As a startup, when it comes to social media strategies, getting inspiration from the success of others is a great way to make sure you’re on the right track. Winning startup social media strategies should always showcase a brand’s unique values and voice, but putting this into action can take a bit of practice. Buffer shares how several top brands stay on top of their social media game, and a few tips on how to emulate it for your own business. Here are some lessons you can take from successful brands in order to develop your own strategy:
Video and Images Matter
This is an important lesson in the age of social media. Visual content sells. Image posts are more likely to be viewed, shared and remembered. Ensuring your posts have diverse images that catch the eye of the reader is a sure tactic to keep them interested.
Tools like Canva and Piktochart help you create the images with the help of stock photos from sites like Unsplash and Pixabay. If a particular image post is doing well, pin them to your timeline to gain more viewers.
Inspiration Engages Customers
Many popular brands from Nike to Red Bull receive a ton of engagement on social media despite having fewer posts than other companies. This is proof that you shouldn’t focus on the number of posts. It’s the content that really matters. These same brands know that inspiring their followers results in higher engagement.
To do this for your startup, you should first get to know your audience and their interests. Your content shouldn’t focus just on your products and services. Remember that what matters more to your customers is the experience they get when using your products more so than its features.
Your startup should use social media to convey your company’s values and philosophy indirectly.
Show, Don’t Tell
It’s easy to rattle off your startup’s mission and vision, but that won’t get your followers to listen. Those are just words on a page. Show your followers the values that are important to you and your business by sharing relevant stories and images that highlight your mission.
For example, if you take pride in how your company focuses on family values, show this by sharing stories from your employees and how they enjoy a healthy work-life balance. You can also include content that talks about how you use materials that are safe for the entire family as well.
Any of these strategies are easy to implement as long as you take the time to research the needs of your target market. Find a good mix of content that’s right for your business. Like everything else in social media, experiments should be done often and adjustments should always be made when you notice a pattern. A simple tweak here or there might not seem like much now, but you’ll be surprised to find out that a small adjustment to your strategy can make big waves with how your followers engage with your brand.
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