Why and how to become an ace communicator on social networks

By Jennifer Montérémal • Approved by Anthony Rochand

Published: 24 October 2024

What business owner or self-employed entrepreneur has never heard the phrase: "What's your brand's Facebook/LinkedIn/insert another social network page?"?

These days, using social networks or social media as a communication tool seems to have become indispensable for growing your business.

... essential, but why exactly? Do they deliver real business benefits, or are they just a fad?

This article, co-written with Anthony Rochand, consultant, trainer andco-founder of LEW, explains why you MUST deploy a communications strategy on social networks. And because we're nice people, we've also included some invaluable advice on how to go about it.

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What exactly is a social network?

Why are social networks called social networks?

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram... we all have our own ideas, but it's always useful to go back to the basics!

A social network is a website designed to create social links and exchanges between its members.

Individuals come together by affinity (family ties, friendships, professional interests or shared interests) to send messages, share photos or content, etc.

Over the years, social networks have become a new way of socialising, with a proven impact on society, particularly among young people.

The two terms are now used interchangeably.

Originally, social media were defined as platforms for publishing content. A blog, for example, is social media.

However, social networks are increasingly becoming media in their own right, with news, videos, articles and so on. The dividing line between the two types of site is becoming thinner by the day.

The 5 advantages of a good digital communications strategy on social media

How are social media changing the way companies communicate ?

Here are 5 key benefits.

Advantage no. 1: show your face!

Today, social networks are an integral part of consumers' lives. Accenture, for example, reports that nearly 3.5 billion people surfed them last year, spending an average of two and a half hours a day.

It's hardly surprising, then, that they are one of the best ways of increasing your visibility to potential customers! Facebook, Instagram... are all virtual sites where you can develop your brand image and present (or even sell) your products and services.

And the icing on the cake is that if you add a good content strategy, not only will you make yourself known, but you'll also be exploiting your audience to attract visitors directly to your site.

💡 Good to know: social networks, particularly during the Covid pandemic, proved to be an excellent channel for events. Your customers can't make it? Create an online event and get as many people involved as possible!

Advantage no. 2: Get closer to your customers

Thanks to social media, your audience can get in touch with you directly. In this way, you can establish a more human relationship with them, one that builds trust and a better customer experience.

This can involve customer service, so that when your customers have problems, you are responsive and ready to listen.

But it also means responding to comments from internet users, to increase your sympathy capital and convey a good brand image: you make a lasting impression on their minds and stand out from the competition.

💡 Good to know: communicating on social networks also facilitates the work of human resources and recruitment procedures, especially on LinkedIn!

Advantage no. 3: keep your finger on the pulse

Any good communication strategy on social networks involves monitoring :

what is being said about you
how your market is behaving
consumer expectations,
how your competitors are positioning themselves, etc.

Twitter, for example, is often used to communicate in real time about brands or directly with them. This medium is an excellent channel for monitoring your e-reputation, as well as information about your sector.

In short, thanks to social networks, you can learn to position yourself in relation to the challenges and trends of the moment, and you can help your brand evolve by obtaining feedback (direct or indirect) from consumers.

Benefit no. 4: Get to know your customers

The value of data is well established.

With social media, you can better understand who your customers are and how they are evolving, by observing their profile:

age
gender
geolocation
interests,
expectations, etc.

So much information to make the most of!

Advantage no. 5: Create your community

Acquiring new customers is all very well. But retaining the ones you've already won over is even better!

Thanks to social networks, you can build up a real community around your brand, a community that you can build loyalty around with impactful content in line with their values and aspirations. A community that will then talk about you and advertise you ... for free!

How can you develop your business on social networks? Our tips for better communication

Tip 1: Identify your target audience

A good communications strategy on social networks requires you to understand exactly who your target audience is.

To do this, build your marketing personas by defining :

their socio-demographic profiles
their needs and interests,
and how they use social media. After all, that's what we're talking about! For example, look at the type of content they follow and distribute, and how they interact. You can also join groups that attract their interest and observe what happens there.

Only in this way will you be able to send your customers the right message (particularly in terms of content and tone) at the right time.

Tip 2: Define your objectives

Launching the right strategy also means knowing why you're doing it.

Depending on your objectives, your actions, and also the social networks you choose, will differ.

For example, do you want to

increasing your brand awareness?
Change your brand image?
Find new prospects?
generate more sales?

Tip 3: Choose the right social network(s)

Once you know how your customers and prospects use social networks, you can decide which is the most appropriate. There's no point in spreading yourself too thin, just stay relevant!

More concretely, each social network favours a type of content (images for Instagram, etc.), and therefore addresses specific needs.

Here are a few examples:

Facebook is perfectly suited if you want to communicate with a large audience, particularly as part of a BtoC activity. With a billion users, it has become a must-have platform, one where you need to be present in one way or another if your target audience is right for it. Another plus point is the possibility of targeted advertising.
Twitter is more appropriate for content that is rooted in current events, whether generic or about your brand (new product launch, organisation of an event, etc.). On this social network, you can interact easily with your audience and target your messages precisely thanks to its hashtags system.
LinkedIn is perfect for BtoB business. You can use it to keep an eye on your sector of activity and canvass your business customers.

Tip 4: Plan your strategy

Take the time to plan your communication strategy on social networks - your success also depends on your regularity. We recommend that you draw up an editorial calendar to structure your actions. However, always prioritise quality over quantity.

You should also set aside time in your schedule for monitoring because, as we saw earlier, it helps you stay in touch with your audience.

Tip no. 5: Create inspiring and engaging posts

Don't just publish anything on social networks!

Once again, your target audience will determine the content and form of your posts. But while the field of possibilities is vast, always bear in mind that your content must provide value and generate engagement and reactions.

Here are a few good practices to keep in mind:

Share useful content (demonstrate your expertise on a given subject, respond to your personas' problems, etc.),
offer something new,
use promotional content sparingly,
Be creative,
bounce off current events and trends,
play the emotion card (humour, indignation, etc.).

Tip no. 6: Look after your visuals

You know the drill: a picture is worth more than 1,000 words.

Networks are also visual. Even if you're not communicating on a dedicated social platform such as Instagram or YouTube, we now know the impact that images and videos have on the minds of Internet users.

Inspirational photos, informative infographics, product presentation videos... integrate these media into your posts and take care to ensure their quality.

Tip 7: Encourage interaction

How can you make a success of your communication strategy on social networks? By getting your community involved. So publish content that encourages them to react, comment and share. For example, solicit feedback directly through polls.

Interaction also requires you to get involved. In other words, respond to messages and questions, react to comments. In short, bring your posts to life and show that you're listening!

Tip no. 8: Measure your actions

If you're just starting out on social networks, we prefer to be honest: in the beginning, you'll be experimenting a lot before you identify the winning formula and become an ace at community management.

To make progress, track and measure the impact of each of your actions in order to determine :

what works and why
what's not working and why.

This way, you'll be able to fine-tune your strategy little by little to achieve the goals you've set beforehand.

💡 Good to know: you can get help from experts! Solocal, for example, offers you the Audit Visibilité Digitale solution free of charge to assess your presence on social networks and obtain information on your possible areas for improvement. And if you want to go even further, you can take advantage of Solocal's personalised support to increase your visibility on the internet, as well as tools designed to simplify and structure the distribution of your content on social networks.