Do you ever wonder what all your favourite social media profiles have in common? Most likely, they are always present, and their way of communication is instantly recognized anywhere and at any time.
For managers of these accounts to achieve consistency, they must follow a well-thought-out and specific way of communicating on social networks.
The way we communicate on social networks is like a kind of map that dictates in what form and how our brand appears on different platforms. Communication is also strongly linked to the general guidelines of our brand – it is, in fact, a living document that can be adapted and developed over time as needed.
So I’m talking about a document that says what our tone of communication is, what colours and visuals we use, and what properties make our mark on social networks identifiable.
Why does our brand need a unique way of communicating on social networks?
The design of the communication method is essential regardless of the size of the company and its teams. Even if only one person is responsible for social media posts in your business, they must follow a pre-prepared plan. It’s important to have a source of information that a social networking specialist can refer to.
The mode of communication plays an important role even when the main social network manager is absent. That’s when someone else has to take over his job. That the process on your company’s social networks is running smoothly, and the posts are consistent is the way the communication method works.
Also, with a well thought out way of communicating on social networks, you will clearly show the personality of your brand and attract the attention of customers wherever you appear.
Before setting up a way to communicate on social networks, let’s define our brand identity carefully
As a business that has existed for a long time, you probably already have your identity defined. However, if you have not yet specified your business identity, then you must do so before you set out to communicate. Ask yourself:
· What service do you provide to customers?
· Who is your target audience?
· What is your unique approach to work?
· What are your goals and values?
When determining your identity, ask yourself: What do you want as a business to achieve? You can then start planning your unique way of communicating on social networks.
We include all the social networks on which we are present in the communication plan.
When planning your communication method, first think about the social networks your brand is currently using. Make sure you include in the plan all the social networks where the brand is present, not just the one you use most often. If your business is present on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, Snapchat, etc., you must include these social networks in your plan for communicating on social networks.
When planning, also consider what your name will be on different social networks so that followers can find you. The fact is that new platforms are continually emerging, so we also need to think in advance about guidelines for creating our unique usernames. Trademarks that have more common names may find that the username we use is usually occupied on a particular platform. So it makes sense that we also consider the secondary options of our name as part of how we communicate on social networks.
What should the plan of communication method on social networks contain?
There are no rules for how many components our guide to social media communication should contain. However, some elements are a mandatory part of any plan. Let’s see what they are.
The tone of communication
Communication tone defines the whole personality of your brand – the tone is a way to use the brand voice. The carefully chosen tone of communication brings the brand closer to the users and at the same time makes it more “human”.
For example, if you want your brand to be known as happy and energetic, then write it down in your social media communication plan. If you write down exactly how you want your brand to be presented, then you will avoid posts that do not match your personality. Your brand personality can thus be personified by kindness, sophistication, authenticity, Sarcasticism or anything else. Try to find 2-3 features that make your brand stand out, and do the same with features that aren’t in your style – so you know exactly what you don’t want to communicate.
Spelling and grammar
The spelling on social media can be a big embarrassment for you. If you already have a general way of communicating your brand online, you can only adopt it slightly too social networks.
Do you typically use specific words or phrases that are unique to your business when communicating? Along with how they are used, include them in your guide to how you interact.
Specify:
· When to use certain punctuation marks (exclamation mark, a hyphen, slash, etc.).
· When to use abbreviations and which ones are appropriate.
· Which words we avoid and which ones are desirable.
· What is the way of referring to specific sources?
The format of the text in the posts
With so many different social networks flooding in, the format of the text in the post is particularly important. Including a “section” on the text in your posts on your social media communications plan will ensure consistency. This will also make your mark recognizable by the unique form of the text written on each post.
In the text format rules, note:
· Length of text (e.g. 1-2 short sentences).
· Rules for the use of indents enumeration.
· How we include links in the text.
For example, the American company Target uses short, concise texts when publishing, and they only use emoticons when they add value.
Using emoticons
Emoticons are the ones that breathe the most personality into our brands on the social networks and at the same time, convey the emotions we want to express from a particular sentence, the publication. But of course, we need to distinguish where the use of emoticons is more appropriate and where less.
Thus, in this part of the plan, you determine the use of emoticons for each social network. For example, we will use more emoticons on Instagram than on Facebook, while on LinkedIn, we will try to avoid them altogether.
At the same time, at this stage, you can more precisely determine where to include emoticons within your post. Of course, the way and frequency of using emoticons can also be determined by the type of post – if it is a post of a severe nature, then you will probably try to avoid the emotions and play with more humorous posts.
Using #hashtags
The use of hashtags varies depending on the content of the post or the type of advertising campaign. Include in your social media communication plan those hashtags that you already have or will use as a business.
We have to ask, on which platforms they use of hashtag any sense. For example, using hashtags on Instagram is almost mandatory if we want our post to reach its full potential. On Facebook, on the other hand, hashtags are not as effective – except, of course when it comes to hashtags that provide the added value of a post. An example is a project to show people what a world without electricity would be like. The campaign we are running in collaboration with electricity provider E 3 is named #belectrics. Because it is a name, it makes sense to use the hashtag in Facebook posts as well.
The plan or Specify the hashtag strategy:
· Minimum and a maximum number of hashtags in a post – adjust this point for each social network.
· How to record hashtags – e.g. let’s think about capitalizing each word within the hashtag (#YoungJeTu) or writing it all in lowercase (#young).
· The exact hashtags that you will use on each social network – so you can select the relevant ones and add the missing ones each time you post.
To make it easier for you to select hashtags, we’ve also come up with tips on how to do it. There are several types of hashtags, but it’s a good idea to include all of them in your strategy. These are:
· Hashtags related to the content of the post.
· Hashtags are of our industry.
· Hashtags that bind to our target audience.
· Hashtags tied directly to your brand.
Use of photos, graphics, and videos
Whether we are talking about single photography, graphics or video, we need to determine what visual and graphic elements stand out for our brand. The feeling that best describes our brand should also be reflected in the multimedia content. That is why the preparation instructions are also well represented in the plan of the communication method on social networks.
We can choose to use a particular model (Eng. Template), which provides for a uniform appearance of the posts. This means that using this model, we arrange all the images in the same way, we add a brand logo to each of the photos, and we can also choose to use a frame. It can bring more organic followers to your profiles also. Otherwise, you can buy Instagram followers for your profile boost.
Also, we follow the brand’s instructions regarding the type of font and the use of specific colours – so we are talking about the corporate identity of the brand.
We also determine the size of the images on a particular social network. It is a good idea to keep the brand a consistent image across all social networks to achieve consistency and visibility.
The E 3 electricity provider, one of our subscribers, maintains the uniform appearance of the posts by using a model that produces all the graphics and posts. This makes it easy to recognize the E3 brand on both Facebook and LinkedIn.
Finally, let’s determine how to deal with negativism.
We build a brand image on social networks, and of course, with the community, to gain new followers. But often people can be unpredictable and at times unreasonable, so we have to be prepared for different situations. We may meet with a disgruntled customer or just an individual who wants to “mix us up” – in any case, these kinds of adverse situations on social networks are inevitable.
This also includes a way to respond to negative comments and messages that can often negatively affect the image of our brand in your communication method. But if we can respond in the right words and a polite, perhaps humorous way (depending on the personality of the brand) – then the reputation of our brand is quickly resolved.
Now you know how to design a great way to communicate on social networks. So you have a recipe up your sleeve that will bring your brand to uniqueness and recognition. Start today.