Building your brand by getting smart on social
Seven out of ten UK adults in 2019 use the internet for social networkingi so promoting your website on social media could help you reach a broad range of potential customers. In this practical guide, we share top tips on how to create and then turbo charge your brand presence online by using social media.
It is likely that you’re already thinking about embracing social media as a tool to inspire potential customers to get in touch or give existing ones an incentive to return to your business. If so, we have compiled a 4-step plan to help get you started:
- Choose the right social site for your business: When choosing a social media site, take into account which sites your customers use and how they use them. For example, businesses which sell to other businesses will get better results from a business-focussed social media site. Businesses selling visually appealing products to consumers should think about building a presence on a site set up for sharing photos.
- Make the most of your time by posting when your customers are online: Research carried out by Statista in 2017, found that people check their social media accounts at different times of dayii . Use this information to time your updates for maximum success. For example, the research demonstrates, if you sell to UK consumers through Facebook, the best time to update your business’s Facebook account is 12pm.
- Identify clear objectives and build metrics to help you gauge your success: If your objective is brand awareness then having 30,000 people share your posts is great progress. If you’re using social media to drive new business, then new enquiries about your product is the only performance indicator that really matters.
- Test, review and learn. Periodically, check which of your updates were most successful. Most social media platforms will provide you with a dashboard to see which of your updates got the most views, likes or shares. Once you have identified the successful posts, build a theory for why they were successful; you can then test your theory with further posts. For example, let’s say you post a series of photos at 5pm which seemed to drive more enquiries. A follow-up series of photo posts at different times of the day will help you determine whether it is time or content which is driving your success.
It is hard to see a future without social media. And as more and more consumers take to these sites to browse, book, review or even purchase products, it is essential that business owners set themselves up for success and develop a strategy that will engage with customers and showcase their products and services. Failing to get on board with social media only means that brands will be left behind as their customers take their business elsewhere.
