Using Social Media to Build Brand Awareness: Part II
In Part I of this installment, we discussed some techniques for increasing brand awareness for a company who is new to the whole “social scene.” In this post, we will touch on a few specific ways to measure what is working and what isn’t, and how to adjust your strategy accordingly.
Note that not all strategies will work the same for all companies. Some factors to consider are industry, company size, and amount of time/manpower you plan to allot to your social efforts. Keep this in mind when reading about Internet Creations’ specific methods.
When your social efforts via Twitter are successful, within the first 2-3 months you will notice
- Amount of @ replies and ReTweets will increase
- Number of followers will increase
- New customers discovering your products/services and using this channel to get in touch with you
- More visits to your website and blog, and an increase in sales leads for your products/services
If the above points are not happening for you within a few months of establishing and using a Twitter account for your business, you should ask yourself these questions
- Am I following enough active Twitter users within my industry’s network?
- Am I spending enough time engaging other Twitter users and making conversation and/or jumping into other conversations?
- Are my Tweets a sufficient blend of product/service announcements, industry news, and conversational content about current events in my field of business?
- Are my communication efforts built on personality, or am I using sales jargon and sounding too “robotic?”
Check out the Radian6 Twitter account as an example of how to properly market your brand, communicate your ideas, and engage followers. (click to expand)
After setting up this account and connecting with users, you should start to see
- Customers, prospects, and other people in your industry’s network are fans of your company page
- Increase in the amount of “Likes” and “Shares” of your Facebook wall posts
- More people will get involved in contests and specials you’re hosting on this channel
- More visits to your website and blog, and an increase in sales leads for your products/services
In the event that these accomplishments are not seen within the first few months, take a moment to ask yourself…
- Have I been actively using Facebook as a cross-promotional tool to voice new blog posts, product/service specials, and other updates?
- Do I have a solid Facebook profile that visually matches the branding of my company using completed information in the bio section?
- Have I uploaded photos and videos?
- Am I asking open-ended questions and engaging my followers, as well as responding to their comments within 4-8 hours?
Blog
This platform for social media communication can be a bit more tricky to measure results, but you should start to see the following after a few months of consistent blog posts (1-2 per week)
- Followers on both Twitter and Facebook will increase (especially if you are using these channels to announce new blog posts, and your Facebook and Twitter followers are @ replying and ReTweeting to their followers)
- Readers will participate in commenting on your blog content
- More visits to your website and blog, and increase in sales leads for your products/services
Should you notice that you are not receiving many visitors to your blog and no one seems to be commenting on any content you are posting, you may want to examine all or any of the following:
Visual quality of blog:
- Am I appropriately displaying my company’s graphics, logos, and information on the blog site?
- Is the look and feel of my blog similar to my website, Twitter, and Facebook account?
- Is it easy for readers to navigate my blog site and leave comments?
Quality of blog content:
- Am I using attractive sentence structure and appropriate grammar/spelling to convey my ideas within my blog posts?
- Are my blog posts a sufficient blend of product/service announcements, industry news, my company’s stance on an issue, and conversational content about current events in my field of business?
- Is the tone of my writing too “sales-pitch-like,” or am I actively communicating as a personality and face of the company?
Cross-Promotional Efforts:
A lack of comments on your posts and visits to your blog may mean that people simply do not know your blog exists. This could be the result of poor advertising on your other social sites, or perhaps you need to use other methods to get the word out.
- Try sending an email blast to your list of contacts informing them that you have a running blog with published articles that they may find to be useful and newsworthy.
- Kindly ask those people in your network to follow you on Twitter and Facebook.
- Include your company Twitter handle and Facebook Page URL (and personal, if applicable) in your email signature.
- Keep up with other blogs and Social Media news and trends to learn about new products and applications to boost your social efforts.
We’re a fan of the Starbucks blog. It’s a great example of customer involvement with a clean layout and branded to the look and feel of their website. (click link to view)
Consistency is key. So long as you are sticking to your strategy and continuously posting, commenting, and being conversational with your followers, you should notice results. It is simple to adjust your strategy using the points we listed above.
Did we forget anything? Do you disagree with our measurements for social success? Feel free to leave a comment, or send us a Tweet @icsfdc.
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