The Three Pillars of Social Media When it comes to running a business, marketing and networking are absolutely key to establishing yourself as an effective and respectable entity. Similarly, social branding and online presence are essential in maintaining a positive relationship with customers, as well as attracting potential clients. To this end, there are three core principles that all businesses must stick to when creating and managing their social media.
A is for Audience
Without an audience, you’re talking to nobody. Without a clear idea of who that audience is, you’ll likely be talking to the wrong people. It’s incredibly important to know who your audience consists of, and who you’d like to attract. This is a simple thing to do, there are many services which allow you to view analytics on your audience, some social media sites even offer this service built-in. Once you know your audience and what they like, you can begin adapting to it. Location and time zones will affect the timing of your posts, and the age range of your audience can affect the tone your posts will take on. Additionally, having a firm idea of the audience you seek to attract to your business will allow you to tailor your content to meet their needs and convince them to follow your social media accounts, leading to a greater reach for potential clients.
B is for Branding
Your social media account will represent your whole business, and as such it should be its own entity, almost a personification of your brand. Your followers don’t know who’s running the account, and it’s likely they won’t care either. All they’re bothered about is what the account offers them and why they should follow it. When creating your accounts, and developing their branding, it’s important to note how you want them to come across. Is it professional, serving as gateways to your webpage, and allowing your followers to keep up with your business developments? Or is it more friendly, seeking to entertain your followers, participating in trending topics and responding to other business accounts? Once you know what your social media account is supposed to be, you can build upon it to create a significant relationship with your potential customers.
C is for Content
The third, final, and perhaps most vital pillar of social media is the content. What do you post? It has to be tailored to both previous pillars, appealing to your audience as well as maintaining your branding. Many large companies such as Denny’s restaurants or Innocent Smoothies recognise how much social media is used for non-important, fast-paced entertainment, and so take advantage of this with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, posting often unrelated jokes to their twitter and tumblr accounts. This may seem nonsensical, however it works wonderfully, as it allows the two brands to stay in the public’s mind even outside of the business aspect, as well as attracting a large audience they can then convert into customers when they post something business related. The decision of what kind of content you post to your social media is a big one, and it can have a significant impact on whether or not your business is a success in the online world.
By Greg Morrison
