Best practices of image creation in social media

According to Hootsuite’s Digital 2020 report, there are currently 3.80 billion social media users which is almost half of the population. Among all platforms, Facebook is the most popular, with 2.449 billion users. YouTube was second, while the top spot is occupied by WhatsApp, which is rather treated as an instant messenger. Instagram also ranks high. Social media are used by both individual users, including influencers and public figures, as well as companies also to create their image.

The reason is the large community and thus the ease of reaching your potential customers and fans. At the same time, social media is a very difficult environment to acquire users, their trust and loyalty. This is due to very active and high competition. So how do you run a social media branding campaign to meet your objectives and goals?

Be open to user problems and questions

Social media should not be treated only in the context of platforms for publishing content. You should be aware that Facebook or Instagram are also used for networking and communication purposes. Users also look to them as a source for quick troubleshooting, especially when it involves company profiles. With a social media fan page, be open to any inquiries, concerns or problems your customers may have. Respond to any questions that come up under posts and photos, and respond to private messages. Your current and potential customers see social media as a fast communication channel, so they expect a virtually instant response, as opposed to emails or contact forms. This, in turn, is what we call in marketing micro-moments – messages that we process every day in huge quantities often requiring information or answers “right here and now”.

With micro-moments, you have a better chance of gaining and maintaining the trust of your audience by being seen as a company, an entrepreneur, or simply a person who is open to your audience, focused on their problems and concerns, and not just on your own interests.

Promotion and advertising, but not in the first place

Naturally, Instagram and Facebook are used by businesses to advertise their services, products and company. However, advertising that is too intrusive discourages potential customers. Today they are “attacked” from every side with banners, posters, flyers, advertising spots and other content typical for advertising, they don’t need it also in social media.

So treat social media as a channel to nurture relationships with your customers, and not necessarily as another advertising space. Of course the advertising message should be present in your strategy, but it must not be the dominant one. Focus on helping users, solving user problems, publishing valuable content, integrating users into the brand, make yourself better known and thus make yourself better known to others. This is how you gain trust and affection on social media which converts into loyalty and regularity of using the company’s services. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter are also a great way to inform your audience of new blog posts.

Credibility in social media

On the Internet, it is not easy to gain the trust of users, especially since many times users have been disappointed with the services, assistance, products purchased online or customer service. It is very easy for us to judge everyone through one person, brand or entrepreneur. Social media is a great space to create your image in terms of authenticity and credibility. You can prove that you are worth trusting and you keep your promises. How to do this? Not all posts have to relate directly to your products, and not all posts have to be advertising them.

Sometimes users are just waiting for a good tip, advice or a nice greeting at the beginning of the week. Relationship marketing is a term in which, as the name suggests, the most important thing is the relationship with the recipient. If you hold contests with prizes, ask the winners to say a few words about the prize they received. Let others know that you “are the man of your words”. Are you expanding? At least that’s what you declare, but what is really the case? Let others stay up to date on your company’s successes or changes. Post pictures from conferences and trade shows, invite customers to your warehouse, office or production hall with new equipment or just a different decor. Facebook and Instagram will allow others to get to know you from a more human side.

Control and monitor progress

If you already devote your time and energy to something, you expect results and success. You would like more and more, better and more, that is, just to be better and better. When it comes to social media branding, we usually measure success only by the number of users. In fact, you may have many of them, but those that are the loyal ones who want to be your brand ambassadors come in a smaller number. 10,000 followers doesn’t always translate into the same amount of active users. There are only a few comments and few likes under the posts. This means that your strategy is not effective enough to interest and engage users.

Monitor your progress on social media, keep up to date with how and what is being written and said about you. Find out what the trends are and how your competitors are using their position and ideas. Press-Service Media Monitoring provides you with ready-to-use tools and reports with which you can learn what kind of comments appear on your topic, how the competition operates, which phrases work best for creating content that quickly and effectively reaches your audience. You also have access to knowledge that will make it easier for you to make possible changes and modifications to your strategy, using those ideas that bring the most desirable results.

We build our image not only through customer service and sales, but above all through openness to the customer and active involvement in establishing and maintaining contact with them.  Social media work very well in this area, where you simultaneously gain the trust and loyalty of users, and subtly present your offer through valuable content, interesting for the recipient. That’s why it’s worth considering Social Media strategy and how to measure and monitor activities in this important area of relationship marketing.