Social media strategies that showcase authenticity
How to create a social media strategy that promotes authenticity.
Whether users are logging on to catch up with friends and family or share a laugh over a meme, social media is all about connection. The average American spends over two hours a day on social platforms and while this presents endless opportunities, it also elicits the need to continuously create content. Each and every post is another opportunity for brands to connect with their target demographic, but it’s also important for them to do so in a way that is relatable and authentic. Here are a few tips on creating a social media strategy that best represents your brand.
1. Understand your audience
This doesn’t just entail knowing your audience’s demographics, but also knowing the best ways to tailor your feed for them. When creating content for the University of Buffalo, we needed to find a way to incorporate their alumni into their main university channel, while their primary audience had always typically been prospective and current students. Whereas, for Southeastern Iowa Community College, we needed work that felt less professionally designed and more organic to their feed.
2. Create a unified one-of-a-kind voice
Don’t mimic your competitors, no matter how great their feed is. When creating content, it needs to align with your brand’s own voice. Quality also trumps quantity, so before each post, ask yourself if it is a good reflection of your brand, if you’re proud of what you’re creating, and if you’re being transparent and respectful. When creating content that could be utilized by CrossFit’s hundred thousand affiliates from 35 different countries, heavy had the challenge of creating a consistent unified voice through all social media and marketing channels that could translate into 17 different languages.
3. Stay true to your beliefs
What does your company stand for? If you are creating content that promotes different causes on social, are you actively standing up for those same causes offline? Showing behind-the-scenes looks into your process and how you’re backing up your beliefs can build trust between you and your followers. When working on New Voters, a campaign to inspire newly eligible voters to go out and exercise that right, it was important to heavy to ensure that we were also giving our own team the same opportunity to head to the polls, so we gave the team the day off.
4. Respect your audience
When posting, be sure to also avoid using clickbait and any other dishonest attempts to acquire sales. From you’ll never believe what happened next to uncover this shocking secret headlines, the problem with clickbait is that it over promises and under delivers. While it may work initially by bringing new visitors to your site, they will quickly catch on and leave without getting your business any closer to a new customer, all while destroying your brand trust.
5. Encourage engagement
Let your followers speak for themselves.Repost user-generated content so that your audience can see your brand “in the wild” and get a grasp of your brand loyalty. While working with Southeastern Community College, heavy helped them to create a 30 days in 30s ways campaign to celebrate their culture of philanthropy. Participants were able to track the ways they showed their SCC support on a bingo card. If they completed five spaces in a row, they were eligible to win a prize. Through this campaign, the community was able to become actively involved in the celebrations and gamify their school spirit.
Ultimately, presenting an authentic social media presence is much like doing so in-person. Be genuinely interested in the people you’re speaking to, while also staying true to yourself, whether that means speaking to your whole audience or creating content that is true to your brand. Stay true to your beliefs – if you’re standing for a belief online, be sure you’re doing so in person. Finally, get your community involved. Allowing them to participate in your philanthropic efforts will allow them to really connect with your brand and feel inspired by your mission.