Council Post: How Brands Can Bring Authenticity To Social Media: Three Tips
Social media continues to be an intriguing, exciting and personable way to gain exposure for your brand and your mission. As most networks continue to grow their number of active users and optimize the user experience, methods to grow rapidly change. Although changes in social media are inevitable, below are a few solid tips I’ve learned to use social media for your business as effectively as possible.
You’ve heard it before: A picture is worth a thousand words. Always aim to have your photo or video convey the entire message you’re trying to spread. Ensure you have specific brand guidelines and establish an overall “vibe” for your company that you follow in all your content.
You can consider hiring professionals to shoot your content and edit your visuals. But remember that the content itself doesn’t need to look overly professional or top-of-the-line. I’ve found that user-generated content and customer testimonials perform the best, as this type of content gives the audience an authentic look at your product. In my experience, people are much more likely to pay attention to content that gives a sense of relatability. Keep in mind that whatever content you feel matches the message you’re conveying, it should be simple and to the point.
Communication is always key. I find the best way to not turn away the audience is to communicate authentically. Like I mentioned before, you should have your brand’s “tone” in place before you relay any messaging on social media. Some companies like to keep their captions trendy and current with society’s lingo, while others use a more professional style.
That’s the thing about social media: There is no right or wrong. Whatever works for your company specifically is best. There are many “tricks” for using specific hashtags and buzzwords, but remember that your message must be true to your product or brand. Hashtags exist to make your content searchable by topic, so while it can help to add them when broadening an audience, they are not the end-all-be-all, and they are not applicable to use on all social networks. It is important that your messaging and structure vary according to the platform you are using.
It can be hard to truly get a gauge of your post value when looking at metrics. With ever-changing algorithms and everyday users engaging less and less with posts, it can seem discouraging when you feel you are not getting the likes or comments you had planned. While those things are quantifiable, what can bring true value is the number of people who clicked on your website or hyperlink to your product. It is essential to make sure each post has a link to the item you are promoting to make it easier for the customer to check out.
Make social media work for your business. It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers, but remember your platform is your chance to show the world your products and your mission.
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