Here in the digital age, a solid social media presence is more than just a good idea.
It’s nearly as essential as having a driver’s license or an ID card — a necessary part of your public-facing identity.
These days, it truly is your social media feeds that tell your story to curious onlookers — your values, interests, goals, preferred pastimes, and anything else you consider important that others know about you.
This is as much the case for businesses, companies, and brands as it is for individuals, so an active, well-maintained social media presence is an absolute must.
But building a successful one requires more than just a few random posts, link shares, or mentions here and there.
It’s a skill in social media marketing that needs to be learned and mastered. Here’s a closer look at what you need to know to do just that.
What is Social Media Presence?
Back in 2019, there were approximately 2.77 billion users on social media worldwide, and those numbers have only continued to climb since.
Social media isn’t just a part of life for these people. It’s something they’ve integrated into multiple facets of their everyday routine.
People use social media to keep up with everyone, from friends and relatives to favorite celebrities, as well as the news.
But they also rely on it for cues on which brands to trust with their business.
A social media presence is defined as the frequency with which an individual, company, or other entity posts to their platform(s) of choice and engages with other users there.
The type of content posted, as well as the quality level and overall reach of it, factors into the success of a given social media presence, too.
Does Every Business Need a Social Media Presence?
According to research conducted in 2020, 42 percent of people say they rely on social media to conduct valuable research on products, services, and brands before making a purchase decision.
About 25 percent regularly follow brands they buy from (or are thinking of buying from) on social media, and 48 percent actually use social media to contact their brands of choice.
That said, a business that isn’t on social media is a business that may as well not exist to any of those people.
Your company’s social media presence is the key to establishing and maintaining a strong, trusted connection with your target audience, as today’s consumers want and expect to build relationships with the brands they trust.
Your profiles, contributions, and interactions on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and all the rest of the most popular options are incredible ways to make that happen.
And the platforms themselves are leaning into their adopted role as research centers for the products and services their users are interested in, as well.
Many of them — including Facebook, to name just one example — now include entire sections dedicated to the showcasing, sale, and advertising of various options.
So yes, if you currently run a business of any size (or plan to soon), you need a social media presence.
Otherwise, you’ll almost certainly be missing out on a massive chunk of your potential business, not to mention potentially failing to meet the needs, preferences, and expectations of modern consumers.
9 Tips for Creating a Killer Social Media Presence
If you spend much time on social media, it doesn’t take much time to see that some brands completely dominate their feeds while others are just taking up space.
- GoPro
GoPro’s social media presence really lives up to the brand’s reputation as the producer of the world’s most versatile camera. They add value to platforms by posting incredible photos and frequently engaging with their followers.
- Spotify
Spotify doesn’t just run their accounts like a boss. The unique, creative ads they install in various locations inspire users and artists alike to take and share selfies that include them, adding to their visibility.
- Wendy
Wendy’s is famous for its intelligent, funny tweets. In fact, their fans hang on tenterhooks, waiting eagerly to see what they’ll say next.
And those are just a handful of names to watch if you want to see what it looks like when businesses know what they’re doing on social media.
Ready to take the first step toward building your own killer presence?
Keep the following tips in mind:
1. Choose the right networks
Since Facebook, the world’s largest social media platform, first went public back in 2012, social media has exploded in a big way.
Today, there are quite literally thousands of different platforms dedicated to different goals — everything from launching social justice endeavors, to finding old classmates, to generating leads for particular industries.
Generally speaking, it’s recommended that all businesses establish presences on the most popular, widely used platforms.
However, some platforms may be better fits for certain goals than others.
Facebook is the largest platform, with over 2.8 billion active users. It’s ideal for building relationships with customers and generating large quantities of leads.
Twitter’s strong focus on immediacy makes them fantastic for businesses looking to reach consumers under the age of 50, as well as stay ahead of breaking news and emerging trends.
LinkedIn is an excellent choice for companies specializing in B2B services in addition to B2C alternatives for building authority, as well as boosting engagement with peers and clientele.
Instagram is a solid choice for businesses looking to leverage the power of visual content like photos, videos, and expiring story feeds.
Fast-growing platforms like Pinterest, TikTok, and Snapchat also bring a lot to the table, so give some thought to who your audience is and what they’re into.
Then meet them on the platforms where they like to hang out most.
2. Establish a clear goal
Start by setting a goal as far as what you’re looking to accomplish with social media.
- Are you looking to grow your audience and build stronger relationships with those who already use your services?
- Do you want to drive sales, generate leads, and improve your bottom line?
- Are you after new insights into what makes your ideal customer tick?
Answers to questions like those will influence a lot of your upcoming decisions.
Examples include how you’ll handle customer service, how you’ll design the look of your profiles, and what your posting strategy should be going forward.
Also, ensure that your social media goals are S.M.A.R.T. — specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely.
If yours aren’t all of these things, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
3. Come up with a content strategy
If your goal is the direction in which you’ve decided to move with your social media presence, your content creation strategy is the road map that will get you there.
Start by determining which member(s) of your team will be handling your social media presence moving forward.
Then decide on a posting frequency and create a content calendar to keep you on track.
Consistency is critical when it comes to social media, as your audience needs to know when they can expect you to show up.
As your content strategy evolves, you’ll also want to make sure you’re clear on crucial factors like:
- Who your audience is and what they’re interested in.
- What types of content you already have versus which types you wish to create in the future.
- Which platforms will receive what content types, and when.
Make sure you pay attention to which posting frequencies work best on each platform, as well.
For instance, once or twice a day max is probably ideal for most Facebook or LinkedIn presences. However, Twitter is so fast-moving, more posts are almost always better.
4. Prioritize active, meaningful engagement
While it’s true that content is still king when it comes to social media, even the most outstanding content isn’t enough all by itself.
Pay much attention to the most successful brands on social media, and you’ll notice that they never just make a few posts and walk away.
The whole point of making exciting, entertaining content in the first place is to drive engagement.
Once you’ve got someone’s attention, use that to connect with them and win their trust.
Some key ways to do that include:
- Starting conversations and participating in them from start to finish.
- Sharing timely, relevant information that’s of interest to your audience.
- Sharing content created by other users in addition to creating your own.
- Commenting on other people’s posts, as well as responding to comments on yours.
- Polling your audience, as well as following up with results.
- Responding promptly to questions or feedback, complaints and critiques included.
- Expressing frequent genuine appreciation for your customers and followers.
5. Don’t overdo the promotional posts
While it’s true that both social media platforms and their users are more open than ever to the idea of on-platform social selling, the sales strategies that work well elsewhere may not apply here.
You can (and should) promote your products and keep your audience informed about what’s new.
But you should also follow the 80/20 rule when curating your social media feed.
This means no more than 20 percent of your posts should be promotional in nature. The rest should drive growth by serving the needs and preferences of your audience.
6. Develop a unique brand identity and voice
Your company’s social media presence has more in common with your personal one than you might think.
Like you, your brand has a unique identity, personality, voice, and approach.
The sooner you figure out what those things look like for your brand, the better, because everything you post across all of your platforms should be in line with that image.
Use distinctive, consistent, high-quality visuals on all profiles, including logos and headshots.
If you can, minimize the number of staff members adding to your collective social media presence, as each person will bring something of their own voice to the table.
And always make sure all team members are 100 percent familiar with the image you’re looking to present to your audience.
7. Stay in step with current trends
Great social media personalities do more than just keep their audiences entertained.
They drive traffic and generate additional interest in what they’re doing by chiming in on current trends, breaking news, and hot topics that have everyone talking.
Brands can do this just as effectively as individuals can.
Twitter is actually a great resource for this, as it’s filled with short, digestible bits of information about everything from industry news, to local events, to the latest Netflix show people are binge-watching.
Pay attention to these things, and look for ways to correlate them with your brand where appropriate.
Follow, read, and contribute to trending hashtags to jump into hot conversations, as well.
8. Partner with influencers to help grow your brand
Social media influencers are huge these days, with some commanding large enough followings to rival those of major celebrities.
Don’t be afraid to work with influencers that could be right for your brand to reach new people or expand your reach into untapped demographics.
Follow them, reach out to them, and try to develop a relationship with them.
Some may be willing to discuss your brand via their feeds in exchange for some of your products.
Others consider themselves to be professional social media influencers and may be open to discussing long-term sponsorships.
Either way, the support of the right influencers is the powerful social proof many people need to finally pull the trigger on a purchase they’ve been considering or a new brand that’s causing a lot of buzz.
9. Keep an eye on your analytics
Social media isn’t static.
Platforms grow and evolve all the time, as do the algorithms they use to show content to potentially interested users.
The overall use of social media is growing, too, with brand new users establishing presences on the most popular networks every day.
Your content, posting, and engagement strategies should evolve alongside those factors.
Keeping a close eye on your social media metrics and making decisions accordingly is the best way to stay on track.
There are many tools out there that will be helpful in this regard, including Google Analytics and any of the analytics resources that come built-in to most platforms these days.
Wrap Up: It’s all about Social Media Presence
Your brand’s social media presence is positively packed with potential when it comes to building your brand identity, connecting to your customers, and exposing your products to a massive new audience looking for exactly what you have to offer.
Learning how to grow it exponentially and use it properly is the key to taking your business to the next level.
Are you ready to take the next step toward creating the social media presence of your dreams?
Have a look at our top reasons to use social media to grow your blog and develop meaningful conversations with your target audience!
