We’ve all heard that the average person needs to see and hear your brand more than seven times before they will interact with it which in marketing is referred to as the Rule of 7.

However, more research has come out and could be up to 24 times a person needs to see your brand before they will act. For that reason, keep running that brand script. Remind people that you understand their problem and that you have a solution they can trust and that has worked for you.

Social media is a sticky wicket these days. It is undeniably popular. It is a source for entertainment, keeping tabs on your friends, sharing your life updates, disseminating information, and there is no denying that it is sometimes popular for the wrong reasons.

From the endorphin-inducing design, never ending scroll, and elusive algorithms, it is hard to win with growing your business through social media. But there is a place for it, especially if you have money to advertise on it. Social media has always been a pay-to-play arena— either in money, time, or attention.

[Now, don’t get me wrong, social media CAN be an amazing tool for growth, knowledge, and positive social change.]

No one social media platform is perfect. And trying to post to all of them, in the most optimized way for that specific algorithm’s needs, is expensive and draining.

We have found that followers from one platform won’t jump to another platform, so you have to build your follower base on each channel separately.

Set up a few social media accounts on the platforms and stake a claim there. Secure EVERY platform with the same username— even the ones you won’t be using. Your social media handles should match across channels so your customers can easily find you on each platform.

Linking your social media channels back to your website and your website to your social media channels can help build your search engine ranking and create other opportunities for others to find you on platforms they are already on.

Update your profile images

For each cover photo and profile photo, use the same images you have for your website. Use the same hero image for your cover photo, and your icon/ emblem for your profile photo. Keep it unified over all of your different channels, so it is easy to identify your brand no matter what platform they are on.

You will learn how to nuance your messaging depending on platforms because each audience engages differently. For now, keep all of the messaging all matching.

Don’t forget to let your existing network and customers know to follow you on these channels, and interact with you!

Social media pillars of content

We have found it is ideal to define different “pillars of content” for your social media posts – topics that we wanted to wrap our content around for social media.

Here are our top 9 focuses for the Bear Wade brand content schedule. You’ll see it is a balance of promo, free resources, community engagement, community highlighting, and new content.

1. Brand step feature
2. Client testimonials/feature
3. New show episode
4. Marketing tip or trick
5. Engagement poll/survey/“show me your…”
6. Challenges and giveaways 
7. Submit your questions
8. Free resources
9. Product offering

Defining this not only guides content publishers but content creators and everyone is on the same page. And while you are planning out upcoming content you might see where you have holes in your content like you still need to pick a new team member to feature this month, or you might hear a funny quote in the hallway that could be used as a meme. Or you might have a conversation with a customer on the phone which turns into a testimonial.

“Jab jab jab, right hook”

Gary Vaynerchuk, or, Gary Vee as he is known to his more than 1 million Twitter followers is a thought leader on marketing and content creation. He suggests balancing out our content which he calls, “jab jab jab, right hook” meaning you should offer value, offer value, offer value then ask for the sale. If you are always asking, you will fatigue your audience.

The point here is to strategically balance how your audience receives messaging from you.

Although I don’t really like the analogy of “fighting” with your customer, I do get what he is saying. Find that golden ratio of value offering to sales.

Going off of Gary Vee’s philosophy, it seems like 3:1. I think you can never make that first number too high. Give, give, give. Serve before you sell.

Download a copy of our free team marketing worksheets here. Want to learn even more? Check out our book and video course, Unify Your Marketing.