If you own a business or have dreams of starting one, or even have aspirations of running for political office one day, you can’t be successful without the help of social media. It’s a digital world and consumers are spending more and more time on social media channels on a daily basis. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, or other channels, this is where your audience connects with others and shares ideas, buys products, gets their news, and even where they go for weather updates.
If social media is the new public square, it’s more crucial than ever for your business to be where the people are. Social media offers endless opportunities for brand visibility, enabling even small businesses to reach millions of potential customers without having to pay huge amounts for traditional advertising. By consistently posting relevant and engaging content, brands can establish recognition, stay top-of-mind, incite social mentions, and drive sales and conversions, while making lasting impressions that build brand equity and turn customers into loyal fans.
The more your business uses the tools of social media and increases your social media reach, the more likely you are to grow your customer base and have success. An easy and cost-effective way to boost your social media reach is through creative branding. Whether it’s social giveaways to win custom merchandise or shoppable posts that feature branded items like hats, t-shirts, and tote bags, the right branding can take your social media reach to the next level. Even small details such as customizable pins can make a big impact, helping you create loyal customers who will voluntarily act as brand ambassadors on your behalf.
But before we discuss the benefits of creative branding and how it can boost your social media reach, let’s first go over how social media can help your business succeed.
4 WAYS SOCIAL MEDIA CAN HELP YOUR BRAND
1. ENGAGE WITH CUSTOMERS IN REAL TIME
Unlike traditional marketing methods such as billboard ads and TV commercials, social media allows businesses to interact with their audiences in real time, 24/7. Customers can comment on your posts, ask questions, and share feedback and reviews that can be used to help improve your products, creating opportunities for effective engagement. Social media users can even tag your business in their posts, instantly alerting you to a new opportunity to engage with your customers or recruit new ones.
The back and forth between businesses and customers on social platforms has changed the way consumers communicate with their favorite brands, helping to create more engaged and loyal followers across industries. If a company creates an engaging dialogue and responds to questions and complaints in real time, customers are more likely to be loyal to your brand and help you grow your business through positive social mentions, which are invaluable in today’s digital economy.
2. DRIVE CONVERSIONS AND SALES
Social media isn’t just about likes and shares and staying up to date on the latest news or cultural trends. It’s also a powerful, cost-effective tool that makes the shopping experience easier and more enjoyable for the customer, helping to drive sales and conversions.
- SHOPPABLE POSTS: Now customers can shop right from a social post with a click of a button. With shoppable posts, you can make your social feed a virtual store window and turn scrolling into window shopping. The more steps you can remove from the purchasing process, the more likely you are to complete the sale.
- INFLUENCERS: We’re living in an influencer economy. Customers continue to put their trust in influencers they respect and follow, especially micro influencers. Not only are micro influencers much cheaper for businesses to partner with than A-list celebrities, customers tend to trust them more, as micro influencers are more likely to engage with their followers and tend to use the products they’re promoting.
- TARGETED ADS: Using vast amounts of user data, social media platforms use targeted ads to reach specific audiences who are more likely to be interested in your company’s ad. Data such as age, gender, ethnicity, location, occupation, education level, marital/family status, interests, and even purchasing behavior, can all be used to create niche targeted ads that are more effective and cheaper than traditional marketing
3. BECOME CULTURALLY RELEVANT
Brands that fully leverage social media go beyond simply making posts and trying to start conversations, they join the conversation. Whether it’s creating posts about trending topics or seasonal events, leveraging viral memes, or joining a conversation by commenting on a post that’s popping off (as the kids say), tapping into cultural moments is an effective way to humanize your brand and stay relevant and top of mind.
Today’s consumers relate more with brands that have a point of view and don’t take themselves too seriously. The more authenticity and personality your brand’s social feed shows, the more engagement and buzz you’ll create.
4. COST-EFFECTIVE STRATEGY
Need another reason to use social media to grow your brand? It’s a smart and effective way to save money and spend it more wisely. A single organic post that taps into a cultural trend, a seasonal social campaign, or even customer testimonials, can generate massive visibility without the need for buying expensive ad space. For startups and established brands alike, the right content can do your advertising for you, attracting new customers, strengthening brand loyalty, and increasing your social reach.
THE POWER OF BRANDING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Branded merchandise is more than just a promotional tool, it’s a conversation starter and a strategic tool for social media. When the conversation is brought to social platforms, it can be amplified to reach millions of potential customers. Whether it’s branded merch inspired by the latest cultural trends, a user-generated campaign that features customized gear like hats and t-shirts, or custom company logo pins designed to look like popular social memes, the more sharable the merch is, the more social reach your brand will have.
TIPS FOR BRANDING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Below are easy, effective ways to use branding to boost your social media reach. No matter if you’re trying to get a new business off the ground or if your company is an established pillar of the community, using social platforms to brand yourself can help you achieve your goals. So, get creative and have fun with it!
ENCOURAGE USER-GENERATED CONTENT
If customers are enthusiastically sharing content about a brand, potential customers are more likely to trust the brand, which is a key component when considering an online purchase. User-generated content acts as authentic endorsements that extend your reach. Encourage your followers to share content featuring your branded merchandise and boost your brand visibility and social reach.
- Create a social contest where followers have to share user-generated content that features branded merchandise, along with a contest hashtag, to enter for a chance to win.
- Create a social media campaign that turns your followers into brand ambassadors. For instance, a Facebook carousel featuring real fans wearing branded swag is a great way to highlight your products and fans, while making the brand more approachable.
- Encourage your users to share unboxing moments on TikTok and Reels, so followers can authentically see the excitement your branded merch creates. Then, repost their videos and encourage others to join in on the fun!
BUILD BRAND LOYALTY
Branded merch can not only expand your social media reach, it can help you build brand loyalty. Whether you create custom hats or focus on designing other branded items, they can foster a sense of belonging and turn customers into advocates who proudly promote your merchandise, and by extension, your business. Loyal customers are more likely to express their love of your brand and spread the word on social media.
- Create excitement and anticipation with exclusive merch drops. From customized pins inspired by pop culture to coins that celebrate national pride, exclusive merch will create buzz and give your fans more reasons to share their purchases with their social followers.
- Offer free branded merch as a reward for customer loyalty. For example, for every five purchases, customers receive a free branded tote bag. Encourage customers to share their tote bags online to boost your social reach.
- When customers tag your brand in appreciation posts, quickly respond in kind and offer a loyalty coupon they can use on their next purchase. This will foster more loyalty and inspire customers to share their rewards.
CREATE BUZZ WITH EXCLUSIVITY
From designing pins for a specific holiday to creating exclusive gear inspired by the latest fashion trends, limited-edition or event-specific merchandise generates excitement and urgency. The more exclusive the merch, the more shareable and sought after it is.
- Quickly respond to Internet culture with limited-edition pieces that turn social buzz into online purchases. From meme-themed patches to hats that feature shareable quotes, responding quickly to Internet culture will keep your brand in the conversation.
- Fans love it when brands collaborate to create exclusive co-branded merchandise. Jump in on the trend and partner with a brand that has a large social following you can leverage to boost your sales and reach.
- Everyone loves a good countdown, especially if it’s counting down to something that gets you excited. Create countdowns on your social pages to generate excitement and anticipation. For instance, after Labor Day Weekend, start a countdown to when you’re going to drop your annual Halloween-inspired gear.
- Partner with local artists and creators to create exclusive merch no other brands are creating, and then drop the merch on your social channels. This will help to bring new customers to your channels and add more authenticity to your products and content.
PARTNER WITH INFLUENCERS TO EXPAND YOUR REACH
Partnering with influencers and creators can get your products in front of more eyeballs. When influencers feature your products in their content, it adds social clout to your brand and allows you to engage with a larger audience.
- Use micro influencers that align with your company’s mission to rep your brand merch in their content. Social media users often trust micro influencers over high-profile celebrities, as they engage more with their audience and endorse products they actually use.
- Partner with influencers to host branded merch giveaways on their social channels, where fans have to engage with the content to enter for a chance to win. This will introduce your brand and products to thousands of potential new customers.
- Team up with college or professional athletes or teams with sport-specific merch. Leveraging fans’ passions is a great way to expand your social reach and boost sales.
BRAND YOUR WAY TO SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS
Social media is vital to a brand’s success. No matter what social media platform you use, companies are fighting tooth and nail for users’ attention, making for an extremely competitive marketing landscape. Those who can boost their social reach and create authentic content that stands out and gives users a reason to engage, are the ones who will drive the most conversions and turn customers into loyal fans.
A wide reach across social media platforms will ensure your business remains visible, relevant, and top of mind. Creating custom merch that taps into Internet culture and the latest trends, and partnering with social influencers, artists, and creators, will help you inspire user-generated content that will expand your social media reach and help grow your business. Working with branding experts like THE/STUDIO will help you create better brand merch and better social content for your fans.
Whether you need branded merchandise or to create custom commemorative coins that tap into cultural moments, THE/STUDIO can get it done with the precision and craftsmanship your brand deserves. In today’s ultra-competitive digital world, only the most nimble, engaging, and creative brands will thrive, making it imperative to partner with a merchandise studio that can always deliver.
From ordering custom hats to designing personalized patches and more, the experienced artisans at THE/STUDIO can custom-make everything you need to create attention-grabbing merchandise and content that will boost your social media reach. Start today and brand your way to social media success.
