Have you ever met someone who seems to talk more than necessary but rarely says anything of value? #realtalk. They’re quite obnoxious and it is almost impossible for anyone to take them seriously even if they do mean well (we’re looking at you, Donkey from the Shrek movies).
We all know #thatguy and unfortunately we also all know #thatbrand that is posting loud, irrelevant content incessantly over their social media pages hoping to be heard . . . and how do we respond? UNFOLLOW.
Almost every new business these days will kick off their venture by creating a website and social media page. However, few create their brand image with strategy and intention. These two elements are KEY in the success of your branding.
It’s why we will always encourage you to dedicate the time and effort to putting together a social media strategy. We don’t need to convince you that your presence on social media is important to achieve your branding and marketing goals but let us show you how implementing a strategy when you do so will guarantee success.
A social media strategy will help you...
1. Know your target market:
2.1 Billion people around the world are active users of social media. This figure is promising to the success of your business but it also brings some challenges. In a sea of 2.1 billion people, your message is easily lost! This is why it’s so important to know your market! Here are some great questions to research and take note of:
Who is interested in what your business has to offer?
How old are they?
When are they online?
How do they use social media?
What is their greatest need and how do we meet it?
Answering these questions and taking the responses into consideration when creating your online content will ensure you are cutting through the ocean of social media users, into the feeds and inboxes of your target audience.
2. Know your product or services and how it helps people:
If what you sell doesn't help me, then why are you knocking on my door? -Chris Murray, "Selling with Ease"
In 2015 a client came to me wanted help marketing her beauty therapy bar in Western Sydney. She had been open for six months but wasn’t experiencing great client retention even when she posted specials on her social media. To make the chall
enge greater, her shop was situated beside another well-established beauty salon with another three salons within 2 kilometres of her shop.
While researching her target audience we sent out a survey to women in the target age bracket for her salon. The response we received back told us that women in the area wanted two specific services; acrylic nails and spray tans.
Our client had an “ah-ha” moment! She had loved doing acrylic nails with hand done nail art while studying beauty therapy. She was also qualified to do spray tans. Over the course of the next couple of months we concentrated on advertising these services. After six more months, our client was offering ONLY these two services in her establishment and her books were full.
This is a classic example of consumerism in our culture. Often, as business owners we assume people want value for money, so we try to offer them as much value as we can (a large range of services or products) for as little price as possible in order to seem competitive, when in truth, studies have shown that people are often drawn towards that which is bespoke and are willing to pay a premium for quality.
This is why when we put together a social media strategy for a client; we spend a great amount of effort in getting to know you, your product or service and your passion for the industry you’re in. We then find where your brand sits within the industry and work out what makes your business unique to your competitors. The effort put into this is where the true value lies for both you, and your client.
3. Find your voice (and only use it when necessary)
Albert Einstein was once quoted saying, “be a voice, not an echo”.
In an extremely digitally connected world, it can be easy to “follow the crowd” and try to build your business around trends online but have you ever stopped to think about who’s message you’re really spreading?
Time and time again, we watch businesses make the mistake of creating o
nline content that echoes their competitor's and doesn’t actually set them apart, share their own perspective or even target their unique audience.
Advertising your business without clarity around your visual branding, your unique message or your #targetaudience is like singing about your service to the tune of an iconic jingle like “aeroplane jelly”. While it might seem like a clever idea, ultimately, the popular jingle is probably the only thing that truly stuck with your consumer and you have been ineffective at getting your message across.
Worse, is voicing a #message to the wrong audience. There is truly no value in being present on every social media platform if your target audience isn’t present there.
A social media strategy will help you find your voice and ensure that you’re not echoing another’s voice in a crowded room, or worse, shouting a well collated message to an empty one.
4. Dress to impress!
Lastly, but arguably most importantly, the power of your brand image is immeasurable.
Designing a quality branding suite complete with logo, images (preferably professional photography), colours and fonts will elevate your brand and make it truly memorable. Furthermore, it is VITAL that this branding suite is then used cohesively across all of your brand’s online platforms (socials AND website). This ensures that your brand is easily recognisable and memorable.
Part of a well-planned social media strategy is to ensure that your socials not just have a professional voice and clear message but that you also has a cohesive look. If your business just isn’t cutting it through the noise despite clear messaging, it is likely that your brand imagery just isn’t grasping the attention of your audience. Social media is in essence a visual platform and you have only a moment to catch the eye of your client. So your imagery . . . it really counts!
Having a social media strategy written for your business is a really wonderful way to gain much needed insight into the potential your business has to succeed. It is likely to become a document that you will refer to time and time again to gain inspiration for your socials and ensure that you are on target to reach your business goals. If you’d like to elevate your branding and reach potential customers, a social media strategy is the place to start.