By Evan Varsamis
Founder/CEO at Gadget Flow
When social media first came onto the scene in 1997, it was all about allowing users to stay connected to friends near and far. As time went on, social media grew into a platform where brands could interact with customers and provide support. Today, the game has evolved even more. Social media is now being used to supplement the marketing process by boosting brand awareness and generating leads. It isn't just for spreading the word about your products, but also for building your brand's credibility.
So, how exactly do you build brand credibility with social media? Here are some tips and tricks that can help you boost your online presence.
Start your social media efforts as soon as possible.
At the very latest, begin honing your social media presence as soon as you launch your brand or crowdfunding campaign. However, it would be wise to launch your social media even before your brand comes to life. This will help you grab the attention of users and develop online history in advance so that, once you launch, new users can easily find you.
Now, keeping up with social media activities across different platforms can be challenging. I recommend using tools such as Buffer and CoSchedule to stay on track. These tools help you prepare your posts in advance, post during peak hours and provide access to key insights and analytics.
Prioritize a consistent posting schedule.
Having a strong social media presence will build your online credibility, but only if you're consistent. That means you need to post frequently and never miss your publishing timeline across platforms. To make sure you're able to keep up with your desired frequency, dedicate time in your schedule each day for evaluating your social strategy and what will go live when. As mentioned above, I recommend scheduling posts in advance. If posting becomes too much for you, it's better to post less often while maintaining consistency. However, that could be a sign it's time to hire a dedicated social media manager.
Keep tabs on the latest trends and your competitors.
Whether it's Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, every platform shows you the latest trends in your feed. Create posts based on these topics to engage with users who are following the latest trends. Just be sure to engage with topics that are relevant to your brand to maintain authenticity, rather than adding more noise to a trending topic that has little to do with your niche.
No matter what you share or which platform you choose, you'll always have competitors. However, you can turn their activities into a competitive advantage. Analyzing their content and posting frequency on social media platforms is a must to help you plan your own schedule and even get inspired by their posts.
Focus on at least two networks.
For those who are just starting out on social media without hiring extra help, I recommend starting with two platforms. This is crucial due to the constant evolution in the field of social media. Every platform keeps changing and evolving; with that, the ways of promoting your content online change, too. To stay on the safe side of things, you should build your presence on multiple platforms, two being the minimum. That way, if you begin to see less engagement on a previously popular platform, you have at least one to fall back on.
Experiment with your content.
When you're posting content on any social media channel, always remember to leverage all available features. So, for example, if you're on Instagram, post images (square and landscape), videos, carousel posts and stories; use stickers, hashtags, Boomerang, and so on. This will make your profile look versatile and robust. In addition, you can analyze your engagement metrics to learn what works best for your product, helping you refine your content and choose the best options for future posts.
Social media engagement is crucial in our modern consumer society. The faster you get your brand name in the social media ring, the better your chances to be more credible online.
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