CRyder Design

When you think of social media, you probably think of it as a way to connect with others. Most people use it to see what their friends from high school are up to or to stay in touch with a family member that moved across the country. However, not many people commonly think of social media as a tool that can be utilized to help grow their brand or small business. No matter what kind of content or product you are producing, there is a number of different platforms that you can use to help reach a broader audience.

Although social media is a great asset to have, knowing the right way to use it is important. When trying to find the right ways to utilize your platforms, research your competitors to consider what they are doing and how they are doing it. Take note of what is successful, and what isn’t as successful. It is easy to do a quick Google search in an attempt to find one cookie-cutter method to use on your own social media, but there is so much content that is easy to fall into and confuse yourself with along the way. Author Aimee Tariq states,“…I found that the problem most brands face with social media isn’t whether or not to take advantage of it, but how to take advantage of it. I’ve certainly fallen into the ‘information overload’ trap myself. I too have become overwhelmed with the plethora of tips, tricks, secrets and strategies being preached left and right” (“5 Smart Ways to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business in 2019”). There is an overwhelming amount of articles and blog posts trying to tell you the best way to go about using social media to grow your brand, but the truth is the best way is what works for you and your style. You may have to experiment with a number of different methods, mix and match, and rely on trial and error. However, that does not mean that you can’t utilize the tips and tricks that the internet provides for you.

I’m not here to give you a one size fits all methodology to building your brand on social media, but I am here to provide you with the basic concepts you should be focusing on as you find what method works for you. Author, Adam Coughlin states some of these concepts to be creating a follower base, injecting your brand, and starting a conversation, (“Tips to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business”). I think these concepts are a good place to start.

The first step that Coughlin did not include, but I will, is generating content. You will not gain a following without exciting content. That content should reflect the style your brand represents. Whether it be showcasing a new project, highlighting the behind-the-scenes process, promoting an event that you are hosting, etc. It is important to keep generating a variety of content to attract an audience.

Once you have that audience, you can build a follower base. Research companies or brands that have a similar aesthetic or goal as you and engage with them, reach out to potential new followers to promote your business, engage with existing followers through comments or direct messages. “Having followers will surely help you increase social media engagement. Those with under 100 followers will receive less engagement overall than brands with tens of thousands. Social media engagement can be a numbers game. If you have a bigger audience, you’ll be more likely to have a higher level of engagement on your posts” (“15 Ways to Increase Social Media Engagement Quickly”). The key here is, do not to be silent and do not be hesitant. The reality of the situation is, you will not always get a response right away or at all. However, there is a saying “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Even if they don’t respond to you, they might still look over your page and potentially even share it with a friend that may be interested in interacting with you!

Next comes injecting your brand. “What are the core values of your company? What is your personality? Social media allows you to inject that brand into everything you do, which can help your company stand out in a crowd” (“Tips to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business”). It is essential to make sure that your branding matches over all of your social media platforms, and matches the style and values of your brand. It should look generally the same over all platforms and should not be represented in an entirely different style from one to the next. Your brand aesthetic should be easily recognizable on all of your active platforms.

Starting a conversation is an essential step in this process. “If you want to increase social media engagement, you need to create content that people can engage with. It could be a poll on Twitter, a video people can relate to, a graphic that makes people laugh, or a product photo that encourages someone to tag their friends. Choose to post content that will receive a positive reaction from people” (“15 Ways to Increase Social Media Engagement Quickly”). If followers feel as though they are just being fed information without much interaction, they will likely not engage with the content you are putting out. However, if you make a point to communicate with your followers, ask what they think, let them ask you questions, and make your content a bit more engaging, your social media will develop to be more of a two-sided conversation. The different Instagram story features and comment sections are your friends!

The way you and your brand go about each of these steps should be personal to you and your journey. As previously mentioned, there is no one way that to go about social media that works for all brands. Take each of these steps and use what works best for you.