These days, it’s no longer enough to have a Facebook page. To truly thrive, businesses across all industries need to have a clear and consistent social media presence and a strategy aligned with their brand.
For businesses, going viral isn’t necessarily the goal. First and foremost, the goal is to build an audience of engaged customers. We strive to build a community of fiercely committed brand ambassadors, word-of-mouth shouters, 5-star reviewers, excited commenters and repeat customers.
Social media can be a tool for growing a community and fostering a good reputation that upholds your brand. To accomplish that feat, the posts must be consistently published with quality content. Oftentimes, we plan posts around content pillars.
Think of content pillars as topics or subjects covered on a social media platform. Content pillars are a key component of a consistent social media strategy.
Content pillars might show off particular services, the behind-the-scenes production, company information, customer reviews, industry insights, quotes, and fun lifestyle content. For example, an HVAC company might have content pillars such as services, behind the scenes, industry info, and customer reviews. For highly technical, niched-down businesses, these content pillars will often be more specific. Using content pillars is an organized way to target those interested in the brand and company.
Content pillars provide cohesion and clarity for developing brand-centered content.
Content pillars should be chosen based on how much value they offer the audience and align with the target audience’s persona(s). Posts that offer value generally get the best engagement. When planning ways to add value to a post, we consider the 4 E’s:
When most people think of adding value, they think of educating the customers. By educating the customer, you create thoughtful consumers who consider your company to be the expert. For example, a person who is unfamiliar with engines may be reluctant to bring their car to a different mechanic. A mechanic who educates customers on social media and through blogs shows credibility and helps customers approach them from a more knowledgeable perspective.
Putting a smile on their face, giving them a quick laugh, or a fun story to share with others does so much more than make the customer feel good. It makes them think positively of your company and develop a human connection with your brand. Entertaining posts do not necessarily mean you have to dance on Tik Tok or develop a talent for stand-up comedy on your stories. Entertainment can be sharing a cute photo of the office dog (#EmployeeOfTheMonth). It can also include sharing a heartwarming story of how your company started, telling a funny memory of when you were the new kid on the block in your industry or sharing a relatable anecdote that shows why coffee is a necessity.
Sometimes the reason customers haven’t scheduled a consultation, reserved tickets to an event or purchased a particular product is because of a lack of confidence in their decision or they don’t know how the decision will make their lives better. In this case, value can be finding ways to empower them on this decision or inspire them to think about how this will improve their everyday life. For example, a person may be interested in a vacation but not ready to book the trip or activities yet. Empowering them with messaging like “you deserve this” and “remember to reserve some me-time” can shift their mindset about the vacation. The question stops being “should I do it?” and it becomes “how soon can I do it?”
Giving customers a chance to be part of the conversation is the best way to capture those likes, comments, shares, and messages. This is often done with attention-grabbing graphics and captions, thought-provoking ideas, encouragement to pick a side or choose a label, voting in a poll, or incentivizing their opinions. The more scroll-stopping, the better.
Think of the content on your social media as a gift you would give to a close friend or family member. You wouldn’t give them a gift that does not provide value to them or improve their life in some way, and you should treat your social media strategy similarly. Developing content that enriches their day with education, entertainment, empowerment, and engaging conversations creates a long-lasting impression and strengthens your brand.