There’s so much to talk and learn about brand building that it’s one of our all-time favorite topics. On social media, particularly, new features and functionality come in so often, and you can leverage them in many ways to establish your brand. This week on the chat, we invited a #TwitterSmarter veteran and digital marketing strategist, Anh Nguyen to chat with us about what it means to build your social media brand, whether you’re a one-person business, part of a large company, or a personal social media user. Here’s a summary of our chat.
Guest: Anh Nguyen
Topic: Building your social media brand
Format: Eight questions directed at the guest. Everyone’s welcome to join.
Social media branding is how you portray yourself or your business on social media. It’s a key part of your overall marketing strategy.
A1. Short answer: branding yourself or your company via social media channels. Keep in mind that social media is but one tool in your overall branding + marketing toolbox. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
As Jeremy explained, your branding includes your tine, tagline, catchphrases, videos, and visuals. All of this together defines your brand.
A1: Social media branding is the way that you are able to portray your product or service through tag lines, the way you write, the visuals you use, and the videos you make. #TwitterSmarter
— Jeremy Linaburg (@jeremy_linaburg) December 2, 2021
A personal brand is an individual’s own branding—as we said earlier, this may be defined by their custom GIFs, tone of voice, and topics they specialize in.
A professional brand, on the other hand, is the brand of a business—which is marked by things like its logo, choice of colors and patterns in visuals, and mascots.
A2a: Personal brand is for an individual and built around you personally and your reputation. Business or professional brands are built around a company’s identity and name. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
If you’re the owner of a company, you could have both a personal and professional brand. Your personal brand is, of course, you as a person, whereas your business’s brand will speak for itself.
Some business owners choose to have one brand for both their business and person—like our own Madalyn. As an individual business owner, her personal and professional brands are entwined—especially on social media. You get to see her business side, as well as her walks with her dog.
A2b: Can a person have both a personal brand and a company brand? Yes, if you have your own business. A personal brand is your calling card regardless of which company you work for or are associated with. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
Our guest, however, separates her personal and professional brands. We all know her as Anh, but she is also behind the company’s handle, Amplified Marketing.
A2c: If you’re a business owner or business leader, which brand do you build out? For me, I focus on my personal brand more than my company brand, @Amplified_Mktg. @MadalynSklar's brand is both personal and professional. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
A word of caution, though. Not everyone needs to have separate personal and professional brands. It works well for our guest because her professional brand is so clearly different from herself. For many single-owner businesses, there’s little difference and trying too hard, as Jim pointed out, may backfire.
A2 Personal and professional brands can be the same. In fact, if you think too hard to make them different, people will wonder who is the real you. #TwitterSmarter
— Jim Katzaman – Get Debt-Free One Family at a Time (@JKatzaman) December 2, 2021
It’s everything for a business. As our guest put it, if you don’t define your brand, others will. That’s why it’s so important for a business to establish its own branding.
A3b: If you don’t shape your brand, your prospective client or customer’s perception may not be how you want to be perceived. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
As our friend from Virtu Desk added, branding builds awareness for your business—it helps your audience distinguish you from your competitors.
A3: You'll lose business if you are the only one who knows about your brand. Branding creates a mark that differentiates you from your competitors and boosts brand awareness. #TwitterSmarter
— VirtuDesk (@virtudeskcom) December 2, 2021
Naturally, awareness also increases your value. The more unique and attention-grabbing your brand is, the more people will remember and recall your business. The more famed you are, the more share in the market you’ll own. Branding is the difference between a successful coffee roaster and a random coffee house.
A3c: Branding can drive new business and increase brand equity (value of your brand). Which brand is more valuable in your mind: Starbuck’s or Joe’s Neighborhood Coffee Shop? Brands that are deemed more valuable usually own the market. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
Focus on channels that your audience is most active on. When you consistently engage with them where they are, it’ll be easier for you to grow your community.
A4b: Remember you don’t have to be on ALL social media channels. Focus on the one or ones that will help you connect with your community the best. Be of value first + foremost! #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
Share more of what your audience wants, not what you think they ought to know. It’s easy to get caught in self-promotion and forget to cater to an audience. Instead, share content that’s helpful to them, show your expertise on your subject, and curate content from others in that field. Put your audience’s needs before yours.
A4c: Dive in! Share content relevant to those in your community: from industry leaders and brands. Add your own insight to the content you’re curating and sharing. This gives you a chance to feature your SME. Have conversations on social media. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
Another key point to remember when trying to establish your brand is to find ways to be engaging and memorable. As Madalyn suggested, make your brand fun. Make people want to engage with your content—if your audience is largely on Twitter, then use Twitter’s extensive features to showcase your brand—consider videos, audio tweets, Twitter Spaces, Lists, custom GIFs—all of these are great ways to impart your unique brand onto your audience. Take Christine, for instance. She uses GIFs, colors, and props to establish her brand strongly—now every time we see a red heart, we immediately think of Christine. That’s the power of effective branding.
A4: If you want to showcase your brand on social media, find fun and creative ways to be present. Use the platforms that allow you to show off your strengths and that are also popular with your target audience. This way, you can increase your discoverability. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/y5pay3jzhJ
— Madalyn Sklar 🗣️ 19/100 #Voice100 (@MadalynSklar) December 2, 2021
Twitter chats are a great way to brand yourself and your expertise. Join a chat on a topic that you’re passionate about or know well. It’s an effective way to share your thoughts, converse with others, broaden your reach, and your knowledge. When you become more confident, start your own chat and invite others to contribute.
A5a: Join conversations on Twitter via chats or join a conversation on a topic that you’re knowledgeable about. Or a topic you’re interested in. Start your own Twitter chat if you can’t find one that is relevant to your community or industry. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
Curating content is another powerful way to establish your brand. Share valuable thoughts and opinions from others in your industry—it’ll project you as someone who constantly refreshes their knowledge and learns from others. Add your own take on topics relating to your industry—that’ll help you distinguish yourself from other voices.
A5b: Remember about curating content? Tweet info + articles from your industry, adding your own advice or insights. Reply to curated tweets with your insights. Have a convo. (I know, I sound like a broken record…) #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
Consider posting content from your other channels. Customize them so they fit Twitter’s audience and share some of your more popular work from elsewhere to give it a rejuvenated growth.
A5c: Share content you’ve created on other channels on Twitter! Don’t auto-cross post though…you want to make sure that tags of relevant accounts and hashtags are correct on different social media channels. And honestly it looks sloppy for a brand. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
Whatever you do, make sure you set time aside to engage with your target audience. Don’t automate responses, and instead be genuinely interested in conversing with them. As our friends from B3 Media Solutions reminded us, the more transparent you are, the more loyal your community will be to your brand.
A5 taking the time to truly connect with your audience or customers – it’s all about transparency these days #TwitterSmarter
— B3 Media Solutions (@b3msinc) December 2, 2021
As always, remember that each social channel is different in many ways. What works on one platform may not necessarily work on another—experiment extensively to find out what works for you, and then form your strategy around it.
A5d. Also your community may vary on the different channels so what works on Twitter may not work on LinkedIn, or Facebook, or Instagram… Don't auto-cross post. (Pet peeve of mine) Remember it's about your community, not you. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
Community is the soul of your brand. Nurturing your community increases your credibility, awareness, and loyalty—all the things a business needs to thrive.
A6a: Community is extremely important. Nurturing a community builds trust, gains loyalty, increases brand awareness + equity. Consider the brand @MadalynSklar has built around her #TwitterSmarter community.
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
Treat your community as such—they’re not mere “followers.” A community is people who care about you and want to see you do well. They’re your cheerleaders and ambassadors and will be your loyal companions when times are tough.
A6b: Social media allows brands to connect with customers, prospective customers, brand ambassadors and advocates, any one interested in the brand. Develop relationships with these groups by treating them as your community and not simply as ‘followers’. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
As Jim pointed out, building relationships with those in your community will help you grow your business. Those who love doing business with you will tell their friends and family—that word-of-mouth is invaluable to a business.
A6. Building a community is critical. As @PatFlynn talks about in Super Fans, these are the people that will support you and refer you.
Vanity metrics, ie. likes and follows don't move the needle.#TwitterSmarter https://t.co/f4mqilHprl
— Jim Fuhs #DealcastersLive #DigitalMarketing (@FuhsionMktg) December 2, 2021
Firstly, you should know what your brand is and how you want to project it. If you show even the tiniest sign of doubt, it’ll translate to your community. You want your loyal community to be able to tell their friends who you are and what you do—exactly as you want them to.
A7a: Decide what exactly your brand is. If you’re unclear, then your community + audience will be unclear on what it is. What do you want to be known for? How do you want to be perceived? What’s your brand’s voice or personality? #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
Start with what you do, why you do it, and how you do it. What is it that your business does better than the next business?
A7b: Answer these questions at a minimum to establish WHAT your brand is. Then you can work on establishing and amplifying your brand via the steps we’ve covered today. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
Once you’ve nailed the philosophical questions, get more specific, as Amal suggested. Set goals for your social activities, identify where your ideal audience hangs out and what makes them tick, and then build your logo, tagline, and core messaging.
A7. Set your goals, find out your target audience, have a unique logo & tagline, start building a good relationship with your audience by engaging with them, earn their trust by solving their issues.#TwitterSmarter
— Amal Ghosh (@AmalGhosh3) December 2, 2021
Ideally, you shouldn’t ever go off-brand. But if you find that you’re often saying and doing things that are off-brand, then perhaps it’s time to reevaluate your brand. It’s good to evolve as you grow, but identify what you’re changing, why, and whether doing so will positively impact your business.
A8a: Tough question. I’m going to say no, in general. If you find that you’re ‘off-brand’ more often then not, it may be time to consider a re-brand. Your brand CAN and should evolve. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
Brand evolution is an important part of growing your business. However, don’t make off-brand decisions for temporary gain—such as jumping on a trending hashtag that’s irrelevant to your business. That may do more harm than good.
A8b: I will add this: don’t go off-brand and be a jerk cause someone told you it’s cool or will go viral. That is NOT a good brand strategy. #TwitterSmarter
— Anh Nguyen (@AnhTNguyen) December 2, 2021
All that said, as Christine reminded us, if you’re a personal brand or a business combined with a personal brand, you can and should go off-brand whenever you think it’s relevant. A personal brand, of course, is a reflection of yourself. As humans, we change our minds and processes all the time, and your brand should follow you. Don’t ever start following an image of a brand that you conjured up.
A8.
If it’s your personal brand?
Whenever the heck you want.
Because the brand follows YOU, not the other way around.#TwitterSmarter— Christine Gritmon ❤️ #ChatAboutBrand (@cgritmon) December 2, 2021
Well, that’s all from me, folks. Thanks for reading through, and for more insights from our chat with Anh, have a look at this Twitter Moment that Joana put together for us. If you think this summary is pretty good, you’ll love the real-time chat. Join us every Thursday at 1pm ET on #TwitterSmarter. Afterward, we also hang out on Twitter Spaces at 5pm ET to continue our chat. Catch you there!
About me, Narmadhaa:
I write all the things—technical and marketing copy to fill the pocket; haiku and short stories to fill the soul. A social media enthusiast, I’m a member of the #TwitterSmarter chat crew, and always happy to take on writing gigs.
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