Taking Your Brand to Social Media

You’ve spent precious time and money creating a brand. Your logo, your voice, your services, and your message help to tell the unique story of your business and why it matters. Your brand is your key to success — when consumers can easily identify you out of a mass of competitors, you have a higher chance of gaining conversions and attracting a loyal following.

Your brand should feel consistent across all channels: your website, your print and digital advertising, and your social media. With so many platforms to navigate — each with different rules and target audiences — it can be difficult to keep your brand’s messaging consistent. But when a person travels from your Facebook to your Instagram to your Twitter, the transition should feel smooth and seamless.

Use Your Voice

If you are a law firm that maintains a professional, informed voice, you don’t want to head to Instagram and start posting #foodporn of the lunch you just ordered for the office. On the other hand, if you own a dog-boarding company that has cultivated a colorful and bubbly persona, you shouldn’t create posts on Facebook that dryly discuss the technological advancements of dog crates. Even though each social media platform targets a slightly different audience, it is important to maintain the integrity of your brand’s voice. Of course, your social media content should be casual and approachable, but keep in mind your industry and the impression you want to make on potential and current customers. Also, always find opportunities to integrate your brand language into your social media posts in ways that feel natural and conversational.

Logo Logic

Your logo exists for a reason — it is a visual manifestation of your message and your story. Ideally, people will see this art and instantly connect it with you. A great way to raise awareness of your logo is to make it your profile picture across all social media channels. In addition, integrate your logo into advertising or imagery you post when it makes sense to do so.

Your logo can also set the core color scheme for your brand. If it’s blue and yellow, having images doused in red on your Instagram feed isn’t going to make sense to your followers. If the colors are vibrant, filtering images into black and white won’t make much sense either. Using a consistent color scheme and set of filters across all imagery on all channels is important for maintaining brand consistency.

Curate Your Content

Don’t fall into the trap of only posting about your products and services. People will quickly tire of this approach. Think about your audience and what they might be interested in. If you own a hair salon, topics your audience might appreciate could include best hair products, how to maintain hair health, or great hairstyles for summer. You can even extend your range outside of hair; people who go to a hair salon regularly are most likely interested in other beauty-related content, such as makeup or skincare. Organic content that is carefully cultivated for your audience will make a difference in how people engage with you on social media and can even increase their trust in you as an expert in your industry. Just make sure that any content you post clearly connects back to your brand.

Age Does Matter

Facebook is the best platform to use if you are targeting millennials or Generation X, as the vast majority of Facebook’s users range from age 18 to 49. Instagram tends to have a younger following, with over half of Instagram users worldwide aged 34 or younger. The largest group that uses Twitter is between ages 18 and 29. So, depending on who you are trying to target, you may want to focus your efforts on a certain platform. A life insurance company, for example, probably doesn’t want to focus on Instagram targeting those who might not be planning to purchase life insurance for a while — unless that company is launching an initiative to reach a younger demographic with a new product or service. There is something to be said about exclusivity.

Designate the Task

Having one person handle your social media — and even hiring someone who is proficient in professional social media — is the easiest way to ensure your brand message is consistent. When you have too many employees posting to your accounts, you risk varying voices and contrasting content. That doesn’t mean the rest of your team can’t contribute: They can provide ideas or content for your social media manager to then filter through the lens of your brand’s voice, which means you can focus your time and efforts on other tasks.

Social media is a great opportunity to increase brand awareness, drive conversions, and connect with your audience on a more personal level. Staying true to your brand allows potential customers to more deeply understand and connect with your unique message. Take the opportunity to strategize and get creative with your content — when done right, social media can pay off significantly.