An Expert's Guide to Improving Social Media Brand Awareness

The connection between social media and brand awareness is stronger than ever. And yet, it needs more attention. 

Social media brand awareness is the foundation of every conversion and sale made on social platforms. It's the edge a brand needs to rise above the noise and establish a presence in the broader social context.

Your social media strategy must incorporate this connection if you want to grow your brand presence online and build strong relationships.

Why Social Media Brand Awareness Is Absolutely Critical

As of 2024, the average social media users spend almost 2.5 hours daily on various platforms. That's about 15% of the time they spend awake.

As people spend more time on social media, their use patterns change. Almost one-third of consumers now use social platforms as replacements for search engines. Younger consumers, including 31% of Gen Z and 28% of millennials, prefer to search on social versus Google.

Given that 71% of consumers prefer to buy from brands they recognize, it's clear that brand awareness on social media is no longer optional.

Key Strategies To Improve Your Social Media Brand Awareness

A successful social media brand awareness strategy depends on the right platform, an engaging brand image, and an interested target audience. These five brand awareness strategies incorporate them all.

Choose Social Media Platforms That Align With Your Brand

Social platforms have aesthetics and personalities as much as brands do. To leverage social media for brand awareness, you must nurture your presence where it's a good fit.

Finding that fit is about matching your brand's persona with the nuances of a social media channel.

Analyze your brand persona: 

Picture your brand as a person, then ask yourself what platforms it would use. Is your brand a TikToker or a LinkedIn user? If your platforms are a good match, your social media presence will feel more authentic.

Consider your target audience:

Consumers gravitate to social media channels that engage their peers. Platforms like Snapchat and TikTok have a younger atmosphere and are ideal for trending, bite-sized content. In-depth professional discussions feel more relevant on platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook, which attract a more seasoned audience.

By choosing social media platforms that suit your brand, you prepare audiences to recognize and identify with your content.

Craft Engaging and Shareable Content

Engaging social media content is a powerhouse for brand awareness. It inevitably earns more shares, comments, and likes, which spread your brand's messages to broader audiences.

Shares are the most valuable type of interaction. Each share introduces your content to a new audience, potentially reaching consumers who have never or only rarely encountered your brand. If your social media posts are sufficiently engaging, those new audiences might share or comment on your posts or follow your account.

Engagement also enhances your standing with social media algorithms. Algorithms exist to provide users with content that matches their interests. Suppose your social media accounts reliably get attention from a particular user or group of users. In that case, those consumers will see more of your content, leading to greater brand awareness.

The definition of "engaging" varies by audience. Refining your understanding of your brand audience is your top priority when creating shareable content. Secondary are social media best practices, such as:

• Incorporating on-brand videos and images
• Using captions and descriptions to highlight critical takeaways
• Integrating multiple types of content, including video
• Sharing thought leadership content with unique insights
• Encouraging comments and discussions on interesting topics

Relevance to your target audience is your number one priority. Pay close attention to the topics your followers engage with, then deliver more.

Implement Consistent Branding Across Platforms

Do you know the difference between a successful brand awareness strategy and a scattershot attempt to gain attention? The answer is consistency.

Consistency is the key to brand recognition, the foundation of awareness at every level. It helps audiences associate your posts with everything they've learned about you, from what you sell to what you stand for. If you want to improve brand awareness, work on your social media branding. Apply your brand style guide across your social media accounts and every social asset, including brand ambassador content for your employees' followers.

Boost Visibility With Social Media Advertising

Because social media algorithms primarily rely on a user's personal history, organic posts predominantly reach your accounts' followers. Your awareness efforts must incorporate paid advertising to reach new audiences reliably and drive significant growth.

Social media advertising reaches users who aren't connected to your current followers. Instead, it incorporates audience-targeting tools that match your content with appropriate users.

Audience targeting lets you choose who will see a specific ad based on interests or demographics. This matching process maximizes the relevance of each message, increasing the likelihood that a viewer will click on the ad's call-to-action. 

Social ads can also build brand awareness among users who need more time. Given consistent branding and relevant messaging, they serve as touchpoints that lead to a conversion.

Actively Engage With Your Audience

Brand awareness campaigns on social media must be interactive. The only way to drive conversions is to actively participate in the social aspect of social media, answering questions and responding to comments.

At the top of the funnel, engagement creates relationships with potential customers and encourages them to contact the brand in the future. It also serves as a precursor to social selling, which uses social media relationships to move leads down the funnel.

Revolutionize Your Brand With SocialHP

The connection between social media marketing and brand awareness is only getting stronger. Social media provides a unique opportunity to cultivate genuine relationships with prospects, customers, and industry colleagues, improving brand strength at an extremely high level.

At SocialHP, we drive social media connections. We turn every member of your team into a social media super-connector — without adding to their load or requiring extra training.

Our platform automatically selects and captions content from various approved sources, including in-house asset libraries and approved external sources. The platform integrates seamlessly with your existing tech stack, so it's easy for you to auto-approve or hand-select content for each team member.

Say goodbye to siloed marketing efforts and social media accounts that don't reach their potential. To see how we can transform your employees into your best brand advocates, schedule a free demo today.