How to build a strong social media presence.

Small business owners can use social media with more intention to achieve their desired results. Whether you're a musician, entrepreneur, content creator, etc., you can use social media for your small business to add massive value to your brand. Read on to learn how to improve your business’s branding and content on social media.

Brand Credibility
Brand credibility is how much consumers trust you to deliver on your promise of value. How can they believe that your business can deliver a great product and experience? How can you build this trust before they have purchased your product or service?

One way that small business owners can build brand credibility on social media is through customer reviews. Have you ever found yourself searching for a specific type of food? Let's say you're on the hunt for some amazing pizza. When you go to search for pizza restaurants in your area what happens? Likely, tons of pizza restaurants come up in your search.

The first thing many of us would look at are the reviews and star ratings of the restaurant. Reviews are extremely important to building brand credibility on social media. Digital reviews are proof that the power of word-of-mouth is unmatched. Positive reviews from satisfied customers display a good sign for prospective customers.

One simple social media strategy for your small business would be to start asking every customer to leave an honest review about their experience with your business. On social media, ask your customers for a mention on their story. Have them check in while they are at your store. Encourage them to post a short video testimonial. Reviews are a fast and effective way to build brand credibility on social media

Brand Authenticity
An authentic brand needs to be reliable, respectful, and real. Viewers on social media are bombarded with thousands of advertisements over time. Building strong brand authenticity on social media gives your audience an opportunity to connect with your brand and relate to your brand's mission and values.

Building brand authenticity goes beyond your product. It speaks to how well your audience can relate to you. Share your story. Share some behind-the-scenes content with your audience. Show people how you’re working hard to build an honest business. Highlight how you’re giving back to the community.

For example, consider offering specials to veterans as a thank you for their service. Recognize holidays and special days that are significant to groups and organizations that you support. Sponsor a local little league sports team. Donate to your favorite animal shelters or charities.

Actively show your audience how your business is having a positive impact on the world. Why is this important? Brand authenticity heavily influences consumers’ buying decisions. People are looking for something more to connect with when making purchases. Consistently including this type of content on your social media platforms is a good strategy for your small business. Creating an authentic brand starts with you, your values, and your passion to help others.

Brand Value
Content creation is an important social media strategy for any small business. But how can you create content that delivers value to your audience, and why is this important? There are over 100 million posts made every day, so delivering content that’s valuable to your audience tremendously boosts your brand value on social media.

Share content that’s relevant and remember to stay on topic. As an authority in your industry, provide solutions that address common problems your audience might be facing. When viewers request more specific help, direct them to your product or service for more information.

Another way to deliver value to your audience is by keeping up to date with the latest news and changes happening in your industry. Stay away from content that feels spammy or like a sales pitch. Sincerely share content that your audience can use. Do your research to ensure that your content is accurate. Unfortunately, there’s no shortage of misinformation on social media.

Your brand should be a valuable source of information to your viewers that elicits a positive connection to your audience. People do remember how you made them feel.

Best Practices
All of the above-mentioned aspects of branding work together. Think of your brand like a student getting a report card. A good student is strong in multiple subjects, not just one or two. It’s the combination of being strong in every subject that contributes to the student’s grade point average.

Every aspect of branding is equally important, and they all work together. Your brand character and reputation are the sum of these different categories. Let’s review some of the best practices to keep in mind when building a brand on social media.

• Build credibility by encouraging your customers and clients to post reviews and video testimonials on social media with your business tagged in the post.


• Establish an authentic brand by sharing how your brand gives back to the community, shows support to past customers, as well as supports positive groups and organizations.


• Deliver value to your audience by keeping them up to date on the latest industry news, provide content that is helpful and relevant to your viewers.


• Post consistently, and make sure your posts are on brand topic.


• Tell your story by sharing some interesting and inspiring moments that happen behind the scenes of your business to create a more authentic and relatable brand.

Building a brand on social media is much bigger than just running ads and selling products. Viewers spend money with brands that they know, like, and trust. People love brands that are authentic, helpful, and relatable. Feel free to let your authentic self-shine, and you can build a successful company, a fantastic reputation, and a strong social media presence for your small business.