Social media is crucial to every marketing plan no matter the industry. With more than 2.1 billion people online, you must capitalize on where your audience spends the most time. According to Sources: 2015 LSA Local Media Tracking Study; Entrprenuer.com, 81% of consumers seek the opinions of others—online—before making a purchase. To be social, you must be present. Lack of a social presence is the equivalent to showing up to work without pants—embarrassing and socially unacceptable.
First and foremost, you must find your voice. “Who Are You” is more than an iconic rock album. It’s a strategy; an idea behind every brand or company out there. Think of your brand as if it were an actual person, then ask yourself: What would this person look like? Sound like? Listen to? Share? Consume? Define this person’s taste, appearance, tone and personality. Infuse your brand persona into your marketing materials. And last but not least - be unique, different and knowledgeable.
Consistency is KEY and the secret to social success. To gain trust, you must always be consistent. Set up uniform branded pages across all channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, blog, newsletter). Consider visual cohesion: colors, logos, layouts, graphics, as well as tone, language, and content (share curated). At StorQuest, we are the champions of a more awesome life. We motivate and inspire customers to put away their stuff and live BIG. We are energetic and motivational in our tone and take the vantage point of the adventurer in our imagery.
You want to stand out amongst the crowd/competitors, therefore you need to create a brand that’s recognizable – a brand that’s INHERENTLY you! Ways in which you can do so include solidifying your unique personality, differentiating your business, affirming your authority, increasing your customer engagement, boosting your page and product performance, and allowing your brand to stand out in consumers’ minds.
So how do you achieve social nirvana? Create content worthy of sharing to build a community online. Put time and effort into your posts and pay attention to detail. Be sure to tap into trending content that’s relevant to your fans in an effort to provide value and assert yourself as a thought leader in your space. Chat with your fans, monitor conversations and address positive/negative comments – exactly how a ‘real’ person would act. Cross promote your blog and other channels to boost your web visibility. Encourage shares, likes, and comments to keep conversations flowing. Lastly, be consistent, be patient and keep at it.
Ready to begin posting? Ask yourself these questions before clicking send:
- Value-add content: Does if offer something to your fans?
- Sharable content: Will it start a conversation?
- Voice/tone: Is it a clear representation of your brand?
- Imagery: Is the look and feel consistent?
- Relevant hashtags: Are you including hashtags to join a vibrant conversation or build on your own?
- Engaging: Questions or call to action?
This all sounds great, but now what? Don’t worry, monitoring social analytics is simple. Here are few things you can measure:
- Track monthly: reach, engagement, fans
- Native tools: Facebook Insights, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Klout (social score)
- Best time of day to post, day of week, most popular content, etc.
- Creation of ads/boosts – include call tracking numbers, unique links etc.
- Referral traffic from social – Google Analytics
Get to know yourself - establish your voice, look and feel. Produce consistent, recognizable, shareable content everywhere. Remember value-add content, advertising and contests/promotions will help grow your social presence. Monitor and track fails and wins, and re-produce what “works.”
StorQuest Self Storage & The William Warren Group: The William Warren Group, Inc. is a privately held, entrepreneurial real estate company that develops, acquires and manages self storage properties under the vibrant brand of StorQuest Self Storage. With over 120 locations nationwide, StorQuest has developed an industry-wide reputation for extraordinary customer service, driven by a sophisticated operating platform and leadership in technological innovation. Our state-of-the-art third party management services provide the benefits of plugging into our powerful brand and leveraging our cutting edge digital marketing program, in-house call center and robust revenue management system. To learn more about The William Warren Group and its proprietary brand of StorQuest Self Storage visit: www.williamwarren.com and www.storquest.com.