Making the most of your audience
Social media has come a long way in the last twenty years. The way we use social platforms to connect, learn and advertise would be unimaginable to Myspace users in the noughties. No longer just a place to post photos, social apps have become an invaluable tool for communication.
A social media presence not only allows you to reach your target audience in a way previously impossible, it also enables you to grow a community of dedicated customers. Brands using community-building strategies can see a significant increase in engagement and conversion.
Fostering many-to-many connections means your audience will interact with each other about your content rather than simply consuming it as isolated individuals. This approach creates contagious conversations around your brand.
Utilising this style of marketing is incredibly useful for every kind of business. The benefits of building a community on social media include:
- Connecting with your target audience
- Establishing brand loyalty
- Increasing word-of-mouth marketing within your key demographic
- Building trust in your brand
- Becoming your customer’s go-to expert
- Creating an easy-to-reach feedback group
Read on to discover our top tips on how to build a community on social media.
Know your target audience
Who do you want to connect with? Creating a comprehensive profile of your ideal consumer will help you identify and engage the right target audience.
Where are you most likely to find this group of people online? LinkedIn may be the best choice if you want to connect with business professionals. However, if your customer base is students, social platforms like Instagram are more likely where you will find them.
Be relatable
Consider your ideal customers' likes, dislikes, and interests to use as inspiration for your content. Relatable content emphasises shared interests, opinions, and values.
Make it personal
Introduce yourself! Share about your team, your story and your vision. By associating your brand with a physical person, potential customers will form a deeper and more meaningful human connection.
Consistent Branding
Effective social media marketing stops people scrolling. Consistently carrying across colours, fonts, and image styles will make your posts feel familiar and recognisable.
Tone of Voice
Choosing a suitable tone of voice for your brand will subconsciously help customers trust you and connect on an emotional level. Choose a tone that will reassure your target audience that they are in the right place. This could be professional and precise language or casual slang that uses emojis.
Be Responsive
Respond to engagement quickly. If a potential customer leaves a comment on your post, reply as soon as possible. Promptly answer queries and encourage further conversation by asking open questions.
Create a Safe Space
For people to open up and contribute to your community, they need to feel secure. Monitor your comments to reduce spam and prevent nasty remarks from escalating.
Support Secondary Causes
What do your customers care about? Supporting charities or raising awareness of causes close to their hearts will create a strong point of connection.
Be Topical
Get involved in current conversations. You could use shared experiences such as weather, holiday celebrations or popular film releases. Many companies with younger audiences tapped into the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon of 2023 with great effect! Encourage your community to share their mutual experiences with one another.
Encourage Interaction
Reward interaction by sharing posts that you are tagged in. Actively enter conversations on posts related to your USP to bring your brand name into the discussion.
Collaborate
Team up with companies who share your target audience. Identify places where your target audience overlaps with non-competitor brands.
For example, a travel agent and a suitcase manufacturer could run giveaways together. Not only does this allow you to share audiences, but it also shows goodwill towards others.
Show You Care
Be loud and proud about your services and products! Seeing your passion will encourage potential customers to follow and support you. Don’t be afraid to ask your community for feedback. Involving them and valuing their input will strengthen their brand loyalty.
Not sure where to start?
Running a business is time-consuming. We understand that adding social media marketing to your list may feel like one thing too many. Rushing your content will not see the impactful results that a tailored campaign can achieve.
Here at Vooba, our expert team can help harness the power of social media marketing for you. We will showcase your business directly to your target audience. Working with us will free up your time to focus on serving the new customers we send your way.
Get in Touch
For help and advice on how to grow a social media community, get in touch. Our friendly team would love to recommend the best social media package for your company.
Contact us today on (+44) 01798 667167.
We look forward to discussing how Vooba can transform your company’s digital marketing strategy.
