Have you ever questioned why Huggies(R) posts photos of babies to their Facebook wall? Or why Ralph Lauren(R) pins very Americana fashion trends on its Pinterest boards? The reason for this is because these companies have long developed their brands to a consistent point that's understood and recognized. In other words, these two companies have identified who they are, what they're selling, and most importantly, who they're selling to. To better grasp the important role social media advertising plays in reflecting your business, simply think of it as an extension of traditional marketing platforms, such as print advertisements or television commercials.
Who are you?
Your social media pages are a free platform of promotion and brand development, so depending on the nature of your business, your accounts should reflect your company's philosophy, services, and products. From Twitter to blogging, though each platform requires different strategies according to their functions, identifying your business' identity is first and foremost. Once you know what your business is all about, you can proceed to the next step: what you're selling.
What do you have to offer?
Your service and products are what your fans care about, so be sure these features are in the forefront; however, take caution as there is a fine line between highly informative and highly sales driven, where the latter can come off as impersonal and spam-like. We have to remember that although social media is an online forum, real humans are behind each profile and page. Think about what business Facebook pages you enjoy, or companies' Tweets that you find clever. Get inspiration from others and apply it to your own social media accounts.
Who are you trying to reach?
Once you know who you are and what you're selling, these two components will lay the groundwork for determining who you're selling to. Do you want to reach locals? A specific race? Parents? Whether national or local, you'll notice that in the most successful promotional collateral of top performing companies, there's a voice geared to a specific audience. That audience may be a broad one, such as women, or it could be targeted at young mothers, for example. For decades, identifying who the customer is, and appealing to that audience has been applied to print advertisements, radio and television, and today, is also directed to the online sphere of social media. Thinking about who your customer is, or will be, can ultimately transform your social media accounts from below average to highly active. Since you're connecting directly with customers, speak to them from a voice that understands them, while encompassing who you are and what you're selling.
Let's put it to the test with that famous pamper brand.
- Who they are (retrieved from Huggies (R)Facebook page): The Huggies(R) community brings parents together so that you and your babies fully enjoy every day, whatever the day presents.
- What they sell: Disposable diapers for infants and young children
- Who they're selling to: Parents
- How is their brand effectively reflected on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest; Huggies(R) talks to the general parent. Not promoting one parent above the other, as their customers are both mothers and fathers, they utilize images, words and experiences to engage with their fans and sell products that are universal to the general parent. Every parent has experienced a child's "accident,", so they leverage these moments to speak to their customers with relevancy to their brand. For this reason, they've reached nearly half a million "Likes" on Facebook with increasing amounts of fan interaction on postings.
Create accounts focused on what you're selling with a primary intention of reaching the customer in a genuine way. Once you identify the three components of who you are, what you're selling, and who you're selling to, blending them into a concise and cohesive strategy that includes a consistent voice, design and audience will ensure that your business will thrive in a social media setting.