5 tips and tricks: making the most of social media for your brand

Building an effective social media strategy and editorial strategy before you jump headfirst into social media will help you stand out from your competition. Through long-term planning and prioritising people over platforms, you can make the most of social media for your brand. Here, Gareth Leeding, Group Creative Director at We Are Social, shares his top five tips on getting started, taken from his social media workshop with D&AD, Building Effective Social Media Campaigns.

1. Cut through the noise
Did you know there are billions of people on social media around the world? Or that, on average, they scroll 90 meters a day? Whatever you do on social, it needs to be strong enough to capture people’s attention and stop their thumbs from scrolling or swiping past.

2. Ideas are social, not the media
The biggest mistake brands make is that they start with the platform rather than focusing on the one thing that matters, the people who use that platform. It’s not about ‘making a Facebook campaign’ or ‘doing something on TikTok’ -  it’s about understanding your audience and anchoring your brand story to them. Only then should you think about platforms. 

3. Community over consumers
To grab people’s attention you need to understand what they actually like, not what you want to sell. To truly convert your audience to be brand loyal and act on it, you need to find your tribe and treat them like the community of passionate experts they are. 

4. Think fast and long
Don’t live in the short-term. Don’t just think about this week or even this month. Think about this year. What brand stories do you want to tell? What events or opportunities are coming up that you could react to? Think about your overarching social narrative and plan it out in order to let each story breathe. But remember to leave space for those little surprise activations that could make the difference. 

5. Know how to get your work live
Many brands want to act fast on social but you can only do that if you’ve got everyone onside internally and up-to-speed with your plans. If you want to be reactive, you need to do a lot of legwork in advance to make that happen. Get your approvals process and channel strategy agreed upfront to make sure there isn’t any red tape that stops you jumping on a moment.

Go beyond social platforms, learn how to engage your audience in your brand, and get a toolkit of social media best practices for your brand in this one-day social media course in London, Building Effective Social Media Campaigns.