When you think of social media, you might think of selfies, vacation pictures, or images of someone’s dinner. But not only is social media a place where you can go to catch up on what your mom’s second cousin is currently up to, it’s a marketing tool that savvy business owners can use to engage with potential customers and drive conversions.
1. Create a Social Media Account
While this may seem like an obvious first step, a surprising number of businesses still don’t have social media accounts set up for their brand. But creating brand-specific accounts is imperative to the success of your retail business.
Not only does social media allow you a way to quickly (and cheaply!) connect with your target audience, it enables users to find you and tag you in their posts, increasing your visibility and engagement.
The type of social media you choose will depend mainly on your products and your audience (as well as how much time you have to devote to posting!). Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are usually an excellent place to start, as they each have hundreds of millions to billions of users, enabling you to reach a wide variety of people.
But no matter which platform you decide to go with (or if you choose multiple ones), make sure to update consistently. Several times a week will help to ensure that you stay visible to your audience.
2. Build Your Brand Story
Social media is an ideal place to build a strong story around your brand, beyond only the products you sell.
For example, let’s say your business sells vegan protein powder and energy bars made with organic, non-GMO ingredients. Posting pictures of your products is a great way to introduce audiences to your brand.
But let’s take it a step further. Instead of just posting an image of a tub of protein powder, you can instead post pictures and recipes using your protein as a main ingredient (like smoothies or pancakes!). You can even invite users to share images of their own creations.
And you can even take it beyond that! If your products are vegan or use only organic ingredients, let your customers know why. Instead of just using that as a selling point to health-conscious consumers, use that information to build an authentic brand centered around a lifestyle that appeals to your audience to grow an enthusiastic, loyal following.
3. Create Brand Recognition
Leading off of building your brand story, social media is also the perfect opportunity to increase your brand recognition.
What do you think of when you hear the words “just do it”? Or see a checkmark logo? Instantly you recognize those as the trademark elements of Nike.
That’s brand recognition — the ability to recognize a specific brand over others. But while it may take you a good chunk of time to build the same kind of recognition you can get with 3 little words and a checkmark, making your brand recognizable will make it easier for consumers to recognize you on the store shelves.
So how can you use social media to grow brand recognition? First, make sure that you are using the same logo on your products across all platforms. Plus, the simpler the logo, the better. Profile pictures on social media tend to be small, so the easier it is to see your logo, the better. And second, be consistent. No matter which social media platform you’re using, keep your message clear and visible so consumers will be able to recognize your brand immediately.
4. Partner Up
Joining up with influencers and other brands is one of the quickest and best ways to gain new followers, grow engagement, and increase conversions.
Take a look at this example from Halo Top. Halo Top is an ice cream brand that offers low calorie, low sugar options. When they partnered up with the internet media company Buzzfeed, their shared post drove over 145,000 engagements. And between deals with Tasty and Foodbeast (two popular social media channels), Halo Top saw an average of more than 17,000 engagements in just two months. That’s a considerable increase over Halo Top owned posts which saw an average engagement of only 1,627.
https://www.newswhip.com/2017/06/7-charts-small-brands-go-big-social/
But while partnering with powerhouse companies may be out of your reach (for now at least), joining up with blogs, influencers, and companies who share similar values to your target audience can be a great way to authentically reach your ideal customer.
5. Don’t Sound Like A Corporation
To build a loyal following on social media: sound less like a business and more like a human.
Social media, whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat, is a place where people can go to connect with their family and friends and strengthen relationships. So to build authentic relationships with your consumer, treat them more like a friend than a customer.
Whether it’s responding to their comments or addressing their concerns, audience engagement plays a huge role in social media success. In fact, many companies have seen a rise in followers and revenue by taking a stance on current issues.
But you don’t need to go political to show consumers your human side. Partnering with a charity or talking about causes you support can help to show your values in a way that appeals to a broader audience.
Final Thoughts
Social media is more than a place to see what your high school friends are up to or post cute cat videos. It’s a highly useful marketing tool that can help to build an enthusiastic, authentic following while at the same time grow your brand recognition and story.
