Kiah SweeneyHow To Build Your Brand With Social Media
Updated: Jun 14, 2020
Social Media can be the ultimate struggle bus, amirite? You’re trying your absolute best, but something just isn’t clicking. You’re not gaining followers or growing engagement, you’re posting multiple times a day, participating in groups, thinking about buying followers 🤔(NEVER DO THIS), but the results you’ve been longing for, just aren’t there.
Then you ask yourself, “WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?” with your hands in the air and exhaustion being your most obvious emotion. Girl (or Guy…. I see you 😉) believe me, I get it.
Social media is a tough one to crack that takes patience and creativity.
Your goal is to gain a high-quality & authentic audience from scratch. That takes time and effort. When you don’t see results right away, it makes it very easy to lose faith in yourself and just give up, we've all been there. Once you take note of a few simple tips, you will be able to expedite the process of growing your social media and building the Know, Like and Trust Factor that we so desire. (shoutout to @madison.tinder for teaching us about KLT Factors; you rock girl!!)
So you already know that social media presence for your brand is a MUST, right? Ok, now you have them set up, what’s next?
This is a question I get asked by my clients regularly: “Once I have my social media accounts, how do I build my brand?!”
Fabulous question…. Let’s dive into my tips and tricks on how to build your brand with social media! tip #1 beating the algorithm
Algorithm: al - go - rhythm (noun) Word used by programmers when they do not want to explain what they did.
Tell me, how many times have you heard the word ‘algorithm’ regarding social media? Countless, I presume. This is the all-knowing formula that decides whether your account grows or stays stagnant. It’s a mean little b* if you let it be. Let me break it down for you.
Social Media platforms all have one goal: “I want to keep ALLLLL the people on my platform for as long as possible”. The algorithm for each platform is designed to make this one goal happen.
Instagram, for example, can work in any of the following situations:
You Post ---> Instagram shows it to 10% of your total audience ---> People start liking and commenting ----> Instagram starts showing to more users ----> They engage ---> Instagram puts you on the Explore Tab / Ranks high on Hashtag pages ---> You Grow! 🥳
You Post ---> Instagram shows it to 10% of your total audience ---> People don’t like and comment ----> Instagram reduces your reach ----> You don’t grow! 😭
You Post ---> Instagram shows it to 10% of your total audience ---> People start liking and commenting ----> Instagram starts showing to more users ----> They don’t engage ---> Instagram reduces your reach ----> You don’t grow! 😭
Next time you post, you need to ask yourself a few questions. Will my post accomplish the goal of people staying on the platform longer? Will my content keep them connected and engaged so that the algorithm shares to more users and they can engage too?
2020 is all about: Long Captions (keep your audience engaged and reading your posts longer) Story Telling Having a Feed With Value Building Genuine Relationships Creating Your Own Content (stop reposting what others say)
tip #2 knowing your ideal client
Do you have an idea of who your DREAM client is? Good, because knowing your ideal client is a truly important piece to the puzzle. It’s going to help build that successful brand that you’re after. Now this dream client may not actually be a real client that you will encounter. I want you to think of it this way: a list of characteristics that you desire your brand’s audience to possess, the more detailed, the better!
Knowing who you are talking to will help you know exactly what to say. Once you know your ideal client, you’ll be able to build a social media marketing strategy around them. The plan will allow you to connect with that ideal client in a successful way.
You may think you know your ideal client, but….you could be wrong. Anyone? Anyone? (come on mean girls fans).
Most brands, small businesses, and entrepreneurs have a broad and generalized idea of who they’re talking/marketing to. This is exactly why they are struggling. They haven’t dived in deep enough.
Do you want to have a clearer view of who your ideal person is so that you can start posting with confidence and generating a real connection with your audience?
Well, as usual, “You’ve Come To The ‘Write’ Place!” I’ve created the Brand My Social Playbook. A step by step playbook to help you build a strong social media presence with your strategy - including finding out who your ideal client is and what to say to them!!
Completely free — download your copy now!
tip #3: be where your ideal client is
After you figure out WHO your ideal client is, don’t you think you should be WHERE they are? 🙋🏾♀️I do!
You DO NOT need to be on every single social media platform. Quality over quantity means so much more.
Choosing one - three platforms to give your full attention allows you to convey your message to your ideal client in the best way. You’re not sabotaging yourself by posting the same content on ALLLLL the platforms just to say you posted. You’re taking the time and posting the quality content that matters to that particular audience on that particular platform. I’m all about giving your audience the best!
But how do I know which social media platform is the right one for me to be apart of?
Again, fabulous question. Now let me ask you one. Did you figure out your ideal client yet? If you did and you’re clear as day on who it is, you already know where they’re at online. If you haven’t figured it out by now, that’s where you should be too!!
Is it Instagram? LinkedIn? Pinterest? Facebook? Youtube? Twitter? — deep down, you know!
tip #4: use your brand voice to tailor to the platform
Now let’s discuss you and your brand for a sec.
When you’re growing your social media for your brand, you’re essentially finding those die-hard fans who get excited about what you have to say. They connect with your content, they engage with your posts, they care. The best way to find those ‘fans’ is to find your Brand Voice and express yourself and your brand in a way that makes sense to your style.
Each platform has its own style. Make sure both your voice & content suit the style of the platform you are posting on. Your intuition knows her sh**. Go with her ⭐️. Remember that when you create your style, you need to let it be unique to yourself, yet identifiable for others.
Take a second and pretend you're on your Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest account. There’s SO MUCH CONTENT you’re scrolling through. There’s got to be certain brands that continuously grab your attention. Their photo stops your scroll, you read what they have to say and then *click* it’s like they’re speaking directly to you.
Intriguing right?
That’s what I'm saying you want for your social media branding. This isn’t something that will happen right away. It takes tremendous effort and a tremendous amount of time. It’s a way of showcasing what your brand stands for, yet sharing it in a unique and authentic/engaging way.
Boss Tip: Write how you speak. Your social posts are a piece of you and your business. They should never read in a formal presentation way—it should read the way you speak. This makes it relatable to your audience. I like to re-read my social posts captions out loud a few times. If they don’t sound right, or exactly how I would speak…. then I need to tweak it until it’s just right. As if I were telling my friends something I find interesting (you all are my friends right?).
tip #5: be consistent visually across your social media
Content creation + curation is when you have taken the time to create images and graphics for your feed and curated (collected then presented) them in a consistent and cohesive manner that aesthetically represents your brand.
[Take a look at how I curate my Instagram feed!]
So what does this consist of?
Making sure all your social media visuals always use brand colors, fonts, and have a similar aesthetic in all photos and graphics.
This goes hand and hand with your brand voice. By creating consistent visuals that showcase the above, you’re creating a recognizable brand to your audience. When your audience recognizes your branded visuals, they’re more likely to engage and keep coming back to you!
tip #6 stay consistent
Secret time. I wasn’t very good at this on my personal account. I actually used to post two times a week every week for a year. Then something in my mindset shifted and I just gave up. So anytime I did post after that, I wouldn’t gain as many likes or I’d even lose followers. Do you want to know why this was? I wasn’t staying consistent with my posting.
My audience didn’t know when to expect to see something new from me, so they gave up on me just as I gave up on myself. When you only show up sporadically in your audience's feed, with no plan or strategy behind your content, what’s the point in connecting with you?
The key to posting regularly and consistently is to plan ahead and have a social strategy behind your presence. This allows you to stay on brand, create + curate your content ahead of time and keep your audience engaged.
When it comes to planning ahead and working on your social strategy, remember to relax, revisit, revamp and relate.
Relax - You've been working hard. Take a sec to let your work breathe. Revisit - Embrace a new point of view on your work. Revamp - Make adjustments as needed. Relate - Make sure it relates to your target audience.
Don’t forget to get started on that FREE download—Brand My Social Playbook—it’ll be something you can reference anytime!
tip #7 engage with others
Something I try to always do is engage before and after I post. I do this with both accounts that already follow me as well as accounts who don’t already follow me. I’ll spend a few minutes every day looking at the hashtags I’ve used for my posts and begin liking + commenting (leaving genuine/quality comments) on the top-ranking posts under those hashtags to create social media friends. When you post on your own page and someone comments, it is EXTREMELY important that you engage and reply back. It’s a sure sign that people are genuinely interested in what you have to say. This means when you respond to their comments you’re working with the algorithm and allowing more people to view your page, posts, and eventually follow you. social media branding: let's review
Okay, let’s recap! Here are my top 7 tips for building your brand with social media:
Beat the algorithm
Figure out who your ideal client is
Be where your ideal client is
Use your brand voice to tailor to the platform
Be consistent visually across social media
Stay consistent
Engage with others
I hope you feel like "You’ve Come To The ‘Write’ Place". I truly want you to feel like these tips and tricks have inspired you to stick around and take a second look at your own social strategy and grow it to that next level you’ve been dreaming of.