Social media channels have been a part of mainstream Internet use for the better part of a decade, but the ways in which brands use them have changed dramatically. Instead of using social networks solely as marketing platforms to trumpet their products, today’s companies also use them to build and enhance the customer experience.

However, with so many different platforms available and heavy competition on all of them, it can be difficult to set your brand apart and carve out your place on social media.

Is your brand being represented the way you want it to on social media? If the answer is no, follow these 10 social media branding strategies to amplify your results:

 

1. Choose The Right Networks

 

If you’re not gaining any traction on some of the social media platforms you’re active on, it may not entirely be your fault. With hundreds of social media apps out there, and new ones popping up every day, it’s tempting to jump into all of them. However, every social network might not be the right fit for your company. Your job is to find the networks that align with your brand’s image and goals. Otherwise, you’ll struggle to make progress.

If you’re struggling to find out which social networks your target audience is most active on, take a look at your competitors that are doing well on social media and where they strong presence.

 

2. Dont Overlook Visual Branding

 

Visuals play an important part in social media branding. If each of your profiles looks like they’re owned by a different company, it creates a disconnect for your users. You want your branding to be consistent across all channels. This will help people immediately recognize your company no matter which site or app they’re using.

One brand that does this very well is Pepsi. When you look at the company’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram profiles, you’ll notice the consistency in color and design:

Facebook :

Twitter:

Instagram:

Here are some tips to take away from Pepsi use of visual branding on social media:

Choose a color palette: Pepsi uses its classic blue and red color scheme across all social media channels. It doesn’t just stop at the logo. When you look at the posts the company shares, you’ll rarely find visuals that don’t include the color blue and red. The easiest way to develop your color palette is to take a look at your logo. You want to get to a point where people associate those colors with your brand. Keep in mind that different colors can impact the way people perceive your brand.

Use the same logo/avatar: You should try to use the same avatar for every social network. To keep things simple and consistent, use your logo or a symbol that represents your company. People should see your avatar and immediately associate it with your brand. Think about the Apple brand or Microsoft. As soon as you see them, you immediately think of their brands.

 

3. Be Consistent With Your Topics

 

Sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are very good for content curation. Curating is a great way to help you build authority in your industry as well as provide a steady flow of social media posts that aren’t self-promotional. Finding blog posts, videos and other content to share with your audience sounds simple enough. However, many businesses go into it blindly without creating a strategy or guidelines for what topics to share.

As a result, your Twitter Timeline can become filled with a random mix of Tweets about five or six completely different topics. Avoid that mistake by streamlining your efforts.

 

4. Post Regularly

 

Nothing will kill social media branding efforts more than irregular posting. If you only Tweet once every few days or upload one new Instagram picture a month, you’re going to be forgotten. Shortened attention spans combined with rapidly growing social networks have made publishing more important than ever.

How frequently you post is going to depend on your audience. It will take some trial and error to find out what works best for your brand. One of the best ways to determine how often you should post is to use Sprout Social’s social media publishing and analytics tools.

 

5. Use Influencer Marketing

 

When companies like apple and samsung post a new image on Instagram, they get a lot of engagement. That’s because they’re both established brands with millions of followers. If you’re just starting out or don’t have a huge audience, your content won’t get the same amount of attention since you’re relatively unknown.

A good way to achieve faster results and amplify your social media branding efforts is to build relationships with influencers. Influencer marketing allows you to piggyback off the audience that established people in your industry have already built. Since the influencer has already earned the trust and respect of their followers, getting a co-sign or mention from them carries a lot of weight.

Keep in mind that just having a lot of followers doesn’t qualify someone as an influencer. They should also possess these traits:

• Active- Publish contents on social media frequently to stay fresh in audience mind
• Engaging- Has conversations with their audience
• Expertise- Is an authority figure
• Leadership- Can get topic trending instead of following others
• Authentic- Genuinely believes in your brand and what you stand for

 

6. Create a Compelling Bio/Profile

 

Far too many brands make the mistake of letting their bio or profile section go to waste on social media. When you’re in the process of building your brand, letting people know who you are and what your company does is.

Don’t fill your profile up with random hashtags or motivational quotes. Treat your bio like an elevator pitch. If you had to describe what your business does in one or two sentences at the most, what would you say? Here are examples of company that use their bio section effectively.

Trusted Reviews:

 

Entrepreneur:

 

7. Promote Your Profile

One challenge that a lot of businesses have with social media branding is building initial traction. Getting your first few followers can seem impossible when you don’t even know where to start. However, if you’ve been in business for a while or have other Web properties (website, blog or other social media accounts) then you should start there.

Unless you tell your current customers, colleagues and network that you have a Snapchat or Instagram account, how will they know? Never make the mistake of just assuming everyone knows about all your social media channels, even within your own company

This might seem like an obvious tip, but many businesses take a passive approach to social media branding and wait for the results to happen. It simply doesn’t work that way. Promote your social media profiles whenever and wherever possible. Print it on your flyers and brochures, link to them from your website and cross-promote on your other social media channels. Get the word out.

 

Putting It All Together:

 

The more personable and human you can be with your customers, the better reaction you’ll get and the more they’ll flock to you. Computers are excellent tools, but most people would rather talk with another person about their business goals and gaps than get auto-responses from a computer (even if that advice comes straight from their good friend cortana).

These 7 tips are fundamental — that’s for sure — but “fundamental” doesn’t mean “outdated.” The longer a principle remains, the more you can trust its accuracy.

Don’t write these tips off as too basic. Rather, I encourage you to check your present community-building efforts against them and implement necessary changes to fit your social media marketing strategy to the demands of today’s savvy consumers.

Get real and get honest — even when the meeting place is virtual.