Brand Building on Social Media—Is it Possible?!

Anyone who's tried to approach social media to create a brand knows that it is so difficult. For one, the algorithm is constantly changing. And that it is highly unpredictable. Or how attention spans are extremely short. Most of the time, getting off the ground feels more like a marathon than a sprint. Sound familiar?

At risk of sounding dramatic, the changing climate of social media has become my life. I first took the plunge into this world when I opened up an online jewelry business during my quarantine days. Before then, I had engaged with social media personally and for clubs. I was a part of the public relations team. Before then, I couldn't care less about how many people were seeing my posts, how my engagement was, or my following. Now, I manage multiple social media accounts for organizations, and it has become part of my livelihood. So when I say I totally get the struggle to build a brand, I totally get the struggle.

So how do we do this well? Today, I thought we'd defer to the experts. Or at least the writers at Entrepreneur. In their article 9 Tips To Grow Your Small Business With Social Media Marketing, they detail their suggestions for helping your brand thrive through social media. Today, I'd like to go through these nine suggestions, talk about my personal experience (or lack thereof) with these areas, and turn it over to you! Let's dive in.

"1. Decide which platform is best for your business."

I love this suggestion, but also think it misses the mark ever so slightly. Yes, figuring out a main platform is so essential. Why spend the majority of your marketing budget on YouTube when your audience is on TikTok? This is a key step to maximizing time and effort in social media marketing. However, I think it can also create the misconception that one platform is the way to go. One strategy of successful brands is the way they bring their following across platforms. Maybe they got really big on YouTube, but they encourage their followers to check out the same brand with slightly different messaging they have on Instagram. Not only does this include followers in a way that promotes brand loyalty and recognition, but it also bumps up your engagement on multiple social media sites in one swoop! It's really a win-win situation. So yes, find a platform that makes sense and focus on it, but don't be afraid to reuse content across multiple platforms. With the rise of short-form videos, you can make one video to be posted on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and even Snapchat. Don't miss the opportunity to bring your followers across platforms!

"2. Develop a social media calendar."

Yes, yes, YES. This is one of the keys to not going crazy. Knowing what you're going to post and when makes the work so much easier. Think of it as an assembly line. You do all the planning, all the creating, all the captioning, and then all the posting/scheduling. You can get into a zone, work efficiently, and maximize your time with minimal effort. Personally, I use Asana! This is such an awesome platform, and it lets you collaborate with others easily.

"3. Recognize when it's time to pivot."

I love this! As someone who works on Instagram a lot, I can testify that the all-powerful algorithm is always changing. If we aren't changing too, it will leave us behind! This world is fast-paced, wants things now, and has a low attention span. If we are to build a brand, we need to meet the consumers where they are and go at their speed. This often means adjusting to what is happening in real time. Embrace the change!

"4. Stay up to date on trends."

This definitely goes hand in hand with the last suggestion. But this is another tip I would recommend taking with a grain of salt. Before you stop reading, let me give an explanation. I think the key is to stay as up-to-date as your target market. One age group I am targeting in my day-to-day is middle-aged adults/parents. People with kids don't have time to scroll on the internet like the younger generation, which is why we all have our moms sending us the same Instagram Reel we saw a few months ago. So, if your target market is super up to date with trends, flow through the culture with them. If you're trying to appeal to the grandmas and grandpas, maybe wait a few months on what's current so it really resonates with them when they see it.

Now these next two tips I do not have enough experience to comment on their effectiveness, so I look to you readers! What do you think of these tips?

"5. Take advantage of live video."

"6. Host a contest or giveaway."

I will offer this small bit of insight to tip #6, and that is I have seen up close the addition of a well-structured giveaway. If you or a loved one have gotten into the world of Whatnot, you know the effectiveness of giveaways and how quickly people are hooked! So, while I have not tried this strategy out for myself, I definitely see it working for others.

"7. Collaborate with other businesses or influencers."

There's strength in numbers, people! Just like we can get our followers to go across platforms, we can get followers to go across creators. A strategic collaboration can open up people's eyes to what else is out there in our similar spheres. It also promotes loyalty through the transcendent third. "What's the transcendent third?" You ask. Wow, thank you so much for asking! The transcendent third is the idea that the connection between people is strengthened when they are connected by a third party outside of themselves. If I meet a new friend and we chat and make small talk, that will be fun, but we likely won't feel like we've connected with one another. But when the conversation with the same individual turns into a yap session about our mutual love of videos of people drawing eyebrows on their babies, we have connected. Brands can do this with their followers. If the only interaction is with the brand and its following, we are dealing with two parties. But, expanding that through a collaboration with someone that the following and the brand both love breaks the wall through the transcendent third.

"8. Take advantage of paid advertising."

This is something that can be tricky to get down, but once you do, it can make a world of difference. Exposure is so helpful, and paid advertising can aid in pushing your content to the right people. It casts the net far wider than we can do on our own and can be super helpful for big pushes or campaigns in a brand.

"9. Make sure you include strong calls-to-action."

Give your followers something to engage with! If you want people to like, comment, follow, subscribe, save, reshare, or send, encourage them to! I'm far more likely as a consumer to engage with content that wants me to engage. Especially when the content is fun or has a benefit to my engagement.

Now, this is just based on my personal experiences with brand building. I'm far more interested in what you all think! Do you agree or disagree with these tips? Do you have any other things that have worked for you? One thing I am sure of is that brand-building is hard. But, how awesome is it that we can learn from each other and share our advice with one another! So let's do that! Comment your thoughts down below.