These days, it’s not enough to have a Facebook page alone, you also need a Twitter account. What do you mean you’re not on LinkedIn? Well, at least you have a blog on WordPress or Tumblr, right?
While each social media platform has different features, layouts, and functionality, one thing can always remain the same – your branding and presence.
With so many online profiles, questions are bound to arise. Is your bio page the same across all platforms? Should it be? There are few hard and fast rules when navigating social media; but a lot comes down to preference.
For those starting out or just looking to make sense of their profiles, the following are seven tips on how to make your presence consistent across multiple social media networks.
1. Secure Your Brand Name
People should be able to type in your username from one network to the next to find you easily and not accidentally stumble upon a personal account created by someone outside of your brand. Oreck has done this with their short brand name on networks like Twitter, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Be sure to grab your branded username even if you don’t want to set up and use a particular social media account right now.
2. Use the Same Profile Photo
The one common element of most social media networks is the profile photo. This image will generally be displayed on your main profile page as well as (on most networks) next to your updates.
To create a consistent brand image across all of your social networks, consider using the same profile photo across all of them, whether it is your brand logo or your professional headshot.
Doing this will make it easy for your fans to recognize your status updates where ever they see them and make them feel confident in the fact that they are connecting with your brand.
3. Promote Your Own Tagline
Have a tagline that people would easily recognize and associate with your brand? Be sure to use it on your social media profiles in the about information or headlines.
If your tagline is memorable, it will stick into your fans’ minds as they travel from one of your social profiles to the next. And when they see it in their local stores next on your product, they will feel a familiarity that might lead to a purchase!
4. Share the Same Message
Have a major update that you don’t want your fans to miss? Be sure to share it across multiple networks simultaneously. That way, if you have groups of fans who follow you on one network over another one, they won’t miss your big news.
You will also get a good feel for where you have the highest concentration of engaged fans. In today’s, social media environment, it appears Facebook is still the winner with most engagement. If you notice a consistent lack of engagement in one network over the others, that will be a great way to determine where you should dedicate the majority of your time when it comes to advertising and updates.
5. Stick with the Same Theme
A theme could be anything from a common background image to a common message. It’s simply something that lets people know they are still with the same brand from one social platform to the next.
By doing this, you’ll portray the same feeling across different parts of your brand’s social presence without having to actually spell it out for them.
6. Run the Same Campaign
Another great way to portray a consistent brand image across multiple networks is to promote the same campaign simultaneously. Remember that it’s not overkill – some people prefer one platform to another. If you only run a campaign on Twitter, you might miss out on captivating your Facebook audience.
This will also help build excitement among your social media visitors about your new promotion. Imagine they start at Twitter, then move on to your Facebook, then end up watching your videos. It would be like taking them through a complete online sales process, hopefully leading them right to your website.
7. Link up Your Social media Profiles
Help your fans connect with you all over the social media landscape by including links or references to other social networks on your social profiles themselves. Google+ and YouTube encourage it by offering areas where you can add links. Facebook doesn’t have specific fields for it, but you can get away with it by including the URL’s in your page’s About information. On Youtube’s case, note that only certain users (brands, advertisers, etc.) get access to customize their channel’s header. If you don’t have that option, you can include links to your other social profiles in your channel’s sidebar instead.
By interlinking, this ensures that visitors will be able to connect with you everywhere they want to be connected. And the more places they connect with you, the more you will be able to get your brand’s message in front of them.
Final Words of Advice
While there may not be one ruling maxim, here are some choice words of wisdom for keeping a consistent social media presence.
- Commitment is really the key. While everyone keeps talking about passion, commitment takes it much consideration. If you’re committed, you’ll succeed. Or, at least you’ll get something out of it.
- Acknowledge that compartmentalization is impossible. It’s the same way in real life. We act one way around our parents, and one way around our boss, and one way around our friends, even if we’re still the same person. Just think about the image you want to present and don’t be afraid to be human.
- Out of all these tips, perhaps the most important lesson is to just be yourself. It may sound simple, but ultimately people are connecting with you because of who you are. Put some forethought into what your want your digital reputation to be and build towards that.
