Making Social Media Social
Social Media is still at the forefront of an integrated marketing communications strategy. The struggle is real, as businesses continue to be challenged by their positioning within the social media ecosystem. Whether your goal is the be a social media influencer, an industry thought leader, or a go-to resource for information and news, we are here to help. For many businesses, social media can seem like an afterthought that’s too far removed from their service offering or product to be worth the effort. It’s confusing, it’s always changing, and there’s rarely a straight line between social media content and revenue. But social media is a “front door” to your business, often the first thing prospective clients and employees see when deciding if your “brand” speaks to them. That’s why it’s important that your social media channels have curb appeal, structure, and thought put into the way your organization’s story is told in real-time. We have partnered with numerous organizations across business categories in optimizing their social media within the context of their overall marketing direction. We are always happy to provide an audit of your social media and provide solutions to optimize your efforts. Let us know if we can help.
– Joseph Grano
President and Founder, Next-Mark
Here are 7 tips to help make your social media make sense and maximize your brand.
BE ORGANIC
While branded content helps drive a consistent, professional message to your audience, too much-branded content can make your organization or business appear boring. You can make your brand more personable and approachable by mixing in posts that feature team members out in the field or showcase a slice of life at the office. Remember, it’s social media, and organic posts often drive more audience engagement than branded content.
Curate “Evergreen” Posts
But it’s all about balance! That branded content we mentioned earlier is an important part of driving your core messaging. It’s where you can repeat themes related to your mission, vision, service offerings, and more. The “evergreen” in “evergreen posts” refers more specifically to the fact that these posts aren’t tied to any specific date. They’re broad and are viable at any time, as opposed to organic content which is more “in the now.”
Video is King
Simply put, a video plays on an even greater amount of emotional appeal than a single image. In a well-produced 15-second video, an organization can capture a client’s journey, express their values, and speak directly to their target market without even adding a voiceover. But even with “organic” videos shot on a decent smartphone, they simply get more clicks, views, and engagement because they force scrollers to stop and pay attention.
Fostering Creativity
A lot of organizations spend too much time systematizing or commoditizing creativity. At Next-Mark, our success is built on giving each of our team members the space to be creative without fear of criticism or failure. We let the creative process breathe and flow so that results are fresh, innovative, and successful.
Rule of 9s
When you click on a business or organization’s Instagram account, the first thing you see after their brief bio, link, and spotlighted reels is the thing that everyone uses Instagram for: PICTURES. Without getting into neuroscience, the human brain loves things in 3s, so it’s important to ensure most of your first 9 images tell a consistent story. A good mix of colorful, professional imagery with organic content helps you tell a well-rounded story in the first 9 posts.
Likes vs. Engagement
This distinction causes a lot of confusion for businesses and organizations. While likes are a simple, easily understood metric, engagement is a more nuanced formula that takes into account likes, shares, and a little metric on Facebook called “People Talking About This.” Engagement metrics paint a more complete picture of how much awareness your brand is generating and is more akin to tracking “word of mouth” buzz in your audience.
Integrate Your Story
With all the nuances of each platform, it becomes all the more difficult to keep it all “on brand.” Every single post does not have to explicitly allude to your organization’s values, mission, vision, service or product offerings, but a random sampling of your posts should come close to hitting all the most important messaging points and language of your brand.
The Medium is the Message
This refers to the way a media channel can determine the way a message is conveyed. What this means for social media is that it’s important to consider the mainstream usage of the channel. For example, Twitter has gradually become a platform for breaking news and stories, while Instagram has become saturated with influencers and professional content creators. Make sure you’re using the right content for the right platform.