Utilizing the power of social media in today’s connected society is crucial to maintain and grow your business or medical practice. What are some of the key building blocks that are required to establish an effective and engaging social media presence that will enhance your brand and expand your business?
- Develop a sound social media presence. This is the first building block and the base of your social strategy. As you begin to focus on social media as part of your marketing plan, be sure you have established a strong online presence. This means to be present and actively engaged. It also means that you should wisely establish key themes and areas of interest where you want to be part of online conversations. In essence, provide a value for those who choose to like or follow you on your social networks.
- Consistency is a key in many areas of life, and this is also the case with social media. Work to communicate your brand’s tone and message regularly over all of your social networks. This doesn’t mean you should simply copy and paste your Facebook posts into your Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter feeds – in fact, you should be sure to craft each post specifically for each social network. That means your Instagram feed can be more casual than your LinkedIn posts, but they should still convey the same consistent message and brand.
- Engagement has been mentioned here several times already, and there is no concept more important to successful social media strategy for your business. Monitor your social networks (or hire someone to oversee this process) and be sure to respond to every message or comment sent to you. Engagement also implies that you are interested in what others have to say (believe it or not, it’s not always all about me), and you are sharing, retweeting, commenting, and liking the posts of others in your social sphere.As your engagement on social media increases and becomes consistent, you will develop a loyal group of followers who will seek out your posts, share and retweet, and engage with you regularly. This is a group of valuable online advocates for your brand. Keep in conversation with them, thank them for commenting or sharing your content, and work to reward their loyalty and keep them engaged.
- Establish yourself as an influencer in your field of expertise. You have built up your social media presence and you are now recognized by many or most as an important player in the online social world. You can maintain this advantageous position by continuing to post relevant, interesting, and valuable content on a regular basis. Also, it is important to seek out other influencers in your space and build relationships with them. Comment and share their content,
Not everyone wants to be a social media influencer and reach the top of the mountain in this realm, but all of these steps will help your business to improve your brand’s visibility and increase your reach with current and potential clients.
Want to talk with the experts about maximizing your social media and digital communication? Visit Reach Beyond Marketing today!