Expert tips for improving your brand awareness on social media

Social media is for being social, obviously. But that doesn’t mean it has to stay within the boundaries of friends and family. On the contrary, businesses are using social media to engage with potential and existing customers – and this has never been truer than in 2024.

Because social media can help your business reach and engage with your target audience, here’s some advice from the experts about how to increase your brand awareness and recognition, all while building a community of raving fans.

Benefits of social media marketing for your business

There are pros and cons to everything, but social media often gets a harsher rap than it deserves – especially from those who don’t tend to use it in their daily lives. The good news for business owners is that it’s a direct portal to your audience. With curated content and engaging posts, you can start to grow your sales base and even tap into new markets.

“Can your business survive without social media? Yes, probably. But if you could expand your reach and build relationships with your customers cheaply and easily, wouldn’t you want to?” asks Jess Ralph, Social Media Marketing Specialist at Sunrise and Socials. “Around 75% of internet users use social media to research products before they buy them. You really can’t afford not to have a piece of this action.”

In other words, social media is the ideal way for businesses to share their brand personality and values, and to show that there is a real human with a real story behind the brand.

“Social media has been an absolute game-changer for improving brand awareness,” says Alyce Moussa, Director at Hive Media Group. “Incredible reach, direct engagement and cost-effectiveness have helped more brands enter the market. At the same time, it’s changed how consumers choose their favourite brands. With a brand’s values and personality having so much more sway in engagement and decision-making, it’s now almost critical for businesses to have an active digital identity.”

Importantly, social platforms are free for everyone to use. You don’t need any specific technical expertise, and a large percentage of the buying population are on at least one platform. Bottom line? It’s an inexpensive way of showing off your brand’s products or know-how to a global audience. And the best way to is to have a set social media strategy.

Recommendations to get started with social media management

For Alyce, her biggest tip when getting your social media plan organised is to first figure out who you want to talk to. That will ensure you set yourself up for success.

“This is the most important part of building your brand on social,” she says. “The more defined and specific you are, the more your content will resonate. Think about brands like Go-To Skincare or the Betoota Advocate – yes, they have creative teams dedicated to developing fancy visuals and banging copy, but that’s not key to their success. What they share is a great understanding of their audience, and posts that are relevant and meaningful to that market.”

Short-form videos can also be a game-changer for brand awareness strategies in 2024 and beyond. The beauty of video, according to Alyce, is that it’s largely prioritised in feeds. This means your brand gets free exposure to related users who aren’t following you yet. And if you’re worried about how you’ll find the time to get all this done, do a bit of research on ‘batching’.

“At Hive Media, we lock ourselves in a meeting room for two hours every month to plan content and then shoot our videos. In 120 minutes, we have four to six new videos up our sleeve to run across our social platforms for the following month.”

Crafting a social media strategy

Planning and preparation are arguably the most important steps for developing your social media strategy – so don’t neglect them!

“Consistency is key,” Alyce says. “Quality content posted frequently allows you to steadily grow your audience and build a community. An up-to-date feed will also cement your trust and credibility, so it’s really important that you don’t ‘post then ghost’. Figure out what’s achievable and start small – try creating eight posts and two reels a month and build from there.”

Equally important is to be patient. You won’t achieve millions of followers overnight, no matter how viral your content might be.

“The simplicity of socials can be deceptive – there’s nothing easy about growing a social media following,” Alyce says. “Don’t be deterred if it’s slow. Just keep checking in with your audience on what they want to hear more of. It’s easy to get lost in our own tunnel vision, so asking for feedback is a valuable way to bring in new ideas and make sure you stay relevant.”

Engaging content creation

Potential customers and clients don’t want to be constantly sold to. Instead, Jess says they want to build relationships and have some kind of a connection with the brands they are going to give their money to.

“Give them a reason to want to shop from your business rather than a major department store,” she says. “A solid social media strategy will ensure your ideal customer knows, likes and trusts you, and that your business is top of mind when it comes to making a purchasing decision.”

Moreover, a social strategy can be your “plan of attack” based on best practices and data. Having this plan in place can ensure you are always posting engaging content on social media, and that you are using the feedback you get to curate new content while constantly improving it.

Using platforms for brand promotion

Don’t lock yourself into just one social media platform to promote your brand. At the same time, if you start engaging on every platform out there, you’ll likely stretch yourself too thin and not be able to achieve the results that you could by focusing on just a handful.

From Instagram to TikTok, LinkedIn to YouTube, there are some important questions you need to answer before you hit the ‘post’ button, according to Jess Ralph. She has five simple tips to consider prior to using social platforms for brand promotion:

1. No more posting for the sake of posting. What is the goal? What are you trying to achieve from your social media efforts?
2. Who is your target market? What are their pain points and what are their desires?
3. Brainstorm content pillars and content themes for your business.
4. Consider the customer journey and the different stages your potential customers and clients might be on as they get to know your business. You should be creating content that addresses each of these stages.
5. Which social media platforms are your target market hanging out on? You don’t need to be everywhere! If you’re targeting Gen Z, they are more likely to be on TikTok than Facebook.

Importance of brand consistency

Ultimately, your customers will only stay engaged with you if they trust you and enjoy the content you are producing. So don’t try to be all things to all people. Instead, nail your brand and be consistent with it. If you find you get more engagement with short-form videos than with static imagery, keep that up. Whatever your social media management style, remember that it’s a way to ‘speak’ directly to your customers.

“The beauty of social media is that it’s a direct line to your potential customers,” Alyce says. “Coupled with the increase of user-generated content and the fact that Australians between 16 and 64 average almost two hours a day on socials, it’s a platform ripe for the picking.

The challenge is figuring out how to best use it to give you the desired outcome which, ultimately, starts with knowing your audience.”

Protecting your brand

One of the best ways to help protect your brand – and therefore your business – is with the right business insurance policy. You can compare a range of business insurance policies with Choosi online or by calling 1300 958 476.