These days, almost every company is active on social media, small businesses and big corporations alike. If a company does not have any social media profiles, then it’s safe to say they’re missing out on a massive marketing opportunity. Most (smart) companies maintain a presence on all the most popular social sites including Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. They update their respective profiles daily with informative posts that are infused with the brand’s personality.
Establishing your brand’s personality on social media is an important part of any successful marketing strategy. This may sound confusing to companies who are just starting out on social media, but it’s actually quite simple once you learn the ropes. To help you out, here are the most important tips to follow when building your brands personality on social media!
Do — Share Relevant Information
When it comes to social media, it’s essential for companies to stay relevant. The content of your posts should always have some connection to your brand, regardless of how strong that connection is. What matters most is that your followers see your posts and understand why you chose that specific content. If you start sharing a bunch of random pics and posts that have nothing to do with your brand, then two things will probably happen: 1) your followers will be confused, and 2) you’ll look like you’re spamming just to bring more attention to your page.
Don’t — Bore Your Followers To Death
Yes, relevance is extremely important, but that doesn’t mean your posts have to be boring. You may be thinking, “Well my product isn’t funny or exciting, so I have no choice but to be boring on social media.” Wrong! You can easily spice up your posts, even if your product isn’t exciting. Take Instant Checkmate for example; they’re a background check company, but you don’t see them boring people to death with dry information about their services. They share posts about crime, online dating, celebrity arrests, dumb criminals, etc., all of which are relevant to their brand.
Do — Make People Laugh
Humor is probably one of the most important aspects of establishing a personality for your brand on social media. People love to laugh, and when users see content that makes them laugh, they’re much more likely to share it with all their friends and followers. The absolute best company to use as an example of social media humor is Taco Bell. Their ingenious marketing team works hard to maintain Taco Bell’s personality across every social media platform, including Myspace, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. They respond to other users publicly, and their posts are witty, clever, and sarcastic, all of which make for social media gold.
Don’t — Cross The Line
There’s a fine line between funny and inappropriate, especially when it comes to social media. It’s vital that companies are mindful of that line so they don’t cross it. You never know how people will interpret your sarcasm or wit, so you have to be very careful and consider all the ways in which someone might get offended by your post. Granted, people do get offended pretty easily these days, but usually you’ll be able to gauge whether or not a post could potentially backfire and damage your reputation. If the answer is yes, then you’re better off avoiding the backlash by discarding the post altogether.
Do YOU have any additional tips for companies who are new to social media? Let us know in the comments!
Ashley Franklin is a blogger from Santa Monica, CA. She specializes in writing about social media, branding, and marketing.