Social media has become one of the most vital branding and marketing tools available, offering the opportunity to connect with customers, strengthen your brand identity, and achieve your goals. But before you can use it to your advantage, you’ll need to learn the ins and outs of social media – and that’s what we’re here to cover.

Tips & Strategies for Branding on Social Media

1. Start With the Basics

One of the foundational aspects of effective branding is consistency, and that principle also applies to social media. Your logo and color palette should be consistent across your website, social media platforms, and printed materials. Also, your handle, boilerplate, and bio should align across all your social platforms so that users can easily recognize you on any site.

What to do:

• If you haven’t already outlined a clear brand identity, now is the time.
• Complete a social media audit for all your branded accounts by taking a closer look at your brand’s presence on various social platforms, then comparing them to check for consistency.
• Assess logos, bios, handles, and banners to ensure they all align with your branding characteristics.
• As you post new content, make sure it constantly aligns with the established branding.

2. Extend Your Branding Aesthetic

Now, your brand should have a consistent aesthetic from platform to platform. From here, you can take it one step further. Use your brand’s colors, fonts, and “feel” as a guideline for the images and videos on your social feeds. For example, perhaps your branding is rooted in earthy colors and natural textures. So, when a user visits your Instagram platform, the goal is to continue those characteristics in your feed.

What to do:

• Create a detailed visual branding guide that addresses elements such as colors, fonts, and the like. This document will serve as a visual branding guide for all social media efforts.
• Develop and use graphic templates to suit specific content types. For example, use the same template for new product announcements and another to share information about a special promotion.
• Always keep your brand’s aesthetic in mind when creating new photos and videos for social media.

3. Build marketing personas for social media.

You may already be using marketing personas for other advertising strategies, but you should also have a well-rounded series for social media purposes. These marketing personas will likely vary from network to network, as the audiences of each platform will be unique. For example, your audience on Facebook is likely older than your audience on TikTok. So, it would only make sense to tailor the marketing personas accordingly.

The marketing persona you apply to each platform will help shape the type of content you create and share because you’ll be better equipped to effectively connect with that specific audience.

What to do:

• Using your customer base as a starting point, develop marketing personas for each of your social media platforms.
• Learn more about users’ demographics on your various platforms, so you can get to know them better.
• Plan and publish content that aligns with the wants and needs of each marketing persona.

4. Find your brand’s voice and tone.

Your brand aesthetic encompasses what your brand looks like, but what will you sound like? One of the many benefits of social media marketing is the opportunity to give your brand a sense of personality using voice and tone.

Your tone/voice could range from ultra-professional to silly and snarky, depending on your brand and audience. Consistency is key in whichever direction you choose – you don’t want your social media to feel disconnected from your website, printed materials, and other branded areas.

What to do:

• Make a voice and tone guide that features brand persona, personality, vocabulary, catchphrases, and other important details.
• Communicate the guidelines to your entire staff, so everyone is on the same page.

Learn How to Be Social Media Savvy Now
Whether you want a career in social media branding or you’re just interested in boosting your marketing skills, the right education and experience can be the key to unlocking your future.

Master the art of social media branding when you enroll in the Media Sales & Marketing Program at the Beonair Network of Media Schools, with campuses located in Miami, Chicago, Colorado, and Ohio. We’ll help you hone your skills in social media, advertising, branding, and other essential areas, so you can be prepared to stay ahead in a competitive industry. You’ll learn how to outperform the competition in the digital marketing sphere while also honing your communication and analytics skills.

Get more information about how to use social media to build a successful brand: contact us today!

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