Encourage engagement with your professional and personal social network.
These days, many of us live and breathe social media. We scroll for the latest news, a good laugh, and updates on the happenings of family and friends; post about the latest happenings in our own lives; watch last night’s concert reels; and view the most recent viral meme—the list goes on. We consume a vast amount of information. Considering the time spent on a multitude of platforms, have you thought about being more strategic?
Here are three strategies for building and expanding your personal and professional social media presence and brand.
Interact
How do you want to connect with your audience or community? Your audience will vary depending on the social media platform you use, and the platform you choose is dependent on your purpose for using social media. LinkedIn is undoubtedly the spot for professional networking, Facebook is a good place to connect both personally and professionally, and Instagram is best for photographs and videos. Perhaps you want to be on all three
(or more), or maybe you opt to post on just one.
Also, when do you want to interact with your community? There are analytics on LinkedIn and Facebook that help you optimize exposure by posting at certain times on certain days. In addition, there are many online resources on optimal posting times, including articles posted on sproutsocial.com.
If you are building a brand presence for yourself or your company, it helps to be thoughtful and strategic. Develop a content plan that includes how many times a week you will post and which days and times make strategic sense. Consider setting a theme for the week or month. You can schedule content within publishing tools on Facebook and Instagram or use a platform such as Hootsuite, Agorapulse, or Buffer to organize and
schedule your posts.
Inform
For each platform, consider the end goal and purpose for your social media campaign. You want to bring value to your community, especially for your professional brand. Consider the following questions: Are you trying to build brand awareness? Are you looking for new customers to drive sales? Do you want to focus on sharing pertinent industry information within your community as a trusted expert? Or maybe you want to offer the latest news and create FOMO (fear of missing out) to market products, events, and services.
You can add value to your social media posts in a variety of ways. Educate your community with a combination of useful industry tidbits, company updates, recent events, interesting experiences, and helpful tips based on what you know. Post regularly—weekly or monthly—to build brand recognition and understanding.
Inspire
Show your authentic self on social media. We each have something unique to bring to the table. Take a moment to consider what is meaningful to you, and share about this wholeheartedly. What you find relevant and relatable will almost certainly resonate with others in your community and help build personal and professional relationships. Found a quote that resonates with you? Share it. Spread success stories, and give shoutouts
to inspire others.