This article is a starting point for Founders and Business Leaders who want to grow their brand on social media. Here, we’ll cover the social media platforms you should invest in, the marketers required to lead your strategy and the trends you should be aware of.
Social media is a key marketing tool for businesses wanting to build a community, find potential customers, and share their products and services. But how do you grow successfully and profitably?
This article breaks down how your business can build a strong presence on social media, including:
- How social media supports business growth
- What users expect from brands
- 10 tips for building an effective strategy
- The digital marketers you need to be successful
First, let’s look at why your business should build a social media strategy in the first place.
Why should my business be on social media?
Social media marketing has become an increasingly popular sales channel for businesses of all sizes, industries, and markets. 66.4% of UK consumers believe a social media presence is essential, so it should be considered a non-negotiable for growing brands.
However, you should strive to do more than just exist. There are several benefits to growing on social media...
Benefits of building a social media presence
Building an audience on social media will undoubtedly lead to business growth. Whether your aim is to increase sales, add employees to your business or build your brand's presence in the market, social media marketing can help you achieve all of this and more. Here are just some benefits to building your presence online...
#1 Stay competitive
Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, right? Social media is a great way to monitor your competitors and stay close to their audiences, too.
Plus, with 97% of SMEs using social media to grow, you’ll be quickly left behind without your own platform. Don't let someone else build relationships with your customers.
#2 Reach new audiences
Social channels are truly the newest search engine. More than a third of UK consumers discover brands via social media ads, recommendations, and updates from brands’ social pages. This beats both search engines and TV advertising.
#3 Connect with customers
Platforms, such as WhatsApp and Instagram, are instrumental in building stronger relationships with your existing customers. The two are being used by CRM Marketers to share content directly with exclusive communities.
For example, independent entertainment company, A24, launched a WhatsApp Broadcast Channel to connect with their UK audience. Traditionally their ecommerce store and in-person events were tailored to an American audience. This social media channel has allowed them to connect with existing (but somewhat isolated) customers.
#4 Manage your brand reputation
Even if you’re not on social media, your customers will be. Whether they’re leaving positive, negative or indifferent reviews about your business, it’s best not to leave it up to chance.
An accessible social media profile allows you to address issues privately in direct messages, rather than the comment section of a successful post.
#5 Collect data
There is no better way to get to know your audience than through social media. Not only can you easily survey customers using polls and Q&As, but you can also analyse the type of content they like to see from your brand.
The data that social media platforms provide will allow you to see what best resonates with your audience, influencing your overall marketing efforts.
#6 Employer branding
Social media can help you reach potential employees as well as customers. Both professional channels (LinkedIn) and traditional platforms (Facebook) can help you connect with new talent. Increasing brand awareness is key to attracting to some of the very best candidates.
How do users interact with brands?
To create your social media strategy, you must first understand what users want to see from you. There a several ways that users interact with businesses online, including:
- Social commerce: TikTok’s commerce platform has changed the way users interact with direct-to-consumer businesses. They expect to be able to purchase products directly from your channels.
- Customer service: It’s important that you’re able to directly address any queries, challenges or praise that users share with you. Customers prioritise quick responses above all else, so it’s important you have someone managing that channel.
- Relevant content: Users want to see relevant, honest and noteworthy social media posts from brands. Creating a content calendar that meets all these criteria is key for growth.
10 tips for growing your social media strategy
Each marketing strategy will look completely different based on your business size, industry, market, team structure and overall goals. Nevertheless, here are 10 considerations to get your planning started.
#1 Define your goals
As outlined above, there are many ways to leverage social media. Before doing anything else, you should understand what you want to achieve by investing in social media for your business.
#2 Identify which channels to invest in
With so many platforms available, it’s important to understand where best to invest your time in first.
You should focus on where your current customers are finding your brand. This will allow your digital marketing team to build an understanding of your audience and where they can grow. You can take these learnings and expand onto new platforms when you are ready.
#3 Build a content calendar
Once you’ve defined your goals, target audience and platform(s) of choice, it’s time to build a content calendar. This calendar is your social media plan. It allows the team to easily see what needs to happen and when to produce effective content.
Top tip: Try using a template from Notion, Canva or Sprout Social to build your first content calendar.
#4 Research algorithms
While the algorithm of social media sites changes regularly, there are some opportunities to take advantage of when building your presence online. This includes:
- Know the best time to post
- Understand which content performs well
- Invest in social media SEO (search engine optimisation)
#5 Optimise your profiles
Social media accounts can contribute to your rankings on other search engines, such as Google. Ensuring you’ve completed your profile, including business addresses, opening hours and contact information, will help you rank quicker.
#6 Interact with your audience
Above all else, social media sites value interaction and communication. Replying to comments and interacting with your community will help you build your brand and visibility online.
#7 Track your success
Define metrics and goals that you want to achieve within a set timeframe. This could be:
- Number of followers
- Engagement rates
- Clicks on tracked links
This will allow you and the team to understand the value of their work, benchmark their progress and learn from mistakes.
#8 Invest in a scheduling tool
There are a number of social media management tools that can supercharge your marketing efforts. Investing in a scheduling tools, such as SocialPilot, Hootsuite or Buffer, can make it easier to schedule, manage and track your content.
#9 Stay up to date with trends
One effective way to ensure social media growth is to keep an eye on what’s trending. Monitor your competition and get onboard with trending sounds, challenges and content.
Top tip: Ensure that anything topical aligns with your brand, audience and values. You don’t want to go viral for the wrong reasons.
#10 Build a dedicated team
Social media responsibilities cannot be absorbed by another team. Building a dedicated team will ensure sustainable growth on the platform.
Building a social media marketing team
To successfully build and execute your strategy, you need to build a social media team. Here are some roles to consider adding to your business:
#1 Head of Digital Marketing
If you’re a smaller brand, a Head of Digital is often the best option to lead your social media strategy. As a broader marketer, they can lead digital marketing campaigns across multiple platforms, including paid advertising.
However, if you know that your business will prioritise social media, a Head of Social might be a better option. As specialists in the space, they are dedicated to growing your business online.
#2 Social Media Manager
No matter the leadership, you need someone who can execute your strategy. A Social Media Manager is best equipped to support on strategy development – with their ear to the ground for fresh trends – and content creation.
#3 Influencer Marketing Manager
Want to get in front of new audiences? An Influencer Marketing Manager is responsible for building relationships with influencers and content creators of all shapes and sizes. Partnering with external representatives will allow you to tap into their unique following, sharing your brand even further.
We recommend considering an Influencer Manager when you know that social media is working well for your product.
#4 Content Executive
Content marketing has evolved alongside social media. While not a required hire, you might choose to onboard a specialist Content Creator depending on the platform you’re investing in. For example, if you’re prioritising Instagram and TikTok, you might consider hiring someone with experience in creating high-quality, short-form videos.
#5 Creative Strategist
A new job title, Creative Strategists combine creativity with analytical skills. Working across a variety of digital channels, these professionals are responsible for creating high-quality paid ads that convert.
#6 Videographer
With video content taking over, we’re seeing a growing demand for Videographers who can produce high-quality, on-brand content designed for social media platforms.
Ready to grow on social media?
Work with a specialist social media marketing recruiter to find the talent you need to grow. Through our unique Advise, Attract, Develop model, we can help you:
- Build the team structure, job descriptions and benefits package to attract talent
- Identify candidates for perm, contract and senior roles
- Keep your team up to date with the latest happenings in the industry
Find out more by getting in touch!
