We’ve seen how social media has gained popularity throughout the years, to a point where it is not conceivable to build a brand without leveraging at least one of these channels. From keeping in touch with your community, to selling our products to a broader audience, these tools have made reachable what once appeared to be impossible.
But there is something important that we want to remind you of: more social media platforms ≠ more engagement or growth, necessarily, especially if you’re publishing your content inadvertently to the wrong audience. Are you making any of the following mistakes?
- Publishing the same content with the same format on every social media platform
- Leaving one or more platforms unattended for an indefinite period
- Posting without studying what kind of public is interacting with you on that platform
If any of these statements is affirmative then it’s time to take a break and sit while you read this: YOU’RE DAMAGING YOUR IMAGE. Here I explain to you why:
- If someone follows you on more than one platform. it’s because they want to know more about you, about what you do and how you do it. Seeing the same post in different sizes is not going to give that to your users. You’re just being lazy.
- Abandoned accounts give an unprofessional and disorganized aspect to your brand. Imagine that one of your customers is looking for some update on your product, maybe an image or a review, and all they can find is a post of: (insert here a piece of outdated news). If you can’t keep up with the pace or you’re struggling to find content that matches your brand, it might be better to let that one go.
- Tons of text on Instagram, no context images on Twitter, irreverent opinions and hot takes on Facebook… No manual tells you not to but that’s not usually how it works. There’s a place for everything, and the key is to find out how to adapt and take the lead in every context.
So where do I belong? Well, that’s the next big step.
How do I know where my place is?
To pick wisely where you’re going to invest your time and efforts you must have clear two things: who you are and what you want to transmit, and the main pros and cons of each platform to see if there’s a space in there that fits you and the message you wanted to transmit in the first place.
Unfortunately, we can help you with the first half, that’s up to you. But the rest is right here at the tip of your hand. You’re about to discover what tendencies might show users on different social media and how you can make the best out of it.
This is the platform where you can be closest to your followers. Interactivity, debates and immediacy are some of the characteristics of leveraging Twitter to build your audience. Users here are looking for:
- Participation: they want to interact with you and feel heard. Ask questions, ask for opinions and ideas for your brand/product. Polls are a great idea too! Make them feel part of what you are building.
- Dynamism: Twitter users want to know what’s on-trend and what’s new with you and they want to get that info as fast as they can. Brief updates and appetizers of what’s coming are key when it comes to gaining engagement.
- Learning: professionals and experts use Twitter to share their knowledge with everyone and people appreciate that. We all are looking for advice to improve and that’s your call to get ahead and start spreading tips, tricks, and experiences about how you got where you are now. Don’t underestimate who’s looking up to you.
- Connections: your next business partner is just a DM away from you. Take the initiative and reach out, you never know if that person is walking through the same path that you.
It is important to mention other qualities that might cause a headache from time to time:
- Polemics: an innocent opinion can turn into a hurricane in the blink of an eye. Haters won’t lose the chance to take out of context anything if they can create chaos by doing it. And whether you believe in cancellation culture or not, these situations can damage a brand’s image.
Tip: A hot take every once in a while is necessary but be careful, Twitter never forgets.
With over 2 billion active users this is the one with the broadest scope on the list. It also has a powerful set of tools in its business model and they are really easy to use. So the advantages with users here are:
- Open to being part of a community: the exposure on Facebook is huge, so there’s a whole range of possibilities for your business on this platform. You can inform your followers of a new promotion on your product or more detailed info about your brand’s mission and future projects since people here are more willing to read articles and longer posts.
- Interaction: just as it happens with Twitter, people enjoy enrolling in a conversation with you. Make sure you bring to the timeline value content which not necessarily have to be related to your niche. Comments and replies are the main boosters of the algorithm. Make sure to have a good team to help you manage all these interactions.
- Diversity: and we are not just making reference to the audience but also to the content that people are looking for. From videos to pictures, and infographics, name it and you have it. The versatility gives you more freedom when creating content for your audience since you’ll always find a public for it.
Even if this is not completely related to the users it is important to mention this important characteristic on Facebook:
- Censorship: If you haven’t noticed yet, you might want to avoid irreverence, “dark humor” and even [insert here a long list of words and expressions] when posting since there is a big chance of being suspended.
Or the showcase of your brand. The most aesthetic and visual network from all three. Even with its ups and downs, Instagram’s supremacy in selling experiences and lifestyles is undeniable. Users on Instagram are looking for:
- Inspiration: visual experiences are part of every reel, story and post elaborated on Instagram. Images are useful to produce emotions easily in the audience. Use this to show the attractive side of your brand, how happy and satisfied users of your brand look when interacting with it
- Beauty: this is the space to project the personality of your organization or business through colors and shapes. The brand guidelines will never be this important. Uniformity is something that some social media managers tend to obviate while they are too busy making a ton of messy content, but unless you’re a celebrity, you’ll need a unique stamp to differentiate your account from all the others.
- The process: If people follow you on this channel, it’s because, knowing what you do is not enough, they want to observe you while you’re doing it. Stories and reels are the absolute best to show your daily activities. They also give you the space to share tips and quick tutorials that your followers can save and rewatch later.
But there is also a dark side when it comes to Instagram users and the platform in general:
- High maintenance: due to the latest changes in the algorithm, it’s pretty much mandatory to make daily updates to keep you relevant in the feed. The tricky part is that it has to be mostly with reels and stories since those are the formats that improve your positioning and visibility with your followers.
If you’re not willing to create quality content and publish it every day, this might not be for you.
- Superficiality: this community is here to be amused with visuals. Long captions and posts with a bunch of text will likely go unnoticed. So keep this in mind when elaborating your strategy.
Finally, whether you choose one platform or another to start building and growing, remember there are a few guidelines that will never change no matter what. These are the Holy Rules of social media:
- Be consistent
- Listen to your audience and change what you have to change
- Support yourself in a community
- Keep it authentic
Hypefury wants to help you grow your followers, and specializes in Twitter and LinkedIn. Check us out if you’d like to supercharge your audience growth.
