The importance of consistency on Social Media
The most successful brands on social media make sure their brands are consistent and professional at all times. This week we’re chatting to our Digital Marketing Specialist, Sam Gray to get her insight into the importance of consistency on social media.
-
Is it necessary to be active on all social media platforms?
Not necessarily – it’s important to establish your target audience before you start your social media strategy.
If your target audience isn’t on a particular platform, then it’s probably more beneficial to concentrate your energy and resources into a few key platforms instead of trying to master them all.
-
Tell us a few social media faux pas that affect the consistency of a brand’s online presence.
It can be easy to get caught up in regramming photos that people have taken of your product or at your venue. Everyone has their own unique flare and social media persona, so regramming too often can confuse your own theme and social media identity.
Try not to go too crazy with the filters either! Just tweaking your photos by up-ing their brightness and sharpness is all you need to do to prep them to go live on your account.
-
How important is regular posting?
A regular posting schedule is super important to maintain and build engagement rates.
Delving into your stats will help you decipher which days and times are best for you to post so you can establish a consistent posting schedule.
-
Stock images or original content? What is better for consistency?
Creating original content is the best way to maintain consistency across your social feed. If you struggle to consistently develop original content, using stock quote templates is a good way to keep up with your posting schedule, while giving you a break to get your creative juices flowing again!
What elements make for visual consistency across social media?
There’s a few elements you can implement into your social strategy to create a consistent aesthetic. Here’s a few things to consider when establishing your visual identity:
- Colour story and style guide, including key fonts and preferred colours
- Photography style
- Scheduling patterns e.g. posting a quote, flatlay then product image to keep your feed in a strict grid
-
Do you think tone and personality in text play a large role in keeping your socials consistent?
100%! Whether it’s short and snappy, full of colloquial language and slang or product focused – your copy should always stay consistent and true to your brand’s identity.
-
What links are there, if any, between engagement and consistency on social media?
It’s all about consistency! It’s important that your audience is able to identify your content, without seeing your handle! Consistency in copy, content and scheduling should be the main pillars of your social media strategy. If your audience starts to recognise and love your content, engagement will follow!
-
Quantity or quality when it comes to your social media profile?
I would say quality over quantity! If you can only manage to get a few posts up a week, make sure that they’re great posts – look at when your audience is most likely to be online and try to get them out on these days every week to help your engagement rate grow.
Want to chat to a member of our team about your digital strategy? Contact us today.
Why social media content must be engaging in 2018
Why creating and sharing engaging social media content is more important than ever
We are living in a day and age where our train ride to work, lunch time smoothie and evening workout are projected into the digital world. And brands have moved into the world of Instagram and Facebook as a means to further their influence and increase engagement. So much so, that our social media feeds are now flooded with ads and promotions, frustrating users to the point where there has been a decline in usage, particularly on Facebook.
In retaliation, both Facebook and Instagram have changed their algorithm. The algorithm affects where your posts appear on the feed, who sees your content, and therefore your reach and organic engagement.
Through the altered algorithm, the social platforms intend to show content that will encourage meaningful interactions between users. The posts appearing on our social media accounts are now arranged according to the content you are most likely to interact with. This change in the algorithm penalises brands that come across as overly promotional, therefore pushing them to work harder on gaining customers and potential clients attention. Many aspects of user’s online interactions are taken into consideration within the algorithm, but ultimately, content needs to be engaging to further reach and gain followers.
So, what makes a social media post engaging? How can you influence your followers and encourage them to interact with your content? And hence, how can you grow your following and further your reach?
Know your target audience.
And work hard on providing them with content they will take an interest in.
Ensure images, captions and comments are all “thoughtful”. This is vital in maintaining an identifiable persona. “Thoughtful” content is the kind where followers can see the authenticity, value and quality within each online interaction. Your account is a reflection of your brand, consequently, your online interaction must echo your accounts personality.
Encourage interactions on your account. The more interactions occurring on a post and the longer users engage with it, the more people who will see it. Prompting users to comment on your post, through questions or content they can relate to, will encourage conversation within your account.
Utilise your social platforms. Facebook and Instagram will reward you for this and it will also add dimension to your digital identity. Create stories, send messages and comment on other account’s posts. Videos gain more engagement than images and live videos gain 6x more interactions than regular videos on Facebook.
Social media is constantly changing and evolving. Staying informed of the latest changes will help in maintaining a strong digital presence. But, perhaps most importantly, ensure your online interactions reflect the essence of your brand.
“Social media is a way that businesses can humanise their brand. By creating and sharing really engaging content, both internally and externally with your customers, you put a face to your brand which helps develop trust – be it among your team or with your customers." says our Director Shelley, in a recent article.
Make sure every post, comment and like is made with intent and speaks to who you are as a business. Genuine interaction and engagement will always follow.
Want help creating engaging content for your brand? Find out more about our content creation services by getting in touch today.
Building a social media audience
You've got great content, but how can you make sure it's being 'seen' and 'heard' on social media?
Your engagement rates now play a huge role in your brand's visibility on social media, but how can you go about building an engaged audience? Here are some of our top tips.
Have a good strategy in place to make sure you’re creating the right types of content, and sharing it on the right platforms (at the right time!)
When planning your content, you shouldn’t necessarily be thinking about how to get it in front of everyone – it’s all about getting it in front of the right people! To do this, you must define who your audience is, what their interests are, and create content that will really speak to them. The more engaged your audience is, the more likely it is that your content will be shared.
Consistency is key! Make sure you’re posting good quality content on a regular basis.
Engage, engage, engage! Spend at least 15-30 minutes every day engaging with fans, likeminded users and influencers to build your network. The more you show interest in and support others on social, the more you’ll be supported right back!
Use hashtags, both branded and unbranded to curate your content.
And finally, think about supporting your social media content with an advertising budget through Facebook/Instagram ads.
If you’d like to learn to how master social media marketing from our team, The Social Co Academy are currently offering a very special offer.
For a limited time only redeem Coupon Code: ‘SOCIALMELB50’ at the checkout to receive 50% OFF The Social Co Academy‘s signature online course – the Social Media Masterclass!