Frederick Jace
Social media sites offer countless opportunities to present a company’s life and business initiatives. To successfully master the technique of “self-marketing”, you have to set a specific goal and choose a strategy that will communicate the core brand message, raise brand and product awareness, create a positive impression and connect with potential customers and your target audience.
- Know how online users are responding to your message.
- Understand why they might be interested in your content, product, or service.
- Determine the reason why they are scrolling through your message and going to another page instead of staying and reading to the end.
Why You Need to Position Yourself and Your Brand on Social Media
Social media is the most common and fairly easy communication channel and has proven time and time again to increase brand awareness and build a positive company image. Thanks to better targeting than traditional media, even small companies and startups can afford to keep an account of their brand and “promote” their products, talking about their benefits and opportunities.
One popular marketing concept that can be applied to social media is funnel theory. The idea is to trace a potential customer’s journey from unfamiliarity with the brand to building brand loyalty, complete trust and a desire to use the company’s products. While some users leave the page immediately due to lack of interest and relevant information for them, others can and should be involved in the final stages of the scheme. The marketer’s job is to fuel interest to lead potential customers further and further down the “funnel,” which ultimately leads to sales conversions and an increase in the number of loyal customers.
Another successful solution is a tool to set up and automate a unique marketing campaign with the ability to quickly launch on WhatsApp, Instagram, and other social networks. Automation platforms will send emails, SMS and push notifications to your target audience on their own, so you have more time to do other things that require your direct involvement.
It’s important to remember that constantly analyzing the effectiveness of your marketing campaign through various platforms is the key to successful promotion.
How to Promote Yourself on Social Media
Follow the 80/20 Rule
When promoting your brand on social media, it’s worth keeping in mind that subscribers get tired of constantly reading about a brand’s strengths and products/services.
Many marketers use the 80/20 Rule on social media to avoid obvious self-promotion. The concept assumes that 80% of the content you post will be informative, valuable and unique. This way, you can establish yourself as an expert in the field, and demonstrating your expertise will help attract loyal users.
The remaining 20% of the material should clearly define who you are and what you offer, why you and your product can be useful for customers and what solutions to their “problem” you offer.
And always remember that monotonous and boring content alienates your audience. So focus not on stories about yourself, but on what could interest your customers.
Become a Recognized Expert in Your Field
Choose your social media content carefully and thoroughly vet all content before posting it. This will contribute to your main goal of building trust and brand credibility.
After all, trust is the foundation of any long-term customer relationship. Providing truthful information and expert insight on relevant issues that will help your readers achieve their goals and meet their needs usually produces the desired result – an increased audience.
Be Consistent
For your website and various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, etc., keep a consistent style. Many companies use a media guide, called a brandbook, which defines the format of publications and website components: prescribing the specific format of the logo, fonts, colors and the tone and nature of the message.
Always stay consistent in your publications and their layout so that your audience is not confused or in doubt about who and what you represent. Stick to a consistent style and follow a planned content plan.
Encourage Interaction
The most unmistakable sign that your content is generating interest is likes, reposts and other forms of interaction. Being able to comment and discuss your publications will allow you to quickly respond to customer inquiries and questions, and understand what your consumers like or dislike.
This two-way communication lets you learn more about your audience and their preferences and needs. Ongoing interaction will help you get closer to your customers and respond quickly to queries as they arise.
Encourage User-generated Content
Today’s potential customers love to hear about your product and experience with your company from others, so, “word of mouth” becomes another tool to attract new customers.
Publish photos and videos sent to you by subscribers, because customers always like to share their impressions and experiences and read the stories of real people. In addition, everyone will be pleased to become the “face of the brand” and be on your company’s social networking page.
