10 Branding Lessons from Social Media Followers

BETTER BRANDING = MORE FOLLOWERS

I celebrated a personal milestone this week when I reached the 3,000 followers mark on Twitter. Later that day, a friend and I were having lunch when he asked me to tell him about my success. Without hesitation, I gave him this simple explanation. “It’s all about branding,” I said.

It’s all about branding

My experience with social media has provided me with some powerful insights. One of those insights is developing an engaging presence on social media is a lot like building a brand. I started by defining my brand, a promise, and an audience. The next step was to deliver on it. Consistently and regularly.

10 BRANDING LESSONS

Let me share with you ten branding lessons I’ve gained from my experience with social media over the last four years:

1. Be Yourself.  Your friends and followers will like you for the person you are, not the person who you think they want you to be.
2. Always be True to Yourself.  Actions speak louder than words. Your followers will see through actions that are inconsistent with your identity.
3. Make it about Them.  Share content your followers will find helpful, valuable or meaningful.
4. Engage Them.  Embrace the notion that you are managing relationships with people, not selling something to them.
5. Be Present Where they are.  Establish a consistent presence across multiple social networking sites (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, weekly blog, etc.).
6. Avoid Unexplained Absences for Extended Periods of Time.  Stay active and let your friends and followers know when you decide to take a break (or pre-schedule your posts).
7. Listen to Your Followers.  Your followers are smart. Listen and learn from them. Share their content. Exchange ideas with them. Know that real engagement is more than just the number of followers you have.
8. Large Numbers aren’t Everything. It’s how you well you engage that matters. Kred and Klout provide some measure of engagement in areas like reach, amplification, network and influence.
9. Never Buy Friends and Followers.  Followers who are bought tend to be less engaged and are far less likely to stick around.
10. Respect and Value Your Friends. When it comes right down to it, they are the reason for your presence (and success) on social media.

FURTHER READING

• Content Is King In Social Media
• Over 75 LinkedIn Tips For Everyone And For Job Seekers
• Good Spelling Leads To Good Selling – Building Relationships One Letter At A Time
• Ensure Your Personal Bio Reflects Your True Self
• Content Is The New Currency For Brand Storytelling In 2013

Updated May 2019

Photography Source:  Flickr, Blogtrepreneur