8 “do’s” & “don’ts” for building your brand on social media

In today’s social media-driven world, everyone is fighting for their place in the feed. But keep in mind, anything you publish can and will be used either for you or against you in the consumer market.

So, when it comes to business branding on social media, how do you ensure your followers and customers are enjoying their experience on your profile? Here are a few ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ to keep in mind as you build your brand and expand your social network.

Don’t: Just Sell

Do you love that pushy salesman who follows you around the store or car lot pressuring you with every item for sale and why you should buy it from him? No, nobody does. So, don’t be a pushy salesman on social media, either. While your social profiles are a great place to showcase what it is you have to offer, people do not log in to their social media account with hopes of being bombarded with constant sales messages about your business. They WILL tune out your posts, or just unfollow you altogether.

We recommend the 80/20 rule when it comes to content marketing on social media: 80% valuable, 3rd party, user-generated or value-based content; 20% branded content that highlights a product or service. If you blog regularly, and your blog provides value and doesn’t push sales, this can be part of that 80%.

Do: Focus on Providing Value

Back to that 80/20 rule… so, what is ‘valuable’ content? Think of your desired customer or client – what do they like? What topics or information might they be interested in? It doesn’t have to directly correlate to your business or product, it just needs to be interesting to your audience.

Remember, these people are on social media all the time, but they aren’t going to be ready and willing to buy something every single day. You want to capture and hold their attention so that when they are ready to buy, your brand or service is at the top of their list.

Don’t: Neglect Your Followers

Customer service is just as important on social media as it is in retail stores, over the phone or in ecommerce. The consequences of ignoring customers on social media are high. Conversocial reports that 97% of potential customers are affected by other customers’ comments on your page.

Further, 88% of consumers report being less likely to buy from you after seeing unanswered questions on your profile, and 83% of social media users have abandoned a purchased after receiving poor customer service. Why? Because engaging with your followers and providing good customer service is what ultimately builds brand trust. And trust is key to making sales.

Don’t: Get Defensive Towards Negativity

If you receive a negative comment or negative review, you may instinctively want to respond defensively. While you should respond to every comment, good or bad, be reasonable. Remember – your replies to both good and bad feedback are not just a response to that individual person, they are publicly displaying your integrity and customer service.

Do: Engage with Your Audience

When building a brand profile, it is important to consistently monitor your post engagement and always respond. Social media is a two-way street; if you want people to continue to follow and engage with your content, you need to show them some love by engaging back. This is also a great way to get to know your audience and tailor your content to suit going forward.

Don’t: Use Every Social Network

Determining where to focus your time and resources when it comes to social media is key to maximizing efficiency and profitable outcomes. For some companies, LinkedIn and Twitter may be the most beneficial. For others, it might be Instagram, Facebook and other sites. So, how do you choose?

Be where your customers are. Start by searching for mentions of your brand on various social sites, or stalk your competitor’s activity to see where they are receiving the most engagement. Further, if you find that a social channel you’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into isn’t driving as high a level of engagement as others, cut ties and put more effort where it’s paying off.

Do: Plan Ahead

Planning ahead by using a content calendar is invaluable for tracking progress, allocating resources, building credibility and staying relevant. Using it to maintain a balance of different types of content ensures you will offer a fresh perspective for your followers. Maintaining a consistent and relevant presence on social media is also a great way to build credibility and brand trust; a strategic content calendar is an easy way to do this.

Do: Track Your Results

Listen first, talk second. This concept is key when building and tweaking your social media strategy. Pay close attention to your analytics to identify patterns and gain valuable insights about what type of content your audience is responding to the most, and what strategies are paying off with conversions. We recommend reviewing your analytics on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

It takes time and practice to fully understand how these do’s and don’ts apply to you brand. But, following these guidelines can ensure you are applying best practices to grow your social media presence for your brand.

At Thrive, we focus on building relationships with our social media clients so that we can develop and execute strategies that will best serve their individual business needs. Each and every client is different, but we strive to stick to these (and other) do’s and don’ts any time we are posting on a client’s behalf. By doing so, we publish content that is compelling, relevant and engaging in order to maintain and attract followers and customers for the brands we represent.

Looking for help with your social media strategy? Let’s chat.