Social Media Branding: 9 Key Strategies for Sustainable Growth

Have you ever scrolled through your social media feed and stumbled upon a brand's profile and immediately hit the "follow" button? That's the reason, social media is where companies can truly shine in today's business climate, but it's also a place where they must compete fiercely.  

Social media branding has become an essential element of any effective marketing plan. And it involves more than just setting up an account on a popular platform and posting random content. The trick lies in developing a distinctive brand identity for your company and building strong relationships with your audience. 

If you're wondering how you can differentiate your company from its competitors through social media branding? Well, we'll tell you all you about it in this blog, plus provide you with nine strategies that can help you achieve tangible business results.

What is social media branding?

Social media branding is the technique of building a consistent identity for your company that can be promoted via social media platforms. It entails producing and disseminating content that is consistent with the values, purpose and image of your business.

The power of social media branding

Social media branding has an instrumental effect on a company's visibility. Here are some figures that underline its importance:

• Enhanced visibility: As of 2023, there were 4.89 billion active social media users globally. Businesses have an unparalleled opportunity to broaden their exposure and reach due to this enormous audience.
• Boosting customer engagement: A strong brand is one that has more fruitful conversations with its customers. A startling 59% of customers now expect firms to swiftly address their questions and complaints on social media, and when done right, it’s bound to increase engagement.
• Positive ROI: 48% of companies claim that their social media activities have produced a favorable return on investment (ROI). Social media branding may produce a profitable ROI when done correctly.

Deep Dive: Social media ROI: How to measure and improve your ROI  

Now, let's explore the strategies that can assist you in creating a successful social media brand.

How to build a brand on social media?

The nine strategies listed below can help you develop an effective social media branding strategy:

Create a brand persona

You must precisely define your brand identity before you can build a significant social media presence. What principles does your brand uphold? What sets you apart from the competition? For content to resonate with your target audience, you must fully grasp your brand's identity.

Be consistent with your visual elements

Consistency is key in branding. Consistently use the same fonts, colors and logo on all of your social media profiles. By doing this, you can be sure that your audience will quickly recognize and associate your content with your brand. Consider the example of Coca-Cola — its famous red and white color scheme is instantly recognizable.

Craft compelling content

Social media branding is built on top-notch content. Produce content that benefits your readers while also being aesthetically appealing. To keep your content interesting and varied, use a combination of photos, videos and text.

Know who your target audience is

It's important to understand the preferences, interests and problems of your audience. To better adapt your content to your audience’s requirements, conduct audience research. Tools like Facebook Insights and Twitter Analytics may offer insightful data on the demographics and behavior of your audience.

Pick the right platforms

Social networking sites are not all made equal. Concentrate your efforts on platforms where your target audience is most engaged. For instance, networks like Instagram and TikTok may be more beneficial than LinkedIn if you're trying to reach a younger audience. 

Develop a content calendar

In social media branding, consistency is essential. For advanced planning and scheduling of your posts, establish a content calendar. By doing this, you can maintain a consistent posting schedule and keep your audience interested. You can create effective content campaigns and calendars with the help of the right social media management tool.

Get your audience involved

Don't merely deliver your message; actively interact with your audience. Answer questions, participate in discussions and respond to remarks about your sector. Loyalty is cultivated by creating a feeling of community around your business. 

Use hashtags wisely

Hashtags can significantly boost the reach of your content. Look up relevant and popular hashtags for your sector and include them in your posts. Use a few well-chosen hashtags in each post, and don't use too many.

Observe and modify

Analyze the effectiveness of your social media campaigns on a regular basis. You can find data about engagement, reach and conversions with tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights and Instagram Insights. Use this information to modify your strategy and raise the performance of your brand.

Learn More: How to create a social media marketing strategy from scratch 

Social media branding and brand awareness

Now, let's look at how social media branding affects brand awareness. 

• Increased exposure and reach: Your work has the potential to be seen by a large international audience because of the large user bases of social media sites. You can considerably broaden the audience for your business and boost its visibility by continuously publishing quality content. For instance, a boutique fashion brand may increase its brand awareness by often posting eye-catching images of its most recent collections on websites like Pinterest, pulling in customers from all over the world. 
• Humanizing your brand: By presenting the individuals who are behind your business on social media, you can humanize it. To establish a personal connection with your audience, showcase behind-the-scenes information, staff anecdotes and user-generated content.  
• Making use of user-generated content: Encourage your audience to produce and distribute content that is relevant to your brand. User-generated content (UGC) may greatly increase business exposure as it includes the real-life testimonials of customers. Action camera manufacturer GoPro depends on user-generated content as explorers and tourists share their unforgettable experiences that were filmed on GoPro cameras. 

Read More: How to leverage user-generated content to drive engagement &. conversions on social media 

Social media branding and customer engagement 

Successful social media branding is built on effective customer engagement. The following are three suggestions for improving customer engagement through social media branding: 

• Produce content that is genuine and relevant: Building trust with your audience starts with being genuine. Produce content that speaks to your target audience and reflects the ideals of your company. To humanize your brand, share tales, behind-the-scenes looks and user-generated content. 
   
  The Instagram page for Airbnb is an excellent example of authentic content. The brand posts breathtaking images taken by users of interesting lodgings from across the globe. In addition to showcasing these beautiful locations, this fosters a sense of community among its hosts and users.Source  
• Encourage two-way conversations: Social media provides a platform for meaningful interactions with your target audience. Encourage discussions by answering comments, posing queries and conducting polls or surveys. Dialogue with customers fosters a devoted community by demonstrating your appreciation for their opinions. 
   
  Fast food restaurant Wendy's is renowned for its witty responses on X (formerly Twitter). It engages with its followers by joining in light-hearted conversations and giving friendly and entertaining answers to inquiries and comments. Source  
• Run interactive campaigns and contests: You can engage your audience better by organizing interactive campaigns and competitions. By encouraging users to share content associated with your brand, use a certain hashtag or take part in challenges, you could very well increase user engagement. This increases interaction and creates user-generated content that can be used to promote brands. 
   
  Starbucks frequently holds seasonal social media campaigns and contests. Customers are encouraged to post pictures of their Starbucks beverages on social media using certain hashtags. In addition to promoting its goods, this fosters a sense of community among Starbucks customers. Source

Social media branding and business growth

Beyond increasing customer engagement, social media branding is essential for company growth. The following three suggestions can help you use social media branding to expand your business: 

• Display products and services: Social media networks offer an ideal setting to showcase your goods or services. To demonstrate their qualities and advantages, use high-quality photos and videos. Use storytelling in your content to show how your products can improve the lives of your customers or solve their problems. 
  
  Apple, for instance, makes splendid use of social media to promote its goods. The innovative features of its products are frequently highlighted in its posts' sleek images and concise explanations.

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• Leverage social commerce: E-commerce capabilities are increasingly being integrated into social networking platforms, making it simpler for companies to sell goods directly through their accounts. Make use of these tools to provide your audience with a seamless shopping experience.  
   
  Businesses can tag products in their Instagram photos using the platform's shopping tool, making it simple for customers to browse and make purchases. For many firms, e-commerce sales have increased significantly as a result of this feature.Source
• Driving sales and conversions: Effective social media branding can directly influence a company's bottom line. Brands can convert their social media followers into paying customers by showcasing their goods and services in an aesthetically appealing and informative way.  
   
  For example, you can buy Fashion Nova's apparel online by clicking on the beautiful pictures of the items it posts online. This strategy boosts brand awareness while also directly generating purchases through social media.

Brands with successful social media presence

Now, let's examine three businesses that have grown significantly as a result of effective social media branding strategies: 

1. Nike: Nike is more than simply a sportswear company; it has become a global phenomenon. Nike has effectively positioned itself as a symbol of inspiration and strength through its social media presence. Its "Just Do It" campaign, together with athlete and influencer sponsorships, has greatly increased engagement and sales. 
2. Glossier: A skincare and cosmetics company called Glossier has evolved into a disruptor of the beauty market. Glossier has developed a devoted following through its active involvement with customers on social media sites like Instagram. Its strategy, which emphasizes user-generated content and customer feedback, has accelerated its growth significantly. 
3. Tesla: Tesla, the electric car and sustainable energy firm, has completely changed the way cars are made. Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, is a master at using X (formerly Twitter) — which he now owns — to interact with fans and customers in real time. Tesla's social media branding has created a large fan following and sparked interest in environmentally friendly transportation.  

Must Read: Benefits of social media management

Useful tools for maintaining positive branding on social media

These are the tools you should be leveraging to maintain a positive social media branding.

Social listening tools

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You can track conversations and mentions of your company, goods or sector by using social listening tools. These tools help you spot customer patterns and attitudes by giving you insightful information about what consumers are saying about your brand.

For example, if you own a clothes store and see that customers frequently compliment your sustainable business practices on social media, you may use this encouraging feedback to support your brand's dedication to sustainability in your social media marketing efforts. 

Sentiment analysis tools

To ascertain the sentiment (positive, negative or neutral) behind social media mentions and comments pertaining to your brand, sentiment analysis technologies employ natural language processing. This can be immensely helpful for determining public opinion and resolving potential issues as soon as they arise.

When a consumer is unhappy with your product's quality, you may utilize sentiment analysis to pinpoint their specific issues and address them, proving to them that you care about their satisfaction.

Content management systems (CMS)

Your social media content development, distribution and scheduling may be streamlined with the aid of a CMS. These services let you organize your social media calendar, ensuring that your updates are timely and consistent.

A CMS, for instance, enables you to schedule and automate posts well in advance if you're launching a holiday-themed marketing campaign. This ensures that your brand's messaging fits the occasion and appeals to your audience.

Reporting and analytics tools

Analytics tools provide comprehensive data on the effectiveness of your social media initiatives. To identify what is working and what needs improvement, you may monitor important metrics like engagement rates, click-through rates and conversion rates. 

Let's say you find that particular content, like video lessons, regularly gets a lot of interaction and conversions. If so, you can devote additional resources to producing similar content and improve your plan of action for greater outcomes. 

Must Read: What’s the difference between social monitoring and social listening? 

To sum it up 

Social media branding is an important and dynamic component of modern marketing. You can create a powerful and effective brand presence on social media by consistently working on developing your brand persona, ensuring a consistent visual identity, crafting compelling content, strategically using hashtags and rethinking your strategy when needed.  

Sprinklr Social, our comprehensive social media management tool, can help you do just that. Besides, Sprinklr AI filters out non-engageable messages and shares the relevant ones with the appropriate teams for quick resolution of customer queries.

So, what are you waiting for? Request a demo today and see Sprinklr in action.