How to Build a Strong Social Media Influence

Social media influence really comes down to your ability to impact the online community with your content.

In marketing, this influence varies depending on the type of content you share, your target audience and the platform. Whether you are an individual, an expert in a certain field, or an established company/brand, each has their own unique impact.

These days, strong social media presence in a particular field is vital to transform users, into followers. You can’t just be active on social media, you really need complete engagement. Emerging as a powerful influencer in your industry allows you to become the go-to for many potential customers.

So, what best practices can help you build a strong social media influence? Read on to get the scoop!

Professionalism. Always.

The first step is to maintain a professional attitude towards your audience and social media as a whole. Social media may be considered a less formal way of communicating, but that doesn’t mean that you should completely abandon your professional ethics!

Always be sure that your posts on any platform are putting the best foot forward for your brand.
Cracking a joke in a reply, or posting a funny meme is fine – as long as it is brand relevant and true to your voice. Re-sharing a post with inappropriate language even if it is hilarious, or getting into a twitter battle with a stranger because you are passionate about XYZ, not so much.

Being unable to distinguish between these two is important. The latter can damage relationships with loyal customers and fail to engage new ones. But, a professional marketing approach can establish a positive connection with social media followers.

Make sure your voice on social media is in accordance with your overall business politics. Utilize social media as a tool to help connect with your current customers, identify potential customers and treat both groups with the courtesy and respect they deserve. This will eventually help you establish your brand as a recognizable and trustworthy voice within the industry.

Be relevant

Users are constantly swamped with hundreds of posts, images and even ads every day. It can be difficult to distinguish their importance. More and more people “mute” conversations or “unfollow” in attempts to suppress the excessive content they see in their news feed.

Social Media platforms are a competitive space and you have to earn your followers with worthwhile, targeted content.

When posting, first be sure your message is related to your niche, and that it provides value to your target audience. Users who are actually interested in your brand will continue following if the content really does matter to them.

Secondly, your message should be up-to-date, as there is nothing more frustrating for users than finding messages about events that already taken place -unless of course they were there and are looking back fondly with you- or promotions that have expired.

Consider relevancy within a time frame to be sure you’re on the right track.

Care is a virtue

Social media is a place to establish relationships, regardless if they are your customers, or other companies in the same industry.

One virtue that never goes unnoticed and the best way to establish that relationship? Care.

Caring in this sense really means being responsive and showing genuine interest about what other people have to say. Although your voice needs to be heard, other people’s opinion matters as well, so you shouldn’t hesitate to interact, answer questions, graciously accept feedback or provide help when one needs it.

This approach will help you deepen your relationship with your users, and ultimately earn you greater respect in the online community.

Care can also be shown with loyalty awards, like this approach from Lancome:

Numerous social media campaigns are based on the approach where engagement (whether that means likes, shares, comments or even purchases) is rewarded with special discounts, promotions, or gifts.
This “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” approach can really help when it comes to building your brand’s value.

Branding and presentation

Branding is a crucial part of online marketing and its effectiveness directly correlates to your success. If you want your brand to flourish on social media, you’ll need to apply a consistent branding
strategy and create an image that people can recognize and identify, regardless of the platform used to reach them.

Take a look at these captures from Sendlane’s Instagram:

Not everything is identical, but there are common, consistent visuals throughout which feels cohesive and targeted.

When it comes to your own strategy, use branded images, universal messages and language that will appeal to your target audience. Use consistent filters for images, keep to your main color scheme as much as possible, establish consistent fonts and styles… all of these things help with brand recognition. Which, in turn, increases your social media influence.

If you’re looking for a solution to present a united social media presentation, look no further than Social Studio FX.

A graphic design and advertising suite, SSFX is preloaded with a ton of designs and text components on templates that are optimized for use with platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more. Not only that, but you can upload your own images and graphics, transfer designs between templates, and it’s all cloud based, so there’s nothing to download!

Grab Social Studio FX and incorporate a consistent presentation into your social media strategy. Presenting your brand in a consistent and professional manner will create unity between many aspects of your company’s marketing campaign.

Build Social Media Influence

Building strong social media influence requires a strategy that will incorporate all of these aspects to stand out in your industry.

Learning how to tailor your approach will help bring your social media marketing to the new heights. In the process of finding your own voice while utilizing these tools and techniques, you will be able to emerge as a social media superstar who shines with authority. This approach is crucial when it comes to becoming a go-to member of the community. The result is obvious – your social media account will flourish, members will be more likely to share your messages and thus add to your overall exposure!

In the end, we’d love to hear from you.

What types of posts on social media do you find to be the most interesting?

What social media accounts are good examples when it comes to using practices we’ve mentioned here?

Leave your opinion in the comments below and don’t forget to like and share!


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