We turn to social media every time we’re bored, want to connect with other people, want to check out a new product, or bring more of a certain aesthetic into our lives. Today, people are on social media for an average of 144 minutes a day. This is a huge amount of time, and if you’re a brand and aren’t dedicating time to increasing your social media presence, you’re likely leaving money on the table.
Elijiah Pitman, social media marketer and founder of CloutMedia, understands what it takes to reach new audiences on social media and keep them engaged with for good. Here are 4 ways he says brands can boost their social media presence:
1. Maintain Constant Engagement
Be a curator, not a creator. Show your readers that you have originality and uniqueness, in a way that also demonstrates consistency. If you want to increase your presence, you first need to be putting out and sharing content consistently and increasing your presence with your current followers.
There’s no point having a million followers if you never share content – those followers will all forget you ever existed. Focus on increasing your presence and getting in front of people daily. The more engagement you get, the more likely it is that the platforms you’re using will promote you to potential followers.
2. Stay Relevant
It’s all very well being consistent when it comes to sharing content, but it’s also important to remember what you’re trying to say consistently. Use trending events, topics, current affairs to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to jump on current topics and share memes that are funny now. Sure, they may not be relevant two months from now, but you’ll see high engagement today.
If it’s on-brand for you, be funny. Funny people and brands often take off on social media, so don’t be afraid to experiment. For example, the profile @funnysgod has taken off for doing just that.
3. Be Brave
Building on that point, be brave. Innovate new and refreshing campaigns and go against the grain by speaking about topics that will get you noticed. After so much time mindlessly scrolling through Instagram or Facebook looking for something noteworthy to read, people should be excited and surprised to read your fresh and new content. Do this right, and your posts will have much more virality.
You want to evoke emotion from your audience, so if you’re particularly passionate about a topic that may be considered controversial, speak about it, and you’ll be more likely to get an exciting conversation going. Some of the most captivating discussion topics have been about things that sparked fierce debates, so why not be the brand to lead an engaging conversation?
4. Create a Personality
This is vital when it comes to establishing your brand, whether you’re a business owner, an independent artist or a practitioner looking to share your skills. Engage with your community by regularly posting content of varying styles: share content from any other brands or influencers you have partnered with, hold competitions to win merchandise, film yourself speaking to the camera to give an approachable, personal touch. Once you’ve successfully established the “tone” in which your brand speaks, your voice will be more heard and appreciated.
Of course, each brand is different, and you may have to go through a period of trial and error to find your voice and discover what resonates with your audience. But if you put in the time and effort to develop a strong social media presence for your brand, you will build momentum for your brand that couldn’t have been achieved elsewhere.