NKBA member and veteran speaker Denise Butchko offers tips to strengthen a brand’s social strategy.
By Loren Kessell
As the world has become exponentially more digitally focused, companies are learning to navigate social media platforms or trying to increase their current online presence. With digital saturation, finding a way to stand out is key.
Denise Butchko, a residential sales consultant for Caesarstone Midwest and the Programs Chair for NKBA’s Chicago Midwest chapter, merges her skills in design and sales and marketing to help businesses grow. She also shared her social media insight at Chapter Officer Training at KBIS Virtual earlier this year. Here are four ways Butchko advises a company to create and amplify its social media presence.
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1. Eliminate Social Zero
“Social zero” means a company has no social media strategy in place, and therefore needs to create one. Start by focusing on core platforms, specifically ones you like as a user, and then establish the goals that you want to achieve for each. For example, Instagram is a popular choice for designers, so it’s a great place to start building a network. Don’t use preset templates to avoid a cookie-cutter look, and add branded banners, images and profile photos.
“If you’re at social zero, that’s a problem, because three out of four consumers say that they’re going to trust a company more when a high level of leadership participates in social media,” Butchko said.
Nurturing strong social sites is beneficial to maintain branding and build a company’s credibility.
“Starting the digital journey might seem difficult, but it is important to remember to take it one step at a time.”
2. Make Equivalent Comparisons
Starting the digital journey might seem difficult, but it is important to remember to take it one step at a time. A company should compare its brand to those that are more or less equal in size, as opposed to much larger brands, but that does not mean entirely ruling out learning from larger players.
“You want to pay attention to what the big brands are doing, but then you filter that to fit your own scenario,” Butchko said.
Studying major brands is an effective way to develop an overarching idea, but it’s important to remember that larger brands will always be able to outspend and out-produce a smaller company. This is why using similar companies to set initial goals is the best approach —it allows for realistic expectations.
3. Keep It Snappy
Although social media is ideal for connecting, it’s not effective without careful content curation, Butchko noted. People’s media consumption habits have shifted, creating a desire for instant gratification and a need to accommodate shorter attention spans. Butchko said she has compared the reactions to longform emails and shorter versions, and almost invariably, most people respond only to the condensed versions. This means the sender needs to grab attention quickly, with succinct copy and striking visuals. There’s no time for long, rambling introductions. By providing small amounts of information over time a brand can create more engaging content, build trust with the consumer and become an authority.
4. Hit the Bullseye
Targeting the right audience is one of the most important parts of social media marketing. Rather than throwing content at a wide audience, identify those who will most likely consume it based on key trends and habits of frequent consumers. Define their demographics and psychographics, which will help to generate keywords for posts and messaging. Treat posts like talking to someone in a one-on-one setting, so the reader feels more inclined to click and read.
“Don’t be afraid to be very targeted, because if you know who your buyer is, you can focus on their habits, likes and dislikes,” Butchko said.
Another way to gain more traction is to pay for advertising within a social platform. It’s important to remember, however, that spending should not be random. To get the most out of paid social advertising, the identified target audience comes into play, and there must be a clear goal and a specific call to action that the desired consumer will take.
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