5 Key Tips for Building a Powerful Social Media Presence

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Let’s think it through: there’s a sea of people online (5.35 billion users according to Forbes), and even though we are all different, only a few make it to the spotlight.

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WHY? This question might be popping into your head.

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I’ve been working in the social media and marketing industry for more than 4 years. Through my journey, I’ve identified what many successful creators, CEOs, and business owners have in common in their social media presence.

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What is Social Media Presence?

Your Social Media Presence it’s all about how visible your brand is in the social media platforms and how engaged your community is to your brand. Simply put, a strong social media presence means your brand is active, engaging, and influential online.

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Here’s a quick recap of what successful brands have in common:

They know who they are talking to

Imagine you are explaining how the solar system works.

To an astronomy student, you could go in-depth and explain Kepler's Laws to dive into astrophysics and dynamics. But for a 10-year-old, it's enough to say that the Sun's gravity holds the planets and makes them move around it.

This also applies to social media.

People with different interests and degrees of knowledge should be approached differently, and that’s what you need to consider in your communication.

How?: Create an Empathy Map about your audience

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Why? It will help you step into your clients' shoes, meaning you’ll be able to understand exactly how they feel and shape how your product or service helps them.

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Simply try to answer the questions listed in the Empathy Map Canvas in a clockwise direction. A good trick is to fill it with your client’s most common questions, doubts, and comments using their exact words. This makes sure you capture their thoughts accurately.

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They say what people care to hear

Take this Apple advertising for instance:

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Instead of telling you that the iPhone is secure because it has a boot ROM, a dedicated AES engine for efficient and secure encryption & decryption, and a Secure Enclave, it tells you what you really care about: your data will be safe.

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How?: Use the “5 why” method to know if they care

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This method consists of asking yourself 5 times "why" to get to deeper and more accurate answers. To better visualize the idea, let’s answer the question “why does my audience care about building a powerful social media presence?” using this method:

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1. Why does my audience care about building a powerful social media presence?

• Because they want to increase their visibility and reach.

2. Why do they want to increase their visibility and reach?

• Because a larger audience can lead to more opportunities, such as business growth, personal branding, or community impact.

3. Why can a larger audience lead to more opportunities?

• Because a strong social media presence can attract potential customers, collaborators, and supporters who can contribute to their goals.

4. Why will attracting new customers, partners, and supporters help achieve their objectives?

• Because engaging content, regular interaction, and a well-crafted online persona can build trust and loyalty among followers.

5. Why build trust and loyalty among followers?

• Because consistent and authentic communication creates a sense of connection and reliability, making the audience more likely to engage and support their endeavors.

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Then you can conclude that a powerful social media presence can help you sell more, have better clients, and get better opportunities.

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Build your message around that conclusion, and I promise you your message will be 10x more impactful and relatable.

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They know it’s not a “one time” thing

We all know that this path, even though rewarding and full of opportunities, requires effort, consistency, and commitment. Therefore, you need clear goals to tackle them with a more realistic approach.

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What action plan will you follow? How would you make it sustainable? Do you have any strategy in place right now?

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Let’s take care of it!

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How?: Create SMART goals along with a content calendar

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SMART goals stands for:

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• Specific: “More sales” or “more followers” is not a goal, but “increase sales by 5%” or “gain 250 followers” is!

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• Measurable: Some goals are easily measured vs. others. When the measure isn’t that obvious, you need to get creative (CTR, engagement rate, leads, etc.).

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• Achievable: If you set astronomical goals, you can’t expect to achieve them easily. What can you do? Break them down into achievable milestones. You’ll still pursue your main goal but in a sustainable way.

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• Relevant: We want to pursue goals that have a meaningful impact on our greater goals. For instance, becoming viral is an irrelevant goal. You’ll reach many people but not necessarily the right people.

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• Time-Bound: Finally, you need deadlines or better yet, a timeline of progress milestones.

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Once you have clear goals in place, create a content calendar as the action plan that would help you achieve them.

They show their personality

Think about the people you’ve met this year so far. How many names can you remember? How many of them are you looking forward to meeting again? Why?

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You might be thinking about something funny or interesting they said or perhaps how they made you feel during the conversation… The truth is that you enjoyed it and you automatically placed that person on your “cool-people-I-like” list.

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In fact, a study found that the most memorable people are not the smartest or most powerful in the room but often those who made us feel the most comfortable and who were most interested in us. Remember that, and others will remember you.

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The most memorable people are not the smartest or powerful in the room, but often those who made us feel the most comfortable, and who were most interested in us.

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How?: Make an “inventory” of who you are

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Many of the things we do come naturally to us. To show them intentionally, we need a self-awareness exercise. Start by answering this questions:

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• What are you known for? Think about how people describe you or what they always compliment you on. Include traits, skills, key achievements, or the impact you’ve had on others.some text
  • For instance, “quick-learner” and “creative” have been often mentioned in my feedback sessions.
• What it’s something you enjoy doing (even if you are not paid)? That activity you could spend hours and hours doing non-stop.

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• What are words/sentences/sayings you typically use? If you have no idea, listen to an audio or read a conversation between you and your closest person. Identify and capitalize on what feels “very you”.

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The goal is to ensure that regardless of the format you use, everyone feels like you're talking with them in a personal conversation.

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They focus on helping not selling

Instead of telling you what they sell, they will teach you through real-life examples, benefits, lifestyle, storytelling, and/or valuable content what it looks like to be part of their community.

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This approach is a bit more difficult but much more effective.

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Here are some interesting statistics (courtesy of Hootsuite) to explain why this works.

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• Businesses that are leaders in the social selling space create 45% more sales opportunities than brands with a low social selling index.
• Businesses that prioritize social selling are 51% more likely to reach their sales quotas.
• 78% of businesses that use social selling outsell businesses that don’t use social media.

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How?: Create strategic content pillars to “sell without selling”

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Brainstorm your audience’s pain points. Start with the issues they always come to you.

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If you’re a nutritionist and people frequently tell you, “I don’t know how to balance my diet,” a great content pillar to focus on would be “Balanced Diet Guidance”. In this pillar, you can explain the essential components of a healthy diet, share your favorite healthy recipes that are both nutritious and easy to prepare, and offer your expert advice on achieving and maintaining a balanced diet.

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Personally, I recommend having at least 3 pillars you can rotate in your content strategy. This would give much more room to showcase what you do without selling directly.

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The most important thing to remember is that building your social media presence requires time and a lot of trial and error.

Be gentle but consistent in the process! We’ll always be here if you need extra help.