Who you are when you’re with your loved one differs slightly from who you are when you’re with your family, and both of those identities diverge significantly from the person you are when you’re home alone, singing along to Backstreet Boys.

But in the blogging world, your brand is you in every sense of the word—from the words you write to the look of your site and, most importantly, your social media presence.

Using social media effectively is crucial for any blogger. Your social media presence is the sum of your individual channels, much like the world’s major rivers gather their strength from a network of smaller waterways.

Therefore, how do you maximise brand awareness when using social media? What’s the best way to present yourself to potential readers? In what ways can you encourage these smaller waterways to join forces and form a larger river?

We have listed six effective strategies for building your online identity that you can use immediately. If you take these tips to heart, you’ll soon have a larger following, greater visibility, greater interaction, and better content.

The Uniformity of the Brand Across All Distribution Methods

Online advertising relies heavily on constant upkeep. Different “behaviours” across your various online profiles will be noticed, perhaps even subconsciously. fans don’t want to have to constantly guess who you are when they see you in a new setting.

When we talk about maintaining a constant online persona, we mean just that.

An image is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes.

One simple way to boost your social media presence is to include visuals.

BuzzSumo reports that visual content receives 2.3 times as many likes and 1.5 times as many retweets on Facebook and Twitter, respectively.

And naturally, the best pictures will yield the best results. To reiterate our first point, you should select a visual motif that reflects the character of your brand. In other words, if you have a flower blog, you should upload flower photos. Don’t put up pictures of flowers if your blog is about video games.

When sharing articles from your blog, be conscious of the images you’re using. A picture is worth a thousand words, especially when trying to attract new readers. When deciding on a featured image for an article, keep in mind how it will be shared on social media.

3 Make social media truly social

The dynamic nature of social media may feel alien to bloggers at first.

Blogs are similar to lectures in that you present your argument and the audience listens politely but rarely responds. However, social media is more akin to a lively conversation between several people at a cocktail party.

The best part about social media is the ability to interact with others.

One way to get closer to your audience is to address them directly. Even if your blog reveals your deepest, darkest secrets, there’s something about a two-way conversation that bonds readers together.

However, there is a certain manner in which one should interact with others on social media. Learn from these tried-and-true strategies to increase your social media following.

You should always respond to feedback, even if it’s just to say “thanks.”
Share your thoughts on the updates made by other community members.
In order to learn what kinds of posts are most well-received by your audience, you should observe the trending hashtags in your community.

4. What is the backstory of your Brand?

If I said “Whole Foods,” what would you picture? Absolutely not!

You probably already know that Whole Foods promotes healthy and organic foods and positions itself as more socially conscious than other food-related brands even if you don’t shop there very often.

Because their narrative effectively represents the brand.

Brand stories, also known as brand narratives, are just another (albeit effective) method of showcasing the human side of your brand.

Fifth, the best products sell in quantity

While it’s true that including images in your posts will boost their performance, in the end, the quality of the content is what will determine whether or not it is shared.

It’s common knowledge that “content is king” when it comes to online marketing, but for bloggers, it’s also our bread and butter.

Bloggers are judged solely on the quality of their posts, so if you want people to start reading what you have to say, you’ll need to establish your expertise in other areas, too.

The good news is that, unlike with a blog, your social media channels don’t require you to constantly produce brand new content.

If you’re at a loss for words, you can always repost something interesting that someone else has written (which is also a way to engage with your community more, as we talk about below). Even if the post isn’t yours, you still need to make sure it fits in with your overall aesthetic when reposting it.

Use video to set yourself apart

These tips will give you the tools to improve your profile and attract more followers on social media. But what if you want to take your already-excellent social media presence to the next level? You’ll need to put in some extra effort, perhaps by creating your own videos.

Videos receive 1,200% more social media shares than text and images combined. Again, the tone and purpose of your brand should inform the types of videos you create and distribute.
It’s safe to say that you’re your own best product.

That sums up branding in the social media sphere, but the most important rule is to always be genuine.

Social media users can easily detect insincerity, so while it’s fine to follow branding trends, being genuine is paramount.

Avoid treating social media like a billboard and remember that at its core, it’s about building connections with others.