12 Easy steps to use social media for your brand or business
If your business or brand is not in social media, how do you reach out to your clients or customers? Based on statistics roughly 57% of the global population are social media users. That is about 4.5 Billion! Get your share of the pie and get your products or services at the top of your customer’s mind each time they log in to their social media networks!
12 easy roadmap
Self-Assessment
The first step is to assess where you are, where you want to be and what do you have to do to get there! Consider your goals on why you want to be on a social media network. It can be to find, connect and build relationships with like minded individuals as you do. You can make a mood board to help you really focus on what you really want to do for your social media plans and strategies. Get your mood board template here. It is FREE!
Your Ideal Client and their Social Media
Before you dive into any social media networks or platforms, consider who your ideal customers are, who you are speaking to, what social media platforms they use, what kind of business you are looking for and what do you want to convey to your audience. Find the social media platform that matches the type of your business. For example, Linkedin is largely used by business professionals, freelancers, etc. Instagram is popular for photos and videos of products or services.
Share educational contents about the thing that you do to develop your know like and trust factor and to show that you know what you are talking about and you are good at it!
Remember to pick the platform that you think you have a bigger opportunity, build your network and grow or expand to other social networks later.
Set your Goals
Goal-setting is an important part of any undertaking. This will help you identify in detail what you really want to achieve. Your goals will serve as your compass in your social media journey. Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) goals.
If you are just starting, your goals can be brand awareness. Post contents that clearly express who you are, what you do, what problems you solve. This can be measured by the number of people your posts reach.
If you have been in your industry for a long time, your goal can be to deepen your relationships with your audience. You can do this by posting contents that add value to them, like informative, inspiring or entertaining posts. Measure the performance of each of your posts by the number of comments you have from your audience.
Don’t forget to take advantage of the analytics your social media platform is made available for you. This will teach you how to handle each goal you set, like what kind of content resonates more with your audience and what’s not.
Your own style
The contents you share in your social media is an extension of your brand or business. Having a Social Media Kit, a unique look and feel of your brand, will help your audience immediately identify you once they see your post and this will help you create your own mark and stay top of mind with your audience. Get my brand kit here.
Eye-catching images and videos
Consider the objective of your post, what are you trying to communicate, and the best way for your audience to understand that. Visualize it in the most engaging way and define the format (images, videos, text or a combination), colors and fonts to use that best communicates your message.
Your contents must conform or adapt to each social media network culture
Be aware that each of the social media platforms may require different size, text and length. I suggest taking photos or images of your products or services at different angles, scenes or aspects to be able to choose one that best fits a particular social network and to the message that you want to convey to your audience. I recommend using Canva as it has tailored graphics, images and videos to the different social media platforms that you may have.
Teach, motivate, entertain
People who are close to me know how much I love baking. This love of baking of mine was rooted from a wonderful Chef from the Philippines who doesn't hold back teaching others what he knows. It has been a fad these days to charge anybody who wants to learn from anyone, but this amazing chef is different, that’s why he has millions of followers in his social media accounts whom he motivated to start their own business just by watching his fun way of baking and cooking lessons! This is a very vivid example of the Teach, motivate and entertain step in building your social media brand or business.
At first it can be really daunting to share your knowledge to others on social media. But once you get the hang of it, things will go smoothly. Sharing valuable contents most specially what you know is one way of developing your know, like and trust factor. By empowering others, teaching them what you do and showing them what you are good at will help you build your network and net worth.
Get really creative and share new ideas. You can ask your community what they want to learn from you to help you tailor your creative ideas to what they need and really engage with them. Don’t forget to get witty and wacky. Remember, if it makes you smile, it will make your audience smile too.
Plan Ahead
To be honest I am not really good at planning things because at the end of the day I feel stressed out once I see unchecked items on my to-do-list! Anyone here feel the same? I attended a webinar recently about activity tracking. You have to jot down every activity upon finishing each one of them. This has helped me a whole lot compared to having a to-do list. It eliminates that feeling of anxiety because there are no unchecked items but rather you have in front of you the activities that you have completed and you feel accomplished! This feeling of accomplishment will motivate you to add more activities the next day and the days after. At least, this has worked for me. The webinar suggested that you track down activities in line with your goals. For example, if your goal is family ties, you have to make time for your husband or wife and your children! Really get to know them. By tracking these activities, you will know how much quality time you really dedicate to your loved ones and will eventually help you enrich or rekindle that connection with them that will in the end affect your life as a whole. Because after all, family comes first (at least for me).
So, back to your Social Media Brand, I suggest that you sit down and write down the goals that you wanted to accomplish in your social media. Based on your goals, write down possible content ideas. Get your calendar and plot it down. You can do this weekly, monthly or whatever suits you. Don’t forget to take into account the Special Holidays and create content around them. You can post different topics each day, for example, Learning Monday for your teaching content, Thankful Tuesday, for the things or people you are grateful for, etc. It also helps to design different templates for each of your content types. This will save you a lot of time. Also, take advantage of the scheduling tools available in your chosen social media platform. Don’t forget your analytics!
Build your Community
Human connection is the key to growing a group of loyal communities who love what you do. They will spread the word and do the marketing for you! When just starting to build your community, keep in mind to share valuable contents to them, those that get people talking about, and build your KLT first. Include them in the journey of your brand. Teach them, inspire them and entertain them. Keep that human touch in your engagement regularly. Answer their comments but keep in mind to read your comment and ask yourself first,”would I say this to a friend?”, before hitting that post button. Find a routine that is convenient for you, say 30 minutes a day while you are drinking your tea or coffee. Repost or give them a shoutout if they tag you to show your appreciation and develop that strong bond with them. Show them that you value them and you are on your way to hitting that goal of having a community that interacts with you and with one another.
Make your Mark
It is now time to get out there! Keep in mind the different ways your customers or clients can get in touch with your business on and offline. Make each touchpoint an unforgettable journey for them by adding in some personal touches like a thank you note once they order from you and encourage them to take a photo of their order and ask them to tag your business when they post it on their social media accounts! Take a look at my Thank You Card Template here!
