Building a social media presence is easy peasy right? Wrong. 

Well actually no, that statement is right. Social media presence building is easy peasy when you totally know what you’re doing. If you don’t then it’s hard; especially when you’re slaving over your phone, laptop or whatever device it is that you’re using, every.damn.day. So let’s stop, grab a cuppa, pen and notepad or be digitally savvy and bookmark this page because we’re here to help you build that presence. 

Ready? 

First things first, who are you targeting? Get that customer profile nailed down. Think of their age, gender and interests/habits then create content that will actively engage with that persona. 

How do you engage? So think of it this way. You own an ecommerce store, you are highly unlikely to meet your customers. Social media provides that communication, when you’re sharing products on social media, ask them what they think of the product, how would they style/use it? Are there any other colour variants and/or sizes that they’d like to see from you? Getting them involved in your posts not only increases your engagement, but you’re getting to know them better and understand what it is that they want from you. 

It’s so easy to give up after the first hurdle; your post didn’t get any engagement. What are you going to do about it? Not give up I hope. Have a look at past posts, what did you do differently? Did you post at a time when people aren’t necessarily online? 

To aid with the consistency you ideally want to have some kind of plan, we’re not talking a fully fledged marketing plan. Just pop down on a spreadsheet what topics you’ll focus on, the products that need a push, discounts and offers that are in the pipelines. By having a mini plan in place you’re more likely to stick with the consistency. 

Now, how do you be active when you haven’t really built up your presence yet? You keep posting. If a customer/potential customer comments on your post, reply. Try to start a conversation, they’re more likely to buy from you and share your brand. Once this builds, you keep at it.

Without causing damage, comment on your competitors posts, if they’ve won at something or are launching something new - congratulate them. Too many brands pull each other down, it’s time to be the bigger person and show you’re supporting them. Even if you provide a similar service or product. By doing this their customers are no doubt going to check you out; especially if you’ve commented under your brand profile. Just don’t comment on a profile if you think they’ll be bitter about it. 

Your brand voice is so important, it’s how people define you from another brand. This is where some people tend to struggle, if you’re selling a professional service and are targeting high-level professionals/seniorities then it may be worth ensuring your brand voice is how you would communicate with those and/or how they would like to be communicated with. 

But, you’ve also got to think about this. It is a human at the other end of the device engaging with your content, speak to them not at them. 

Regarding trends, jeeeese there’s a new one every day and if you were to keep up, well let’s say you wouldn’t and you’d be heading for a burnout. Review a trend is it worth your while? Does it align with your brand/products/service? If yes, jump on it, if no, then leave it be. You don’t want to jeopardise your brand already. 

Aesthetics, these are bound to change throughout the brands lifetime. But prior to launching, have a play with a couple of designs, if you’re using Instagram then set the page to private before following anyone. Test out a couple of posts, how do they work together and if they don’t what can you do to change it? You want your feed to flow, anything that stands out should only do so for a good cause i.e. an event, a flash sale/discount, competition etc. it’s really important that your aesthetics don’t just appease you but are likely to appease your customer base. 

We’re going to be real with you here, don’t post half-arsed creative pieces that don’t align with your brand. Seriously don’t, it pulls everything down. Imagine this, someone see’s a poorly created image/graphic. It's then a reflection on you and your brand - are your services and products just as poor? Of course they’re not but that’s the reflection potentially given. So invest in a freelancer or agency to help with those assets. 

Next step, if you’re selling a product sell that product through your images. Take homeware for example, style it through your home - will it work in multiple rooms? If so, show it. That’s what encourages people to purchase. They want to see it styled but they also want to see details, so show close ups, 360 videos etc. 

Our final piece of advice? Stay away from stock photos. They’re over done and you can tell when something is a stock.

We’ve just touched the basics there, but if this isn’t enough let us know at hello@clickds.co.uk you can swing by the office and we’ll have a chat how we can help you further. ✌🏼