In the era of social media we have become consumed by the idea of wanting to have the “perfect” feed for our profiles. When running a brand’s social account, this is not entirely different. Content creators are tasked with the duty of handling their client’s platforms as if they were their own, which of course means providing stellar content.
As creators, you want to not only create content that makes feeds look aesthetically incredibly, but you aim to reach ideal results and increase engagement. Although each brand is different, there are pillars that apply to creating leading content for any given client. These are:
Planning ahead = Better results
When developing great content for your brand, whether it is a client or yourself, you MUST plan ahead. The first step in organizing a social media account is developing goals. Your goals should be , that is: specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, and timely. By setting these goals, you’ll be able to better understand what you want to accomplish through your content.
After having goals set tailored to your specific client, you can begin planning ahead. Researching your target audience, your ideal social platforms, and your biggest competitors is a definite must. The information you’re looking for varies depending on your client and industry, but this step is always necessary.
The last step in the planning process is always to choose your posting strategy. This requires deciding what type of content you will be posting, when it will be posted, and how much (with what frequency) you will post. Some content ideas include creating original content, promotional content that attracts potential customers, and even behind the scenes material regarding your brand.
There are many different planning methods, but one of the most effective one for content creators is establishing social content calendars (You can dive deeper into this method through our content calendar guide).
Show your brand’s personality and values
After completing the planning process and beginning to develop your content, another essential pillar is establishing your brand personality and voice. Through these, you want to be able to exemplify your brand values and what you stand for.
Many times, brands get lost in the thought of wanting to generate more profits and focus too much on generating promotional content. This is not always the ideal way to go and instead ends up driving your followers away. By relying on providing organic content that reflects who your brand is, you’re instead able to generate greater brand awareness.
Your profiles should make it clear who your business is, while still showcasing what is important to you, which should definitely be providing great products and customer service. At the end of the day, your main goal is to reach enough engagement to benefit your brand and keep your followers interacting with your content. Some ways to achieve this include sharing posts, responding to comments and direct messages, hosting interactive contests and giveaways, and more.
Be consistent and choose the right networks
Another pillar to rely on as a social content creator is to choose the right networks for your brand, and be consistent while using them. Sometimes you might get lost in the thought of wanting to be present in ALL social platforms but forget what your brand’s goals are.
The best way is to choose the networks that will provide better results when reaching your audiences, and be active on those. By showcasing consistency and performing well on those platforms, you will keep on a loyal group of followers that will be aware of your brand and your goals. When it comes to social consistency and reliability are essential when providing stellar content.
SEO, SEO, SEO!
With advertisements and sponsored content being key in the success of many brand social strategies out there, it is also important to create organic results that will still benefit your brand. There are many ways to do this, but you must ALWAYS keep search engine optimization (SEO) in the back of your mind.
You can do this by, of course, being constantly active and having a consistent brand language on your social media accounts. If you post engaging content that users are sharing, this helps you when it comes to your placement on SEO. Another great tactic is having appealing video,graphic and photo content that others want to like, share and send to others on their platforms.
Reporting generates long-term success
Finally, something that many don’t know is a key step in the social media ladder is the reporting phase. The best way to measure how well you are doing and keep your clients up-to-date on results, is by reporting on the results you’re generating.
It is recommended to review the analytics of your social campaigns at least once a month. This can be done with a great number of tools such as Google Analytics, Sprout Social, SEMRush, and more. Many of the social media platforms even have their own analytics capabilities that allow you to review where you’re doing good and where there is room for improvement.
Growth is always your brand’s main goal and the best way to keep on growing and improving is to avoid adapting. Measuring the success of your goals and seeing where new tactics can be implemented is definitely the ideal way to go when reporting.
These are the five pillars to ALWAYS consider and swear by when running a brand’s social media account. Although there are always going to be different variations regarding your industry and product, these five pillars will always have relevance in the process of reaching your goal.