How to Build a Brand on Social Media

By Lauren LaTulippe

Everyone wants a strong social media presence. But people don’t just follow a company’s Instagram solely because they like the product or service, but rather because the company’s social media adds something to their feed.

And usually, that value comes from a brand.

Creating and maintaining a brand on social media will build your following and increase your engagement from customers.

Here are some tips on how to build a brand on social media:

Determine Your Audience

The sooner you figure out your target audience, the sooner you can create content made just for them to quickly grow your following.

There are different ways to go about learning your target audience. Google, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram analytics are all useful tools. You could follow these steps as well:

Identify buyer personas
Find where your audience is most active,
Look at competitors
Survey your customers

Identify your Niche

Is your content teaching something or is it for entertainment? What is its purpose? Is it focused on fashion and beauty, mental health or fitness? What specific topic do you primarily feature?

These are considerations that go into identifying your niche.

Having a niche increases your chances of converting someone who is exposed to your content into a follower. Catering to a niche assists social media algorithms in determining who would actually engage with your content.

For example, on Instagram it is better to use niche hashtags, as the people interested in that type of content will likely search under that hashtag. On Tik Tok, the algorithm rewards content for niche audiences because it can tell which users’ “For You” pages to put videos on based on content they have engaged with in the past.

Establish your Tone

Now you know your target audience and what niche you will occupy, it’s time to establish the tone your social media accounts will have.

Tone on social media can be anything from funny and ironic to emotional and serious. The important thing to remember here is to be consistent.

Of course, a company can build a tone that is primarily funny and still post something serious if the company is, for instance, speaking on a social issue. However, what you want to avoid is switching it up so much that there is little cohesion.

Different tones are also appropriate for different social media accounts, so it is okay to adjust accordingly.

Create a Cohesive Aesthetic

First, make sure that all social media accounts have the same basics: logos, handle and bio.

The next step is to determine what aesthetic you want your social media account to take. This section applies primarily to platforms like Instagram, where photo-sharing is a central focus.

Colors and fonts need to have a cohesive look. It’s not necessary to stick to only a few colors, but just ensure that the look of everything works together. As a unit, you want it to all give off the same feeling.

For instance, Anthropologie’s social media branding sticks to pastel and earthy colors and has a light and airy feeling. It gives their branding a cohesive look. It also emulates the feeling that their clothes and store portrays.

Content is Everything

Two things are vital to the content you post: consistency and engagement.

People consume so much content daily, it’s important to post consistently so you stay fresh in your audience’s minds. Many different tools can make posting content on different social media platforms easier.

If your audience never engages with your content, it’s almost as if you never posted at all. A smaller but highly engaged audience is more beneficial than a large and indifferent following. It’s vital to learn how to write engaging social media content.

If you still have questions on how to build a brand on social media, contact the 1893 Brand Studio. Our diverse teams can help you craft content to better your brand across social media platforms.