Nike or Adidas? Android or Apple? Kleenex or Puffs? Coca-Cola or Pepsi?
What made you answer the questions the way you did? Was it that one has an objectively better product? Could it have been the slight price difference? Or, could the decision be coming from a sense of loyalty to the company or the brand?

As your company is coming together, it may be easy to focus on what service you are selling or your physical product. Despite the urge to focus on that, and that alone, it is prudent to also spend time to realize what you’re selling on a deeper level. This could be an experience, a status symbol, or a way to deepen a relationship, the possibilities are endless, but once you know what you are truly selling, you can genuinely begin to build your brand.

The importance of brands

When a company starts to develop its brand, they are essentially finding the best way to connect and remain relevant to their consumers. A brand can be the difference between a consumer purchasing your product over your competitors. When making a purchase decision for themselves or others, consumers are placed in situations where they are forced to ask themselves questions similar to what was seen at the beginning of this post. Branding and brand loyalty, at that point, become one of the main deciding factors. In fact, “86 percent of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and support” (Mohsin, 2020).

Knowing this, a company that invests its resources into its brand development and management has the potential to see an increase in conversions and sentiment when compared to its competitors. The question is, how can a company that is just starting do this? 

How social media ties into brand building

Building your brand goes beyond the logo and colors. Yes, those are important, but your brand also consists of your values and how you are perceived. You can use social media to shape and manage your brand by creating content that is aligned with the desired brand and by engaging with others who reinforce your brand, as well as, your current and potential consumers.

Examples of branding on social media 

Branding on social media can be done in a few ways, which were briefly touched on earlier. Starting from the basics, a company can start building its brand by incorporating the logo and color scheme throughout the shared content and on its profiles. In doing so, the company will build a clear physical image that can aid in creating an omnichannel experience as the company progresses. In the Taco Bell example, each of the platforms uses their logo as the profile photo, has their slogan in their bio, and has similar colors on the images.  

Moving forward, the content the company posts contributes tremendously to the brand and perception of the company. The overall tone should be consistent throughout the different platforms for both the imagery and the copy. This helps reinforce the desired brand identity and remain consistent with the consumers who have already started to engage with the company. This means, if your company’s brand is relaxed, fun, and playful, the copy should use words and phrases that reinforce those characteristics throughout every platform. 

Using social media to showcase your values is another way to build your brand. Everyday people and companies are creating, sharing, and engaging with the content they see online. This allows new businesses an opportunity to join in and add to conversations that align with the brand they are building and the values they stand behind. For instance, Nickelodeon (@Nickelodeon) shared their support for a well-known talent, Jojo Siwa, and her LGBTQ+ announcement on Instagram. This demonstrates their values of being an inclusive and welcoming brand, which a business of any size could essentially do.

Through social media, users get to know the brand and can share their thoughts and feelings towards it with their friends and family. Having user engagement is important to building brands because it is another aspect in and of itself. Think about it, your brand is not strictly made up of what you say about yourself, it also consists of how well you treat your customers. 

Is the company the type to engage with consumers when possible or to only engage with consumers who are in the process of converting? Users will begin to understand how the company interacts with them and they will gauge how trustworthy or credible they are. You wouldn’t want to work hard on making yourself look good just to be branded as a company that doesn’t care about its customers or their experience. This is where social media’s constant stream of communication can be useful. Thinking back at the Taco Bell example, their Twitter account bio opens up the option to communicate with them directly should they need to. This builds on the idea that they are there for the consumers.

 

So as you can see, social media is an effective way to build and maintain your company’s brand. Here are the key points to remember:

• Use your logo and your brand colors throughout the platforms to help create a consistent look for the company.
  
• Post content that is relevant to you, your industry, and your company’s why. People connect to authenticity. 
• Know your values and stick to them. Showcase your beliefs and connect with consumers on a deeper level. You can and should move past selling in every piece of content posted.
• Engage with your supporters when you can. This humanizes your company and helps your consumers create a bond with you.

 References
Mohsin, M. (2020). 10 Branding Statistics You Need to Know in 2021 [Inforgrafic]. Oberlo. Retrieved from, https://www.oberlo.com/blog/branding-statistics