Social Media Strategy and Brand Building

A Lesson by Thokozani Kamkamba

Introduction to Social Media Strategy

A social media strategy is a document outlining your social media goals, the tactics you will use to achieve them and the metrics you will track to measure your progress.

A social media marketing strategy, like a strategy for anything else, comes much before you start creating. It’s a plan, a mix of ideas, a purpose, and the path to a goal that you’re aiming to achieve.

Importance of Social Media Strategy

• Social Expansion. Explain how a well-planned strategy can help reach a wider audience, engage with potential customers, and build a community around your brand.
• Drive Website traffic It involves using your social media platforms to attract people to visit your website.(Posting links,Running campaigns)
• Gain Insights Explain how tracking metrics and analyzing audience behavior can provide valuable insights into customer preferences and trends, helping to refine the strategy over time.
• Brand visibility is about how often and where your brand is seen by people. It’s like being at a party. If you’re sitting quietly in a corner, not many people will notice you. But if you’re in the middle of the room, talking to lots of people, more people will see you and remember you.

In the context of social media, brand visibility could mean:

• How often your posts show up in people’s feeds.
• How often people share or talk about your brand on their own accounts.
• How easily people can find your brand when they search for relevant keywords.

How to Start Building Your Social Media Strategies

1. Define business goals

Decide on one goal, or multiple goals that are directly related, and chalk out a strategy around what gets you there. The whole purpose of a social media strategy is to reach your goals, so it needs to be your starting point.

S – Specific: Goals should be clear and precise, avoiding ambiguity.
M – Measurable: Objectives should be quantifiable, allowing progress to be tracked.
A – Attainable: Goals should be realistic and within reach, considering available resources and constraints.
R – Relevant: Objectives should align with broader objectives and be meaningful within the context.
T – Timely: Goals should have a deadline or timeframe for completion, adding urgency and focus

For Example:
Goal 1: Increase website traffic by 25% through social media referrals within the first 90 days of the campaign.
Specific: Increase website traffic by 25% through social media referrals within the first 90 days of the campaign.
Measurable: The goal can be quantified by measuring the percentage increase in website traffic.
Attainable: A 25% increase in website traffic through social media referrals is achievable considering past performance and optimization potential.
Relevant: The goal is relevant to the social media campaign’s objective of driving website traffic.
Timely: The goal has a specific time frame of 90 days, providing a clear deadline for achieving the increase in website traffic.

Goal 2: Increase brand awareness by achieving 10,000 impressions on our campaign hashtag within the next 30 days.
Specific: The goal focuses on increasing a specific metric (brand awareness) through a specific metric (achieving 10,00 impressions on the campaign hashtag).
Measurable: The goal includes a quantifiable metric (10,000 hashtag impressions) which can be measured using social media analytics tools.
Attainable: The goal of achieving 10,000 hashtag impressions is realistic and attainable based on the campaign’s estimated reach and audience size.
Relevant: Increasing brand awareness aligns with the social media campaign objective and is relevant to overarching marketing goals.
Timely: The goal has a clear timeframe of 30 days, providing a specific deadline for achieving the targeted number of hashtag impressions.

2. Target Audience

A social media marketing plan works best when you know your target audience. Then, it’s easier to create content that speaks directly to them.

Understanding your target audience’s demographics—age, location, income, interests—is crucial for tailoring social media content. It guides content creation and engagement tactics, ensuring relevance and resonance with your audience, ultimately leading to higher engagement and brand loyalty.

3. Choose social platforms

• As you decide which social networks to use, you will also need to define your strategy for each.
• Write out a mission statement or description for each network . A one-sentence declaration to keep you focused on a specific goal
• If you can’t create a solid mission statement or description for a particular social media channel, you may want to ask yourself if it’s worth it.Example: “Nthanda uses X to promote her work, including her blog posts, media appearances, and other professional future activities.”“Nthanda Manduwi also uses Instagram to share visual content about her professional journey, engage with her audience, and foster a sense of community.”
  She also effectively uses LinkedIn to promote her professional identity and the culture of her organizations, Ntha Foundation and Bien Corporation Africa. She leverages the platform for talent recruitment, networking, and sharing relevant content, thereby enhancing her professional brand and the reputation of her initiatives.

Key considerations for social media strategy

1. Consistency
   Maintain a consistent brand voice, appearance, and message across all social media platforms to build brand recognition and trust.
2. Relevance
   Ensure that your content is relevant to your target audience and current trends. Keeping up with the latest industry news and consumer behavior helps you stay relevant in the ever-evolving social media landscape.
   
3. Adaptability
   Social media platforms and trends change rapidly. It is crucial to stay flexible and adapt your strategy as needed to remain effective
4. Marketing Analysis
   Regularly monitor and analyze other marketer’s social media strategy to gain insights and identify opportunities to differentiate your brand effectively.
5. Compliance and ethics
   Understand and comply with regulations, policies, and ethical considerations when engaging on social media platforms. Be transparent, honest, and respectful in your interactions.

Brand Building

Creating a Strong Brand Identity on Social Media

In the digital age, social media is vital for brand awareness and identity. With millions of users, it allows businesses to connect personally with their audience, build loyalty, and promote products. Establishing a strong brand identity on social media is crucial for success, involving key strategies and best practices to resonate with users.

A perfect example is Nthabiseng Ramaboa, a renowned chef and entrepreneur in South Africa, known for her culinary brand “Chef Nti”. Check out @chef_nti on instagram

1. Defining your Brand Identity

Before diving into social media branding, it is essential to define your brand identity. This involves identifying your brand values, unique selling propositions, target audience, and brand personality. By clearly defining these elements, you can ensure consistency in your social media messaging and create a strong foundation for your brand’s online presence.

Brand Values

Chef Nti values authenticity, creativity, and cultural heritage. She achieves this by creating dishes that are not only delicious but also deeply rooted in her South African heritage.

Unique Selling Proposition

Chef Nti is known for mixing old South African recipes with new cooking styles.This unique blend of tradition and innovation sets her apart from other chefs.

Target Audience

Chef Nti shares her cooking with people who love good food and want to learn more about South African dishes. She reaches out to this audience through her social media platforms, where she shares enticing photos of her dishes, recipes, and cooking tips.

Brand Personality

Chef Nti’s brand personality is vibrant, passionate, and inspiring. She achieves this through her energetic and engaging presence on social media. She shares her passion for cooking and her love for her culture, inspiring her followers with her cooking creations.

2. Consistent Visual Branding 

Visual branding plays a vital role in creating a strong brand identity on social media. Consistency in visual elements helps users recognize and remember your brand across different platforms.

Logo and Brand Colours

Nthanda Manduwi uses a consistent logo and brand colors across all her platforms, including her personal website1, social media profiles, and her initiatives such as By Ntha Media2. This consistency in visual elements enhances her brand recognition and creates a cohesive brand image

Visual Content Guidelines

Nthanda Manduwi maintains consistency across her visual content. Whether it’s her personal photos, graphics for her initiatives, or visuals for her speaking engagements, there’s a consistent look and feel that aligns with her brand personality.

Consistent Name Across Platforms

Nthanda Manduwi uses her name consistently across all platforms. Whether it’s her personal website, LinkedIn, or other social media platforms, she uses the same name, making it easy for her audience to find and connect with her.

Consistent Tone and Voice

Beyond visual elements, Nthanda Manduwi maintains a consistent tone and voice across all her content. Her language, style, and attitude are reflective of her brand personality, which is that of a digital creative, social scientist, and development professional.

3. Creating Engaging Social Media Content

Nthanda Manduwi effectively uses engaging visual content to capture her audience’s attention. Her posts often include high-quality images and graphics that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also align with her brand’s visual guidelines. This visual content helps to make her posts more engaging and shareable, thereby increasing her reach and visibility.

Storytelling

Nthanda Manduwi effectively uses storytelling to connect with her audience on a deeper level. She shares narratives about her journey as a digital creative, social scientist, and development professional, as well as stories about her initiatives.These stories make people feel connected to her and interested in what she does.

User-Generated Content 

Nthanda Manduwi encourages her followers to create and share content related to her brand. This could be photos, videos, or text posts. This makes her followers feel involved and helps build a community around her brand.

Visual Media

Leverage visual media, such as images, videos, and infographics, to make your content more engaging. Visual content tends to capture attention better, increasing the chances of your brand identity being remembered.

Timely and Trending Content

Stay updated with the latest trends and timely events relevant to your industry. By incorporating these elements into your content strategy, you can position your brand as current, relevant, and trustworthy.

4. Social Media Engagement and Interaction

Building a strong brand identity on social media requires active engagement and interaction with your audience. Establishing a two-way communication channel is crucial for fostering brand loyalty and positive brand associations.

Responding to Comments and Messages

Respond promptly and thoughtfully to user comments and messages on social media platforms. This demonstrates your brand’s commitment to customer satisfaction and builds trust among your followers.

Collaborations and Influencer Marketing

Engage in collaborations with relevant influencers or industry leaders to extend your brand’s reach and credibility. Collaborations not only introduce your brand to new audiences but also strengthen brand associations.

Community Management

Nurture your social media community by actively participating in discussions, answering questions, and acknowledging user-generated content. By fostering a sense of community, you can enhance brand loyalty and create a positive brand identity

Keep Social Media Profiles Public

Maintaining public social media profiles is important for entrepreneurs aiming to establish and expand their brand identity and reach.

• Networking Opportunities
• Visibility and reach

Negative effects of locking your profile

• Reduced Visibility
• Limited Reach
• Missed opportunities

Measuring and Analyzing Social Media Performance

Measuring and analyzing social media performance is an essential aspect of social media strategy and brand building. It allows organizations to gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of their social media efforts, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their social media presence. In this topic, we will explore various metrics, tools, and techniques that can be used to measure and analyze social media performance.

Key Metrics for Measuring Social Media Performance

1. Reach and Impressions: Measure visibility and distribution of content.
2. Engagement Rate: Assess interaction and audience attention.
3. Follower Growth: Track increase/decrease in audience size.
4. Conversion Rate: This is about how many people take action after seeing our posts-like buying something, signing up, or downloading.

Tool and Techniques for Analyzing Social Media Performance

• Social Media Analytics Platforms: Gain insights and track metrics across channel eg Hootsuite
• Customized Tracking URLs: Attribute traffic and conversions to specific campaigns.
• Social Listening: Monitor mentions and trends for brand insights.
• Marketing Analysis: Benchmark against other marketers and identify opportunities for improvement.

Practice exercises 

Auditing Social Media Presence

Conduct an audit of your personal or business social media presence. Evaluate the platforms you are currently using, analyze your follower count, engagement rates, and the type of content you are sharing. Identify areas for improvement and create an action plan to optimize your social media strategy.

Brand Persona Development

Choose a brand (can be personal or business) and develop a brand persona for social media. Define the brand’s personality traits, tone of voice, and target audience. Create a content strategy that aligns with the brand persona and effectively communicates the brand’s values and messaging.

Content Calendar Creation

Create a content calendar for a social media platform of your choice. Plan and schedule content for a specific time period (e.g., one month) based on your target audience and goals. Include different types of content (e.g., text, images, videos) and consider the frequency of posting to maintain consistency and engagement.