Year over year, social media usage among Gen Z, Millennials, and Baby Boomers continues to rise. Many of them turn to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and now TikTok to keep up with their favorite brands.

Whether you’re just starting with your business and are a team of one or have been around the block a few times, you know how important it is to maintain a social presence online.

And like a garden, if the goal is to build brand awareness—and it should—you have to nurture your company’s social media pages.

What’s Brand Awareness, and Why is it Important?

Think back to some of your favorite brands. What comes to mind? Maybe it’s the cool, effervescent bubbles from a freshly opened can of Coca-Cola. Or the creamy, smooth—or chunky, if you’re into it—texture of Skippy peanut butter.

Both of these products may take you back to a time where you have an affinity towards—or even nostalgic feelings with—them. They’re forever burned in your mind.

These associations are known as brand awareness. It’s the familiarity people have with a product and is often the first one consumers think of when buying in a specific category.

But how do you get to the point where a product or service is the first one consumers turn to?

When branding your company on social, you’re creating an identity people will remember and an experience they’ll associate with the business. Your goal is to give them consistency whenever they interact with the company online or off.

It’s all part of getting people to like, know, and trust the brand. And when they do, it results in positive results from a sales and marketing standpoint.

But there are a few things to keep in mind as you build a presence on social media.

Brand Advocates

One study pointed out that companies with active social profiles on Facebook positively affected brand awareness from consumers. Participants who consistently engaged on those pages with the brand also reported it as a factor in making a purchase.

A misconception about social media marketing is that the number one goal for a business should be to get followers—no matter who they are. But while it might make you feel good to see the number of likes go up, this doesn’t always result in the same for your business.

Why? Because you want to spread your message to the right people. The ones who would benefit the most from your products and services.

Consistency is Key

Consumers will recognize certain elements before they even see the name. Going back to the Coca-Cola example, if a bright red can with a white swirl is sitting on the table, you’ll more than likely recognize it as a Coke product before even seeing the name or logo.

For years, the company has maintained consistent product branding across all advertising platforms.

Your company should do the same. Fonts, colors, photography, and, of course, your logo all need to be used in the same way.

One of the easiest ways to ensure the brand accomplishes this is with a style guide. It explains how each element should be displayed on digital, print, and other media types.

And it’s one of the best methods of keeping your messaging and imagery the same, no matter who touches it.

Social Media Brand Awareness Statistics

The impact of social media on your brand can yield serious results for your business. In 2021, there are over 3.78 billion global social media users. It sounds like a large number, yes, but what’s more impressive is the five percent increase from 2020.

Here are five other stats to pay attention to as you build up your social strategy online.

1. 71% of customers will endorse a company and recommend them to family and friends if they have a positive experience with a brand.

How can this help you?
Your focus needs to be on paying attention to the current customers and bringing new ones into the fold. They are the voices people listen to, which can help elevate or decimate a business.

2. 85% of people watch Facebook videos with the sound off.

How can you take advantage of this?
Make sure your viewers get the message even on mute. Add subtitles or other text cues throughout your video content, so people don’t miss anything.

3. YouTube is the most used social network as of 2020. 67% of these users are over the age of 56.

What does this mean for you?
As more companies prioritize marketing to younger audiences, older groups tend not to get as much attention. Don’t neglect the 50+ age bracket, many of whom are extremely active users of social media.

4. In 2020, over 233 million people in the US used social media.

What does this number mean?
This stat equates to almost three-quarters of the country’s population, which means more opportunities to engage with a diverse pool of prospective customers.

5. YouTube has the greatest reach between Gen Z and Millenials irrespective of gender.

Why is this important?
Video content has become the most consumed form of content on social media. Businesses are still catching on to this powerful communication tool, which means there’s space for you to jump in and reach more people with your message.

The stats above show how valuable social media is for businesses online. Since user interactions on these platforms continue to grow, companies need their messaging and social media graphics to work harder to entertain, inform, and provide value.

Conclusion

As you develop your marketing campaigns and strategies for social media, your audience needs to be at the center of your efforts. The goal isn’t to spam them with content or sales messaging but to give people useful information and provide value.