The success of a business page on social media depends, among other things, on creating a concise, effective strategy. In addition to formulating objectives and choosing the right social media channel, there are other elements that are important in a social media strategy. Read more about these elements in this blog.
If ten people tell the same story, you will most likely get ten different versions. This is also how it works when creating social media posts. To create unity in your posts, it is necessary to formulate a tone-of-voice in advance. Especially if multiple content creators are involved in the business page. The tone of voice is not what you say, but how you say it. Drawing up a clear tone-of-voice offers several advantages, such as:
A tone-of-voice consists of several aspects, for example:
A tone-of-voice can differ per channel. For example, a company page on LinkedIn often radiates a formal, corporate identity. The tone-of-voice on this channel is usually business-like and serious. This is in contrast to Instagram, where communication is often more light-hearted.
Billions of people post a message on social media every day. This flood of content makes it increasingly difficult for companies to be visible. In order to stand out and create recognition, it is a good idea for a company to develop a visual style. There are several parts on which you can base a visual style.
The use of images is very important on social media. Messages with text only score significantly less. They are seen less and receive fewer likes and reactions. With the right images you can create a brand experience that matches your company. Provide a professional look by taking photos with a good camera. Of course you can also use (free) stock photos. With stock photos you run the risk that other organizations use the same material. Each social media platform has different image size specifications, so pay attention to this when creating social media posts.
Many companies have a house style with one or a few colors that are reflected in all communications. By adding color elements, such as accents or filters to social media posts, you make the visuals match the house style. At Medical Digitals, for example, the color purple is part of the corporate identity. All our LinkedIn posts therefore contain a purple filter. the messages are therefore more recognizable for our followers.
Make sure your logo is always visible when you post a message. This is the element that is recognizable for your target audience. Your followers will see at a glance that the content comes from you. A logo can be visualized in several ways. Many companies set their logo as a profile picture. This way the logo is always visible when a message is posted. The logo can also be added to visuals. For example in the left or right corner (see figure 1).
Often the visual element of a social media post is the first element followers watch. Some people even skip the text of posts when scrolling through their news feed. You can therefore choose to also add text in the image. For example, Novartis has designed a visual style where there is room for text in the visual. This increases the chance that the posts’ message will come across well to the target audience.
To ensure consistency, always use the same font. Most companies have a standard font that is reflected in all communications.
A content theme is the umbrella name for social media posts that fall within a specific theme. The development of different content themes ensures variety, consistency and recognisability in the content. In addition, it provides a framework for creating social media messages. Examples of content themes are:
Social media is no science. It’s not that you will find the formula one day and suddenly see a lot of results. You will only see results if you post content on a consistent and regular basis. Set goals about how often you post content and how you will connect the target audience to your channel. Creating a content calendar is a very popular way to organize which content you will post in a certain period of time.
It takes a long time for an organization to build a community with many followers. That is why we advise to promote messages on social media consistently. Advertising is a way to reach a large part of your target group in the short term. In addition to a large reach, advertising ensures faster growth of the business page. Medical Digitals uses a technique that makes it possible to target even more specifically than the regular options on, for example, Twitter or LinkedIn. We call this technique hypertargeting.
Many healthcare professionals are active on Twitter. They like to use this channel to obtain information within their own field. They often follow Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) within their industry to keep up to date with new developments. Medical Digitals uses a technique by which we map out which KOLs, companies and news media are followed by a HCP on Twitter. With this method it is possible to determine with great certainty to which profession this person belongs. The technique is separate from the segmentation possibilities that social media channels themselves offer. We explain this with an example within oncology:
On the basis of this data, we conclude that this person is not only interested in oncology, but is most likely active in this sector. In this way, Medical Digitals creates lists of relevant persons that we manually integrate within the “advertising interface” of Twitter or LinkedIn. This way we reach very specific HCP target groups on the channels where they are active.
Medical Digitals has extensive experience in setting up business pages for organizations in the Life Sciences & Health sector. Do you have questions about this blog or do you need help setting up or optimizing a business page on social media? Don’t hesitate to contact us!
In addition to reaching HCPs and patients, you can also use social media for corporate communication. Within Life Sciences & Health, the presence of Dutch company pages on social media is limited. This is a shame, because a company page is a fast and personal channel to communicate about company updates, background information, news or other developments. In our view, a company page of a Life Sciences & Health organisation should at least meet the following ten points. Get started or get help from a specialist!
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