The Brand Refresh Series: Must-Have Social Media Marketing Checklist

This Year’s Must-Have Social Media Marketing Checklist is the last installment of our three part blog series, The Brand Refresh. Make sure to check out parts 1 and 2 to make sure you don’t miss anything!

The Brand Refresh Series, Part 1: How to Digitally Refresh Your Brand

The Brand Refresh Series, Part 2: Simple Ways to Update Your Website

Social media marketing is one of the most effective forms of brand awareness of the yea. Coincidentally, it’s also the easiest and most cost effective way to refresh a brand. In fact, it’s usually free! 

There are many benefits to having social media pages for a business. For one, it’s free advertising. Social media allows the company to forge relationships with consumers, and keep them up to date on new products and services offered. It can also be a really effective method of interacting with customers, since they can ask questions, leave reviews, and even share posts to people on their timeline, too. 

How far the company-customer interaction should go is entirely at your business’s discretion. It’s recommended that an established business have some combination of Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, depending on the customer demographic. Again, since creating a page allows the opportunity for free advertising in addition to forging relationships with prospective and current consumers, social media marketing has become the awareness method of choice for many business owners. 

Some companies may make the decision to promote posts on social media sites, but again, that’s entirely up to their own discretion. The tips outlined below focus primarily on increasing company and brand awareness using free methods.

Pro Tip: Make sure to research what social media platforms the prospective demographic will be most active with, to achieve the best results with social media marketing.

For more on social media marketing, check out our blog How to Implement Social Media Marketing Into Your Business Strategy.

1. How to Refresh Your Instagram Account

First, take the opportunity to update the existing social media page. 

• Look at the original or previously shared posts
• Delete any posts that don’t keep with the core brand, or any posts advertising products or services no longer offered, or
• Update old captions to reflect any changes in operations

Next, make a social media marketing strategy for any new posts for your account. This is the best way to make sure the account is portraying a cohesive brand!

• Brainstorm recurring hashtags to use for the business. This may take a little research, but hashtags will increase visibility, meaning the number of potential customers is also updated
• Start posting regular updates with photos & captions that are on-brand. This helps maintain visibility and increase brand awareness.
• Use “instagram shopping” on applicable Instagram posts. This is a new feature that allows businesses to ‘tag’ and link their for-sale products, so that consumers can make a purchase without ever leaving the app. This is beneficial because it capitalizes on a consumer’s buying state of mind.

2. How to Refresh Your Facebook Page

Most businesses have a Facebook page, as they’re easy to maintain. Not to mention, 1 in 5 page views originate from Facebook! That’s why Facebook social media marketing is an invaluable source to business owners. It’s not uncommon for B2C businesses to use Facebook in lieu of a landing page, if they don’t have the capital for a website yet. 

Here are some tips for making the most of this great resource:

• Keep your page up-to-date with a periodic refresh, and make sure that all of your information is accurate!
  • Some important things to update:
    • Contact information
    • Products/services offered
    • Location
    • Hours of operations
• Delete any prior posts that don’t keep with the core brand.
• Reiterate any changes in operations that new/existing followers may not know about. (Psst – remember those mini-campaigns we talked about earlier? Facebook is a great place to take that!)
• Ask customers to leave a review – the more positive reviews a company has, the more visibility it has.
• Take the time to respond to any dissatisfied customers, and once resolved, ask them to update their review.

3. How to Refresh Your LinkedIn Page

This is a great source for companies that sell to businesses, also referred to as B2B sales. Wholesale companies will do better than retail companies with this resource – but since it’s free, it never hurts to create a LinkedIn page, as well!

• Make sure the following is up to date and correct:
  • Contact info
  • Location
  • Products/services offered
  • Job postings, if applicable
  • Hours of operations

4. General Social Media Marketing Tips

No matter the social media site of choice, your company should be sure to use them to encourage brand awareness and customer engagement.

Here are a few ideas on how to keep your potential customers involved:

• Promote upcoming events, specials, and/or promotions across existing social media channels, including:
  • Events
  • Special deals
  • Promotions
• Update any paid marketing and ad campaigns to reflect:
  • Upcoming events
  • Special deals
  • Promotions
• The company can also use longer form posts or even blog posts to provide more information. When sharing the blog posts or long form content on social media, the company can take the time to: 
  • • Highlight any upcoming events, special deals, and promotions
    • Take the opportunity to expand a little more into the services and/or products offered, and why potential clients should be interested
    • Showcase your company culture

These are some great easy steps for a quick brand refresh, and they’re simple and cost-effective. By updating your brand’s interactions with your customers in small ways, you can make a big impact. 

See also: 5 Ways Your Brand Can Outlast the Coronavirus Crisis

Remember, Kairos Design Studio is dedicated to helping your brand reach customers at all touchpoints. Contact us today for a free consultation!

This post was originally published Dec 3, 2020 and updated on May 11th, 2023.