How to build a coherent brand across multiple social media platforms
Your guide to navigating multi-channel social media for business, plus some changes to DC's Debrief.
Hello hello,
For those of you who have subscribed to DC’s Debrief for a while (a big thank you, if so), you might be wondering what’s happened to the format. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t really working for me, so in the spirit of spring cleans, I’ve decided to switch it up. I’ll still be sharing the best insights and tips, but my posts will take more of a focused deep dive into all things social - I hope you’ll stick around 🫶🏻
Let’s get into it…
It’s the wild west out here, I’m not gonna lie 👀 New platforms are popping up on the daily, new features releasing then disappearing almost immediately, and everyone has an opinion on what platforms you should or shouldn’t be using.
Working in social media has never been harder. What started as managing maybe two or three platforms has become upwards of seven for many marketing teams.
So your problem isn’t only how to build a strong brand presence on one platform; you now have to translate this across multiple channels.
I’ve broken down my guide to successfully navigating social media for business into three sections:
Platform selection
Brand consistency and coherence
Adapting content across platforms
Platform selection
There are a lot of opinions on this, and honestly, I could be here all day - but it’s best to keep it short and sweet.
→ Go where your audience are - and actually properly research this. I’m sick of hearing that no one is using Facebook anymore when the statistics show otherwise.
→ Go where makes the most sense for your business (i.e B2B business might choose LinkedIn, Clothing brands Instagram & TikTok)
→ Only expand once you’re comfortable on your current platforms
→ THINK ABOUT YOUR RESOURCE. I will continue to scream this from the rooftops: if you only have one person managing all your social channels, how are they possibly going to manage eleventy billion accounts???
Repeat after me: It’s ok not to be on every single platform available.
People generally overcomplicate this, but you really just want to be doing a few platforms well.
Brand consistency and coherence
This goes beyond the usual profile image and bio (but yes, these things are important). How do we maintain consistency across all these different platforms? Especially when there are multiple team members involved?
I present to you, the social media brand bible. Hopefully, your business already has a detailed set of guidelines on the kinds of language used, how punctuation is used, and even the format dates should be written in. Take all of this information and add social-specific context too, such as what emojis the business uses and some standard responses. Going even further, take your frequently asked questions and formulate standard answers. I promise you this will save SO MUCH TIME. Allow your team the freedom to use these as a baseline or starting point, but be clear on what types of language is and isn’t used.
A lot of what keeps brand consistency in check relies on your internal processes.
How content is being created, who by and what brand guidelines will alllll impact brand consistency. If everyone is pitching in and doing it all slightly differently, it’s going to look, feel and sound off. The team needs to work together like a well-oiled machine, and if you’re the one managing that, it’s on you to create this culture and approach.
If you look at household names such as Adidas, you’ll notice visually that their content is all tonally very similar, with the same brand font, and usually includes people. Other businesses rely on using the same format time and time again to create consistency and coherence. Decide what your thing is and stick with it.
Adapting content across platforms
I’m going to hold your hand as I say this: posting the exact same content across multiple platforms isn’t going to cut it anymore.
Each platform has individual algorithms and features, which means you ideally want to be adapting your content for each place that you're posting.
Here’s a very brief rundown on what I recommend to my clients, but it’s your lucky day as you’re getting it for free 🤑
Instagram - A visual platform that priorotises video (Reels) and carousel content. Longer captions can be used, and I encourage high usage of stories to link out externally and reiterate your messages. Posts can get lost to the algorithm in a way stories can’t.
TikTok- A highly visual platform, accounts thrive when posting multiple content a day and very person focussed so direct to camera content works well here. Carousels are also being priorotised and get people to dwell for longer by using text on carousels. Captions tend to get a little lost, so try to keep them short.
X/Threads/Bluesky - Text first platform, but the use of imagery can help supplement your content. Use embedded links for a quick visual win when linking out to other content. Short meme style content or news tends to work well here as the character limit is short.
Facebook - Embed links can be used, but the platform tends to prefer natively posted imagery or video (they’re still trying to make FB reels happen). Longer post text is available, so make the use of white space, and bear in mind that unlike TikTok, people tend to scroll with sound off.
Linkedin - Text first, though research shows that using an accompanying image boosts reach. Ensure strong hooks with the first line of your text, and again make the most of white space within your posts, breaking up blocks of text to make it more readable. Carousels and video can be used, but I’ve found varying success with these unless it’s what you want to become known for.
Ok, so that’s my whistle-stop tour on how to navigate social media across multiple channels, whilst building a coherent brand. I hope this has been helpful, and until next time,
DC x
DC’s Debrief is THE social media newsletter, created just for YOU, so I’d love to know which areas you’re struggling with, what topics you want to hear about and how I can best help you. Please drop any ideas in the comments, or feel free to reach out to me directly at daisey@dcdigitaluk.com