In today’s digital marketing world, social media is on fire, so how can you be heard?

How can you make an impact and stand out in such a saturated industry? If you ask us, we are firm believers in building a successful brand on social media by establishing trust, connecting with an audience, and being relatable — not simply by selling something.

Think about your own personal online experience — what kind of brands do you support and enjoy interacting with the most? As consumers, we tend to support brands that stand for something and that have a purpose that resonates with us. We choose products that solve a problem for us or make a positive impact on the world around us.

So, where do you start when trying to build that momentum with your audience? What steps can you take to make your brand really stand out and align with your ideal clients? We have some strategies for you!

Hit your customer’s pain points and find your niche

One of the best ways to reach your audience is to solve a problem for them. How can your products make your customers’ lives easier?

If you’re not 100% clear on what exactly it is that your ideal client needs a solution for, talk to them! 9 times out of 10, your audience will tell you exactly what they want. Talk to your audience, figure out what their needs are, and appeal to that!

Finding your niche means that you’ve already established what industry your business falls in, and now you’re working to fit under a smaller umbrella within that industry (for example: if you’re a food blogger, you might want to establish a stronger niche, like being a gluten-free, plant-based food blogger to reach a very specific audience).

The key when it comes to finding your niche? Don’t try to be everything for everyone. Instead, pick your ideal audience and reach them by appealing to their specific wants and needs. If you have too big of an audience you are trying to appeal to, you will have too many users who aren’t truly connecting or reacting to your content in a way that will really impact your business.

Use your brand voice

A brand voice helps your audience identify your brand across all platforms. The tone of voice that you use on your company website, social media, email marketing, etc., should be consistent and reflect your brand on all levels (i.e., your brand voice should align with your brand’s mission, values, etc.).

Think of your brand voice as a representation of your company. If you sat down with your business, what would it sound like? What type of personality would it have? Determining your brand voice will help you connect with your audience in a more authentic way and will help make your marketing strategy effective!

Theme your accounts

Your social media theme could easily be described as your personal portfolio that reflects what your brand is all about.

The more consistent your social media accounts look visually, the more interactions you will have with your audience. When you create a theme and stick to it, people will associate that with your brand, and your content will become more recognizable —, and brand recognition is paramount to success!

Use strong visuals.

Successful brands use more than just creative written content to communicate with their customers online.

Imagine clicking a link to a website and landing somewhere with no visuals and JUST text — you would be pretty confused (and probably a little bored), right? That shows the importance of strong visuals!

Your social accounts could very well be the first impression your consumer gets of your brand, and having a strong visual layout could make or break their experience! Utilizing good media (photos, graphics, videos) will help reinforce your branding, which makes you stand out amongst your competitors.

Tell a story and be compelling

No one wants to be sold to; they want to listen to stories and learn about why your brand matters, how it aligns with their wants and needs, and how it can provide a solution to their problems.

Your brand story should prove that you have the expertise and know-how that your audience is looking for in order to trust investing in you. Focus on the “why” behind your brand and “how” it will relate to your customers. This will help shrink the trust gap and position your business to make more meaningful connections.

Use network tools

Using social media management tools can help you manage multiple platforms with ease. Platforms like SproutSocial, Hootsuite, or Planoly can give you the flexibility to plan your content ahead of time instead of utilizing the same-day posting method — posting on the fly can be so stressful!

Not only will planning ahead play into your overall strategy, but it will also allow you to manage your customer base, keep up with engagement, and analyze your content’s performance.

Have a solid strategy in place

One thing successful social media channels have in common? They are highly consistent in both their frequency of posting content and the type of content they provide.

Building a loyal audience and finding your unique tone of voice requires a solid strategy and defined goals. What are you trying to achieve, and where do you want your brand to go? What are you trying to get your audience to do? Having a clear, targeted strategy in place helps you to better see the big picture of things while still focusing on the here-and-now.

Building a strong presence on social media takes determination, strategy, skills, and perseverance. When you create strategies to work towards your overall goals, connect with your audience, and build trust with your community, your brand WILL flourish, and you will be able to stand out in this noisy, digital world!