8 tips for leveraging your Social Media in the post COVID- 19 landscape

The outbreak of COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way we live and interact with each other, and brands are no stranger to this. Since stay-at-home orders were mandated, social media has become a social necessity and businesses have become increasingly dependent on their social media accounts to connect with their followers and attract new ones. So what exactly has this increased reliance on social media wrought and how can you leverage it for your brands success.

1. Fine-Tune your Presence

Your social media is a work of art. The main purpose of its contents should be to establish a deeper relationship with followers that can secure their long-term loyalty and subscription dollars. Followers know whether a piece of content is actually presenting value or just marketing spam Emphasizing storytelling and fostering human connection rather than trying to game the systems algorithms is a great way of doing this.

2. Engage with Influencers

While you don’t need to be the biggest thing on instagram, having a network of niche influencers can make a huge impact. People tend to trust these smaller influencers and they actually have seen a high rate of engagement than the bigger fish.

Basically, someone doesn’t need to have a massive following to make a big impact. Focus on your niche and you should see a lot more followers.

3. Repurpose your Best Content

From time to time brands can find their resources spread a little thin, so there’s no shame in finding creative ways to repurpose your content. There are many days on a calendar and you need to fill it in, but choose wisely.

Track your content to see what is most successful and repurpose the most vital. You can do this by turning quotes, stats or images from blog posts into share-worthy graphics or taking tips from a listacle and outlining them in a series of scheduled tweets. Do what you gotta’ do. Just be smart about it.

4. Master your Storytelling Craft

The art of storytelling dates back countless centuries, but it’s as fundamental as ever in reaching audiences and parlaying information to them.

You can blast out as much promotional content as you’d like but nothing engages an audience like a well-told story. No, you don’t have to be Martin Scorsese, but taking the time to post story-based posts can drive discussions and hold viewers interest.

Without being too political; debate-driven posts can be a great way to foster a busy comment section and showcase your brand's humanitarian side.

5. Always Tag your Posts

This may seem like second nature by now, but it bears repeating. Tagging other users is integral to most social networks and is guaranteed to attract more eyes to your posts. Tagged posts tend to earn attention and whether it’s a big player in your industry or a new industry you're looking to tap into, getting tactical with your tagging is an easy and effective way to stand out.

6. Go Live or Go Home

It’s no secret that video content is becoming increasingly popular. But, brands are looking to push the boundaries of this space even further with live video as networks increasingly add highlight live features.

Facebook live has reported that real-time vides get six times the engagement as regular videos and Instagram stories have spiked over 300 million.

Live videos are compelling because they are presented as must-see events unlike YouTube videos, which can be watched later. Remember pay-per-view?

7. Build an Army of Advocates

Your brand needs to stand out and an often overlooked resource is your already present network. Customers, employees and other brand advocates can play a critical role in your brand strategy. For starters, try convincing your teammates to promote your social media. This can ensure its reach extends far beyond your brands account. Strength in numbers is certainly easily applied here.

8. Get Personal

For any brand, showcasing your personality is of the utmost importance. So, don’t be afraid to get loud and proud!

The days of straight-laced business demeanor engagement on social media are well past by now. Do what you need to stand out and don’t be afraid to take some risks.

Whether that’s posting a funny cat video or advocating for your favorite social cause, it will only help endear your brand to your customers and make them feel more connected and loyal to you. But, always remember: just be yourself.