Description: A good focus on social branding can save a company a lot of time worrying about PR and media. In this article, we go through some steps companies should take to improve their social branding.
Social Branding
Social branding has taken shape as a multi-purpose tool for companies to strengthen their digital marketing efforts while enhancing brand perception and PR. A company with a positive and fun social branding focus can end up saving time and resources on PR and media.
The push for social branding is rooted in using social media more effectively. In its infancy, social media was essentially about fooling around with friends online. It has now become a playground for all forms of discussions related to news, sports, politics, philosophy and so many other topics. In this article, we go through some methods to improve social branding.
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Social Media Channels Research
Every top social media channel has its own quirks. What works for one channel is not necessarily going to work for another. A joke or meme shared on Twitter may not gather any attention of Reddit. The vice-versa is true as well.
Before even delving into the concept of social branding, companies should complete a thorough analysis of each platform. The parameters of this research should be based on understanding the composition of users and the type of content likely to succeed. A blog related to politics is more likely to catch fire on Twitter or Quora before Instagram, which is a more lifestyle-oriented social media channel.
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Choosing Social Media Channel Based on Research
Once the research is done, digital marketers then need to identify which channel is most suited for the product or content their company is promoting.
For B2B businesses, a platform like LinkedIn should be perfect. However, companies selling T-shirts are more likely to succeed on Instagram or Facebook. Based on the type of business in question, digital marketers have to take a call on the primary social media channel for promotion. Channel-based promotion establishes a clear niche for a company and is the first step in improving social branding.
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What is the Brand Voice?
A company selling trendy shoes should have a different brand voice compared to a law firm. Often, companies fail to make this distinction and end up being too formal. A brand voice should complement the type of customers a company is looking for.
A company selling life insurance to middle-aged working professionals has to be more formal, while a mobile company selling cheap handsets to young people will have a different voice. Brand voice can make or break a company’s push for social branding.
Choose Graphics Wisely
A picture says a thousand words and for a company’s sake, they must be the right words.
The visual tone set by graphics should complement the brand voice of a company. If these two tenets resonate, a push for social branding is practically complete. Setting the visual tone can mean a lot of things. Many brands tend to use a similar palette of colors to distinguish themselves from the competition.
Establishing new and creative templates and creating a killer company logo also helps to set the tone for social branding on a visual level.
Maintain Discipline while Choosing Topic
Many brands end up choosing the wrong topics to talk about and end up receiving flak. Other times, brands talk about topics nobody is interested in. Both of these are harmful to social branding.
A company has to be very careful while choosing topics to talk about online. Many brands have ended up alienating customers after choosing to talk about controversial topics. Social branding is about giving the company a chance to reach the maximum number of people online.
Appearing rude to competitors is also a bad way to improve social branding. People prefer dealing with brands which appear humble and helpful.
About the Author – Gaurav Heera is a well-known content strategist and digital marketing entrepreneur. He currently heads operations at DelhiCourses.in, a place ranked #1 consistently for its digital marketing course in Delhi. The institute also offers courses in other fields such as cyber security, business analytics, and cloud computing.
