Building a strong brand on social media is a crucial part of your business strategy, especially today. But what exactly is a social media brand identity?
Your brand’s identity on social media is more than a logo or the colours you use. It’s how you express yourself digitally and connect with your audience. You can leverage a well-crafted brand on platforms like Instagram to increase your practice’s brand loyalty, recognition, and overall growth. Here’s how to start.
Establish Your Online Personality
The first step in building a strong social media brand identity is to define your brand’s unique voice and personality.
Social media connoisseurs might recall Duolingo’s viral social media content as a great example of a brand with an established, unique personality. Known for their popular “unhinged” social marketing strategy, Duolingo’s owl mascot, Duo, can be found dancing on office tabletops and crying to Taylor Swift lyrics in response to people who use Google Translate on the company’s TikTok page.
Luckily, you don’t need to start leaping onto your exam chairs or hanging from your phoropter to make an impact on social media. Whether you identify your brand voice as strictly professional and educational, or more playful and quirky, the key is to be consistent.
Stay Consistent
Consistency goes beyond your brand voice and includes elements like your logo, brand colours, and typography: which all make up your visual identity.
Your visual identity includes all the visual elements you use to translate your brand’s personality. Staying consistent with it and your brand voice will help you establish a reliable and trustworthy image on social media.
Consistency helps create a cohesive and recognizable identity across all your different platforms, making it easier for your audience to relate to your brand and pick it out from a crowd of content.
Create Great Content
According to a 2022 global online survey, 50% of weekly Instagram users said they wanted to see funny content on the platform. 46% of all respondents said they wanted to see creative content, and 41% said they wanted to see informative content on Instagram.
It can be tough for a funny post to go viral, but you can increase the odds by staying up-to-date on current memes, relating them to your practice, and using trending hashtags or sounds.
Short videos yield the highest ROI for social media marketing, according to HubSpot’s 2024 Social Media Trends Report. This includes TikTok videos, Instagram Reels, and YouTube shorts.
Long-form videos, like a traditional YouTube video, are also popular, despite having lower ROI. They cost more to produce, and viewers may not watch the content in its entirety.
Regardless of the type of content you choose to make, it’s important to set aside the necessary time to create it. If a member of your staff takes an interest in your marketing or social media efforts, you could consider setting aside time in their schedule to dedicate to content creation. A reputable agency or service provider with experience in the eye care industry can guide your strategy development and implementation to ensure your efforts connect with real-world results.
Close the Loop
All your social media efforts should tie in with a call to action: a marketing term that refers to the next step or action that you want your audience to take.
As an eye care professional, booking an appointment could be your primary call to action. If this is the case, you want to ensure that following through on this step is an easy, streamlined process for your potential patients.
You might close your social posts with a phrase like, “Click the link in our bio to book your appointment.” If you don’t have the appropriate URL linked within your social media profile, this can cause frustration with your audience and result in them taking their business elsewhere.
Did you know that 68% of patients are more likely to choose a medical provider that offers the option to book, change, or cancel appointments online? If possible, consider adding a self-scheduling appointment model to your practice.
Engage With Your Audience
Don’t forget where the “social” in social media comes from! When you’re busy operating your practice, neglecting or forgetting that social media is primarily a communication channel and ignoring your audience’s comments and posts can be easy.
Social media is a two-way street and building a strong brand identity includes listening and engaging with your audience. Responding to your comments, participating in relevant conversations and acknowledging feedback are all important steps to take.
Again, it can be helpful to dedicate time in your schedule to engage with your community, follow similar accounts in your local area, comment on your audience’s posts, and grow your overall presence, along with curating excellent content.
Getting Started
Focusing on your social media brand identity can revolutionize how you engage with your audience and strengthen your practice. You can build a reliable and relatable presence on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok by defining and consistently maintaining your unique voice and visual identity.
Engaging content that resonates with your followers, whether funny, creative, or informative, will foster deeper connections and enhance patient retention and loyalty. Consistent engagement, creative content, and a clear call to action will turn your social media efforts into a powerful tool for growing your practice and enhancing your brand.
For any questions or support with your social media presence—our team of experts is here to help. Reach out to us at [email protected] or book your free consultation with us.
