17 Social Media Branding Strategies To Grow Your Audience

Looking for help with your social media branding efforts? I’ve got you covered.

Successful social media marketing starts with building a recognizable brand that people trust.

A strong brand sets you apart from competitors, strengthens your online presence, and—most importantly—helps you attract more followers and customers.

With that in mind, in this post, I’m going to share 17 powerful social media branding strategies (complete with examples) to help you level up your game. Let’s dive into it.

1. Share content that reinforces your brand identity

Brand building on social media is all about consistently putting out engaging social media content that reinforces your brand identity and grows your audience.

Start by clarifying your brand identity: What values do you stand for? What’s your origin story? What’s your mission?

Try to weave that into the content you create for social media by sharing engaging posts that showcase your values and mission.

For example, Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaign consistently showcases content that celebrates natural beauty and body positivity, aligning with their brand values of inclusivity and self-confidence.

Tip: Your social media content should reflect and support your brand identity, but it also needs to be engaging and resonate with your target audience to maximize its performance. Don’t be too salesy—be entertaining and offer real value to your followers.

2. Leverage storytelling in your social media posts

Storytelling is one of the most powerful social media branding strategies. 

Humans love stories. They create emotional connections, make your brand more relatable, and keep your audience engaged. 

So, share posts that tell stories on your socials—that could be the story of your brand’s journey so far. It could be a funny anecdote, a positive customer experience, or a behind-the-scenes moment.

For instance, Airbnb often shares stories of hosts and guests in its TikTok posts, highlighting unique experiences and personal connections made through their platform. This storytelling approach not only promotes their services but also emphasizes their mission of creating a global community.

Tip: Instead of just posting a Tweet to announce an upcoming product launch, why not share a video with the story behind its creation? Talk about what inspired it, what challenges your team faced along the way, and how it could make a difference to customers.

3. Optimize your posting schedule 

It’s not just about the content you post, it’s also about when you post it.

Optimizing your posting schedule will help strengthen your brand’s social presence by ensuring more people see your posts and engage with them. 

It’ll help to keep your posts at the top of the feed and, by extension, keep your brand at the top of your audience’s minds.

To optimize your posting schedule, I’d recommend using a social media scheduling tool like SocialBee. 

It lets you map out your whole strategy and schedule posts in advance to multiple social media networks—all from one unified content calendar.

Plus, SocialBee can also calculate and suggest the best time to post based on your historical performance data. It knows when your audience is most active and likely to engage, making it easier to optimize your schedule.

Tip: SocialBee also supports category-based scheduling. So, you can bucket posts together into logical categories (e.g., memes, promotional posts, educational posts, etc.) and assign each category to a weekly posting slot. This helps to ensure a balanced content mix, which supports your branding efforts.

4. Use a distinctive tone of voice

Using a distinctive tone of voice when writing captions will make your brand’s social content more memorable and recognizable while also differentiating you from your competitors.

Plus, if you can craft a relatable social voice that’s in tune with your audience, it can help to humanize your brand and foster a deeper connection with your community.

Take Wendy’s, for example. They’re known for their witty, playful, relatable tone on social media, and you can see this tone consistently across all their posts and comments. 

When crafting your own social media voice, start by considering your brand personality. Do you want to come across as funny and relatable? Professional and polished? Kind and empathetic?

Put together a social media style guide to guide your content creation and keep your team on the same page.

Your style guide should explain the tone you’re aiming for, with examples to illustrate. 

It should also cover dos and dont’s, with clear guidance for things like acceptable/unacceptable language, punctuation and grammar, formatting, etc. 

5. Craft a distinctive visual identity

The visuals (images and videos) you share on social media also need to reflect your brand’s personality.

A strong visual identity will make your content instantly recognizable in a crowded feed, helping you increase brand awareness and credibility. 

Think of brands like Co – Star, who use a signature black-and-white color palette and text-heavy Instagram snaps to make their photos stand out at a glance.

To craft your own visual identity, start by defining a consistent color palette, typography, and aesthetic style that aligns with your brand personality. Do you want a sleek and minimal look? A bold, high-energy vibe? A warm and inviting feel? You get the idea.

Once you’ve nailed down your look, document it in your brand’s social media style guide (see above). Make sure to cover the following:

• Your brand’s primary and secondary colors
• Approved fonts 
• Logo usage rules
• Any specific filters, overlays, or design elements to use

Remember that consistency is key—your audience should be able to recognize your content before they even see your brand name.

6. Utilize influencer marketing

Collaborating with influencers on social media (through sponsored posts, account takeovers, etc.) can help you grow your audience and strengthen your brand—but you’ve got to get it right.

You’ll need to partner exclusively with creators that are a good fit for your brand. They should reflect your brand personality/values and have an engaged audience aligned with your target buyers.

For example, when fast-food brand Wendy’s partnered with popular Twitch streamer Myth for their ‘Never Stop Gaming’ campaign, it felt like a natural fit. 

Wendy’s is known for its witty, internet-savvy brand voice, and Myth’s engaged gaming audience aligned well with their target demographic. The collaboration was entertaining, authentic, and helped Wendy’s cement its place in gaming culture.

Once you’ve found an influencer you want to collaborate with, build a relationship with them by following and interacting with them in the comments and DMs. Then, reach out to pitch your campaign.

7. Work with a brand ambassador

A brand ambassador is more than just an influencer—they’re a long-term spokesperson who becomes the face of your brand.

Partnering strategically with the right individuals helps strengthen your brand image as audiences begin to associate your brand with the ambassador’s persona. Therefore, it’s crucial to choose someone who closely aligns with your target image and identity.

Their personal brand should complement your company brand, reinforcing the image you want to cultivate.

For instance, Calvin Klein has effectively utilized brand ambassadors on social media by collaborating with global artists like Jungkook from BTS. 

His involvement in Calvin Klein’s social media marketing campaigns has generated significant engagement, resonating with a younger audience and reinforcing the brand’s contemporary, stylish image.

8. Collaborate with compatible brands 

Aside from influencers, you can also collaborate with other businesses on social to tap into new audiences and strengthen your brand’s social media presence.

But again, you’ll need to do this strategically and only team up with those that are a good fit.

They shouldn’t be a direct competitor, but their identity and audience should closely align with yours.

For example, LEGO teamed up with Airbnb for a Facebook giveaway campaign, in which contestants were given the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stay at the LEGO house in Denmark.

The campaign was a huge viral success, bringing LEGO’s avid fanbase together with Airbnb’s audience of holidaymakers. 

It supported each company’s branding efforts by reinforcing their respective identities—LEGO’s association with creativity and imagination and Airbnb’s association with unique and unforgettable travel experiences.

9. Optimize your brand’s social media accounts

First impressions matter—and your brand’s social media profiles are the first thing people who visit your page will see.

By optimizing your social media profiles, you’ll create a cohesive brand presence that strengthens recognition, builds trust, and helps you to grow your audience.

Every element—your bio, profile picture, banner, etc.—should align with your brand identity and messaging.

Think of your bio like a pitch for visitors. It should summarize who you are, what you do, and why people should follow or buy from you. 

Make it keyword-rich to improve discoverability and include a compelling CTA (call-to-action) that directs users to the next step (e.g., ‘Shop now’, ‘Follow for updates’, etc.)

Consistency is also key. You should use the same (or very similar) profile picture and channel art across all social media channels to make your brand instantly recognizable. If possible, secure a verified badge to add credibility and authority to your account.

10. Engage with your fans

Engaging with your audience on social media supports your branding efforts by strengthening your community.

There are two types of engagement: inbound and outbound.

Inbound engagement refers to interactions that are initiated by users who come to your page, like comments on your posts or direct messages you receive.  Responding to these engagements encourages further interaction, boosts your engagement rate, and shows your audience that you value their input.

Outbound engagement involves actively reaching out to others by commenting on their posts or sending direct messages. It’s a more proactive approach that can help you increase your visibility and build new connections while showcasing your brand personality.

For example, meal-delivery company HelloFresh commented on a TikTok video of influencer Alix Earle dancing and lip-syncing in her pajamas, encouraging her to drop an album. 

This interaction showcased HelloFresh’s playful personality, supporting their branding efforts. It also allowed HelloFresh to tap into the influencer’s reach and engage a broader audience.

Tip: A unified social media inbox like Pallyy makes it easier to manage and respond to inbound engagements at scale by pulling all your comments and DMs from across platforms into one feed.

11. Run social media contests

Social media contests are a great way to drive engagement and boost awareness while reinforcing your brand.

A popular format is the ‘branded hashtag campaign’, where you challenge users to do something to enter the giveaway (like share a post featuring your products), and users can enter by posting with a specific hashtag in the caption.

For example, Starbucks’ #RedCupContest challenged customers to share creative photos of their holiday-themed Starbucks cups on social media for a chance to win prizes. 

This not only generated buzz but also strengthened Starbucks’ brand identity by associating it with seasonal excitement and creativity.

12. Share UGC (user-generated content)

Sharing user-generated content (UGC) that shows your products or services in a positive light is another powerful social media branding strategy. 

I’m talking about things like positive reviews and testimonials, case studies, fun customer stories, customer photos of your products, and so on.

As any marketer worth their salt will tell you: Customers trust earned media like this much more than traditional advertising, which is why UGC is so powerful.

GoPro is a prolific UGC sharer on social media. The brand often posts action-packed videos filmed by customers using its cameras, reinforcing its adventurous brand image while promoting its products more authentically.

13. Build communities around your brand

Strong brand communities foster loyalty and engagement. They help to turn customers and social media followers into brand advocates.

That’s why another powerful social media branding strategy is to build a community space around your brand. 

Set up a dedicated group or forum to allow fans to connect, discuss, and share experiences related to your brand. This could be a Facebook Group or a Subreddit, for example. 

For example, Xbox runs an active subreddit (/r/Xbox) where fans can discuss games, share tips, and engage with official brand content, deepening their connection with the brand.

It’s one of the top subreddits on the platform, with over 932k members.

14. Promote your social media accounts on other brand channels

Make sure your social media accounts are easy to find by promoting them across all your brand touchpoints. 

That might include your website, email newsletters, product packaging, events, and even in-store signage.

For example, BarkBox promotes its socials by featuring social media icons and calls-to-action on its website, encouraging customers to follow and engage with the brand online.

15. Track your brand mentions

Use social listening tools like Brand24 to monitor mentions of your brand and important industry keywords on social media.

This will help you to identify engagement opportunities and respond to important conversations in real time, which supports your social media branding efforts. It’s also crucial for PR and crisis management.

16. Run social media ads 

Running social media advertising campaigns through tools like Meta Ads Manager extends your brand’s social reach beyond your organic audience. 

Ads get your social media posts seen by more people in your target demographic, supporting your social media branding efforts and wider marketing goals.

For example, NordVPN regularly runs ads across social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to promote its software and drive sales. As a result of its aggressive advertising strategy, it’s become one of the most well-known brands in the VPN market.

17. Analyze your performance

Tracking your performance allows you to measure the success of your social media branding efforts and optimize your social media strategy going forward.

For example, if you can see that your social followers, impressions, and average engagement rate have increased over time, it’s a sign that your branding strategy is paying off. If you see those KPIs going down, it’s a sign that something needs to change.

Other important metrics to keep an eye on include your brand mention volume (the number of times people mention your brand per month) and social share of voice (the percentage of conversations about your brand compared to your competitors).

You can also dig deeper to uncover insights into things like what your best-performing post types are, when your best time to post is, the demographics you’re reaching, etc., and feed that back into your social media marketing strategy.

You’ll need a good social media analytics tool for this. I’d recommend Social Status. 

It covers all the metrics and KPIs marketers need to evaluate their performance on social media and lets you report on all your accounts across every social channel from one place. You might also need a social listening tool like Brand24 to analyze mention statistics.

Final thoughts

There you have it—17 social media branding strategies to grow your audience this year.

To recap, effective social media marketing starts with clarifying your brand identity and personality. In other words, how do you want your audience to perceive you on social media?

Once you know that, aim to consistently share posts that reflect and reinforce that brand identity, and try to carve out your own distinctive, recognizable social tone of voice and visual identity.

Partnering with influencers, ambassadors, and brands that are a good match can help to support your branding efforts. Make sure to also regularly engage with your social media audience to build a community around your brand and foster long-term loyalty. 

Finally, don’t forget to measure your performance. Use analytics tools to track your brand mentions and evaluate the impact of your branding efforts, identify what’s working, and refine your strategy over time.