a great platform to answer a customer’s questions, concerns, and inquiries they might have about your business. Doing so, will let your industry’s users know that your business is not only knowledgeable in its field, but is also willing to give support.
Engaging can also be defined as spreading the sources of information with your consumers. Getting your brand out there will let people know that your business is active and up to date with market trends. Sharing, liking, and even commenting on relevant news articles pertaining to your company’s industry, can tremendously help in creating this brand awareness.
Comprehending how and where your company fits within social media lines, is one of the biggest steps in assembling a prominent social presence and establishing your brand identity with your consumers. By leveraging each platform for its strengths, you can create a strong brand image, voice and reputation. Strengthen your community following and consumer engagement while creating a strong brand identity through social media.
About the author:
Jacob is a creative content writer for the digital marketing agency Aumcore. He enjoys writing content about social media and learning about current Mobile SEO trends. His style of content writing is both informative and intriguing to the reader. He strives to help businesses grow and succeed.
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