Emily White 
Social media is an important tool in a businesses’ digital marketing and communications strategy. It’s an effective mechanism for communicating directly with key audiences, building brand awareness, and reputational management.
However, in today’s advanced digital landscape, it’s no longer enough to have social media accounts just to check the box. Below, I discuss several steps to refine your social media strategy, increase brand recognition, and stand out amongst competitors.
Establish cohesive branding.
Almost all social media platforms are designed to be visual. One of our first recommendations to clients looking to establish a more sophisticated social media presence is to invest in branded graphic templates.
Having branded assets for key scenarios, such as awards, case studies, sponsorships, blog posts, or “in the news” content, will give your social media handles a polished, cohesive look and feel. Social media is a critical tool for communicating with clients and stakeholders, and your platforms should be an extension of your organization’s visual identity.
Here are a few examples from Maven’s LinkedIn:
Define – and maintain – your voice.
Next, just like visual cohesion is important, so is consistency in tone and voice. For example, a B2B firm may aim for a professional and more formal tone, while a non-profit or consumer facing brand might define its voice as passionate or friendly.
When identifying your voice, it’s important to consider your brand identity, mission, core values, audiences, and social media goals and objectives (and don’t forget authenticity!).
Similar to brand guidelines, having a formalized style guide with persona attributes, sample word choices, and formatting, grammar, and punctuation guidelines can help ensure consistency. This is especially helpful when onboarding new team members or if your organization has multiple social media administrators.
Invest in publishing software.
Finally, investing in a social media management platform is a valuable tool for improving social media efficiency, streamlining operations, and ultimately, improving results.
There are many different providers and plans available, but the hallmark features include content planning and scheduling across multiple social accounts, monitoring and listening, analytics, and tailored reporting.
Social media software isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach – it’s important to explore multiple platforms to understand the capabilities and what best fits your needs and budget. From free programs, like Buffer, which provides users with basic functions, to a Sprout Social account with all the bells and whistles, there are options available for businesses of all types and sizes.
Social media is constantly evolving, which means to be successful, businesses must also regularly evaluate their content and adjust strategies accordingly. One of the biggest tips for maximizing your social media presence is to set time aside, at least annually, to conduct an audit of your platforms.
The audit can be done through publishing software or through each platform’s native site, and will provide insight into what type of content performs well, the best times to reach your audiences, messages that resonate, and more.
For more tips and tricks from the Maven team, check out “How to Craft Content that Resonates” and “Public Relations and Social Media Tools We’re Thankful for this Holiday Season.”
Posted In Digital Strategy & Social Media