3 Underrated Social Media Branding Tips

Creating a trustworthy brand for your company requires more than just advertising or online marketing. While social media content and advertising works to convince consumers what your company can do for them (if they purchase your product or subscribe to your service), branding through social media is about empowering consumers. An effective brand image will help consumers envision clear results: an improved quality of life, renewed dedication to a cause, prestige or esteem among peers – and that’s just to name a few of the possibilities. Your online marketing efforts should have a good balance of interactive content, calls to action, and branded information your user cares about.

In order to establish a clear and convincing brand image for your company, it is important to think outside the box. Simply proclaiming the merits of your product won’t cut it; social media branding requires that you engage with consumers on their own turf. Talk TO them not just AT them!

Here are a few creative and underrated ways you can reach potential customers and help reinforce your company’s brand image. Although these branding tactics may not translate into immediate sales, they can help develop trustworthiness and name recognition (brand equity) over the long haul. Successful companies build long-lasting brands which help them stand the tests of time and competition.

1. Online contests:

Online contests are a great way to encourage active engagement from consumers. Effective online contests will encourage consumers to interact with your brand, drive traffic to your site or social media page, and possibly even provide you with valuable insight about the type of consumers who are interested in your company. Online contests can range from essay submissions to photo contests to product inventions, such as the popular Lay’s “Do Us A Flavor” campaign.

When developing an effective online contest, it is important to keep it simple. You should establish simple guidelines and clear criteria for how submissions will be judged. The simpler the contest, the more submissions it will likely receive. Also, be sure that the traffic from these contest result in a goal.

For example, people must "like" your page to participate, or enter their email with their submission.

2. Loyalty programs:

Although loyalty programs may not be immediately profitable, they are a great way to increase profits in the long run. Even small incentives (such as a 5% discount after a certain number of purchases) can be enough to convince customers to continue trusting your business.

Loyalty programs are particularly effective if they offer enough benefits to hook customers in the beginning and convince them to continue working toward increased incentives. For instance, Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club loyalty program offers customers initial perks of discounted rental cars and hotels, but eventually provides them with more lucrative perks, such as double miles and priority boarding. You can also "gamify" your loyalty programs to increase participation.

3. Give Back: Giving back is a great way for your company to demonstrate involvement in the community, while also improving your brand image and name recognition. Corporate generosity and community involvement are vital for businesses that aim to protect consumers and build trust, and they can be especially powerful if they directly relate to a company’s core mission.

For instance, charities supported by home security companies often involve domestic safety, helping to reinforce their core brand image. Furthermore, research suggests that your company’s identifiable values can actually be even more helpful to your brand than consumer engagement. So even if corporate giving does not directly drive consumer engagement, customers will take notice of your charitable efforts and may align their loyalties with your brand.