Getting your brand out there for people to engage with is a basic step for people to identify with you. Social media not only helps promote your company’s products and services, but also offers a chance to generate a community, disseminate the mission and values of your brand, gauge the needs of your target audience and, ultimately, make your brand more human and familiar.

Work your brand identity well

It is really important for your brand to be coherent across all platforms, making it easier for people to recognise. When somebody looks for you on social media, they need to know that your profile corresponds to your brand.

• If you have various social media profiles, try to get them to have the same name across all media platforms. 
• The profile image should be your logo.
• Add the URL of your website to your social media profiles.
• Use a similar visual design across all platforms, consistent with your website. 

Identify your audience and your social platform

Don’t jump the gun when it comes to creating a social media profile. First be sure of the profile you are targetting and the characteristics of each platform. Consider who you want to reach (their age, where they live, their interests, how they express themselves etc.) and identify which social media you will find them on. For example, users on TikTok and Instagram will be younger than those on Facebook and Twitter.

Once you know your target audience and which social media you want to be on, consider the type of content you need. For instance, Instagram and Pinterest are highly visual platforms and need good quality image-based content, with photos and videos alike. In contrast, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are perfect for text content, sharing articles, explaining new projects, asking users things and so on.

Plan and be consistent

Now you have identified your audience and the social media platforms you want to be on, it’s time to generate content.

Produce a calendar for social media content. This will help you know what and when to communicate. Identify key days for your brand, capitalise on current events, international days which have some connection with your brand or its values etc.

Create quality content: think about what you want to give to your audience. What do they need? What content generates interest? Create content which offers value, explain real stories and stick to the same tone and style in all your communication. If you’re unsure, you can try one sort of content and when you have a minimum base of followers, conduct surveys or ask them what sort of content they would like to see on your profile.

Generate special content for your followers. Maybe you can clear up queries with a live video for your followers, publish tutorials, reward your followers with a draw or competition of some sort…

Most of all, be patient

Share your social media on all your channels, from the website to visiting cards. This is a good way to get people who see your brand somewhere to track you and perhaps end up engaging with your brand.

Generating a community of followers on social media is not a fast process. It’s best to have some followers who identify with your brand and engage with it than to try to quickly build a base of followers regardless of their profile.