The 5 Most Important Ways Social Media Builds Branding
Whether you’re opening Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, it seems the social media craze is only continuing to grow. As of 2023, roughly 4.9 billion people globally used social media regularly. That is over half the world’s total population! With such widespread accessibility and usage, social media is a brand-building tool companies cannot afford to ignore. However, the world of social media is also vast and ever-changing.
As daunting as that may sound, Payment Plugins is here to help. Find out the top five key ways social media can shape company branding.
1. Set the Tone of Your Brand
With people spending an average of 2 hours and 28 minutes on social media every day, it is no wonder they will naturally spend some time interacting with brands. In fact, in the United States, 36% of Instagram users and 35% of X users (formerly Twitter) follow at least one business on social media. With one-third of users following a company, this makes social media a critical stage to set the tone of a brand.
Is the brand going to be known for its useful education, humor, and wit, or inspirational advice? Setting the tone of the brand on social media has never been easier with tools like stories, static images, and short-form videos. Social media is the perfect playground to bring branding to life and build on the website experience.
2. Provides Real-Time Feedback
Unlike other forms of marketing, social media is both real-time and a two-way street. Businesses should use that to their advantage! In fact, 91% of business leaders have reported social media provided them a better understanding of their customers. Review comments and direct messages (DM) to see what customers are saying. For example, customers may DM to request more payment flexibility with partners like Stripe or Braintree at checkout. Social media is a great way for owners to stay connected with recent requests and complaints from their audience.
In a worst-case scenario, social media can also help manage crisis communications for brands, with 84% of leaders agreeing social insights positively impact risk management.
Customer Service at Their Fingertips
As mentioned above, one critical way to provide a more positive experience is offering customer service options on social media. Allowing DMs opens the door to discovering problems faster, such as a bug on the site, or allowing unhappy customers to escalate issues in a private and timely manner.
3. Increase Reach & Build Audience
Both organic and paid social media are great ways to increase audience reach. Half of all millennials have reported trusting social media influencer recommendations, even over traditional celebrity endorsements. This means using social media to partner with the right content creators can expose a company to a whole new audience of people actively looking for trustworthy and authentic recommendations.
Additionally, other ways brands use social media are by interacting with other businesses to build authenticity. For example, a company launching a new Buy Now, Pay Later option at checkout could craft a post about Link and tag Stripe’s social account.
4. Create Advertising Opportunities
With over $268 billion spent on social media advertising in 2023, it is no secret that adding dollars behind social activity can pay off for many brands. While that spend might seem high, 76% of social media users reported purchasing an item after seeing it featured on social media. Social advertising is flexible and putting budget into targeted ads or boosting top-performing content can expand audience reach and engagement, converting into real monetary returns.
5. Listen to Competitors and Partners
Finally, social listening is a major advantage of utilizing social media. Brands wishing to stay up-to-date with their competitors should follow rival accounts to ensure their branding and tone is well differentiated.
Meanwhile, companies can also use social media to keep up with the latest news from their direct partners. Web hosting platforms such as WooCommerce or merchant platforms such as PayPal are all useful accounts for companies to follow. Following partners allows brands to offer the best, new, and greatest features of the partnerships they utilize more quickly than waiting for traditional newsletters or checking manually for updates.
Social Media and Payment Partners
While social media is often a first touchpoint for many customers, it is critical for companies to create a seamless and connected experience from social media all the way through checkout. Ensure your e-commerce checkout flow matches the tone and branding of your social media accounts with easy-to-integrate and personalized checkout processes on your website. Use trusted integration partners like us at Payment Plugins for reliable and smooth integration with payment gateways like Stripe and Paypal.
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