How Large Brands Can Grow & Experiment on Social Media

We’re forever hearing stories about small and medium-sized brands growing on social media, and we love to see these success stories on our feeds. 

But what about brands that are already big? 

Is it possible to pursue ambitious social media goals or try risky new strategies when managing an established brand? With multiple priorities and more red tape, especially for enterprise brands, can you still innovate in this space?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Everything you need to know is here in this blog post. Let’s get started with some actionable tips…

Start By Auditing Your Existing Social Media Accounts

We know you’re here to grow, but there’s also value in what you already know. Or at least, what you can get to know by auditing your existing social media accounts. 

Understanding where you stand will allow you to set realistic goals and identify areas perfect for experimentation.

Here’s how you can do it:

1. Analyze Your Content Performance: Review your past posts to identify which content types and themes resonate best with your audience. Use analytics tools to track engagement rates, reach, and conversions. This data will guide your future content strategy.

2. Assess Audience Demographics: Understand your audience by analyzing demographic data from your social media platforms. Are you reaching the right audience? Are there untapped segments that could be valuable?

3. Evaluate Competitor Strategies: Conduct a competitive analysis to see what other brands in your industry are doing on social media. Identify both their successes and areas where they might be falling short. Learning from your competitors can inspire and highlight gaps in your strategy.

4. Check-In on Your Brand Voice: You’ll want to ensure your brand voice is consistent across all platforms. While you might tailor your messaging for different audiences on different platforms, a lack of consistency can confuse your audience and dilute your brand message.

5. Check for Brand Consistency: Is your branding consistent across all social channels? Inconsistencies can weaken brand recognition, even if you’ve claimed profiles you don’t actively use.

6. Don’t Forget Your Paid Campaigns: If you're already investing in social media advertising, you’ll want to audit these too. Dig into the stats about which ads performed best and why, then adjust your future campaigns accordingly.

There may be some more specific areas you want to look into more for your brand, but you can use these recommendations as a place to start.

Learn How To Experiment with Content

Next on the agenda is experimenting with content. 

We know this can feel slightly scary as a large brand because you have an established identity and strategy already in place. 

Don’t worry – you can experiment while maintaining that brand identity. 

Instead, it’s about finding new ways to engage your audience while staying true to your brand’s core values. Here are some tips for how you can find the balance with experimentation.

Test New Content Formats

If your brand traditionally posts static images, try incorporating videos, GIFs, or carousels. 

Video content, in particular, is seeing higher engagement rates across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. 89% of consumers say they want to see more videos from brands in 2024, according to Wyzowl.

Make the Most of User-Generated Content (UGC)

Encourage your followers to create shareable content around your brand. This works particularly well with influencers, but your customers can get involved too.

For example, enterprise software company Adobe frequently uses #AdobePartner content to show off the creative ways real people use Adobe software.

Try Interactive Stories and Posts

Polls, quizzes, and challenges are great ways to connect to and build community with your audience. 

Showcase Behind-the-Scenes Content 

Give your audience a glimpse into the day-to-day operations of your company. This humanizes your brand, which could build a deeper connection with your audience if they like what you do. 

IBM often shares behind-the-scenes content about their technology and innovations.

Collaborate with Influencers

Industry influencers can help you reach a wider audience. Influencers have an established following, which improves engagement and introduces your brand to new potential customers. 

(And if you’re just getting started, an influencer marketing platform like Later Influence makes finding creators, running campaigns, and evaluating performance simple.)

Experiment with Posting Times and Frequencies 

It may sound like a small thing, but the timing and frequency of your posts can impact engagement. Try posting at different times of the day or increasing/decreasing the number of posts per week to see what works best for your audience. 

Our top tip? Use Later Social’s Best Time to Post tool to see which times bring in the highest engagement each day of the week.

Later Social has everything enterprise brands need to experiment with and stay ahead of the curve on social media - contact us to learn more today.

You should have some ideas now for ways to experiment with your brand’s social media accounts, without going way outside the constraints you might have.

Use Social Listening and Audience Insights To Grow

If you haven’t used them before, social listening tools allow you to monitor conversations about your brand and industry, providing valuable insights into your audience’s needs, preferences, and pain points. 

You can also use them to see how your customers are reacting to certain topics and for doing competitor research. 

For brands that want to grow and experiment on social, social listening gives you insights about your customers, industry and competitors quickly.

Here’s how to get the most out of these tools:

1. Identify Trending Topics: By monitoring relevant topics, you can see trends as they start to appear and create relevant and timely content that resonates with your audience. Make sure you don’t miss the bandwagon because late brands stick out like sore thumbs!

2. Monitor Brand Mentions: Track what people are saying about your brand. This can help you gauge brand sentiment and respond to customer feedback in real time. Are people satisfied? Are there recurring complaints? Understanding this can help you address issues proactively and improve customer satisfaction.

3. Discover Content Opportunities: If you pay attention to questions or discussions that arise frequently in your industry, you can add these topics to your wider content strategy if they’re not already there.

4. Analyze Competitor Conversations: Social listening isn’t just for monitoring your brand; it’s also a way to see what people say about your competitors. Keeping up with the competition can reveal gaps in the market or opportunities where your brand can shine.

Using these insights, you can create content that is not only engaging but also highly relevant to your audience's needs and interests.

As for our favorite tool? It has to be Later Social’s social listening platform. Monitor brand sentiment, track topics, and get same-day insights in one easy-to-use tool. 

Book a call with us today to see how it works.

Large Brands Who Get How To Do Social Media

To prove that large brands can successfully grow their social media presence through creative experimentation, here are a few examples for inspiration.

Duolingo

Duolingo, the language-learning app, is known as a bit of a social media sensation because it embraces a playful and humorous brand persona.

Their mascot, Duo is often featured in sassy posts and memes that have gone viral.

Their social media team consistently taps into internet culture while it's fresh, creating content that’s not only entertaining but also highly shareable. 

This approach has helped them build a massive and engaged following across platforms like Twitter and TikTok.

Netflix

Netflix is a master of personalized content, and they bring this strength to their social media strategy.

Netflix tailors its posts to different audience segments, from memes about popular shows to insightful commentary on niche genres. 

They also use localized social media accounts to connect with audiences in different regions around the world, making their content relevant and culturally resonant.

This hyper-personalized approach keeps Netflix’s diverse audience engaged and invested in their platform.

Glossier

Beauty brand Glossier has built its social media strategy around community engagement and customer feedback.

Glossier frequently reposts user-generated content, shares testimonials, and involves its audience in product development by asking for feedback and suggestions directly on social media. 

This community-driven approach has made their followers feel like they are part of the brand family, which has fueled word-of-mouth marketing and loyalty, allowing them to stand out in the crowded beauty industry.

Slack

Slack, a communication platform primarily used by enterprise teams, effectively uses humor and relatable content to engage its audience.

By posting witty, relevant content that resonates with the day-to-day experiences of office workers, Slack has managed to create a strong social media presence that differentiates it from other B2B brands.

From apps to cosmetics to fast food, the diversity of these brands shows there is ample opportunity to experiment with social media content in a way that aligns with your brand's goals and resonates with your audience.

Later Social: The #1 Tool to Help You Grow

If you’re a social media or marketing manager feeling stuck or uninspired, Later Social’s Enterprise Plan is a game-changer. 

What We Offer:

• Comprehensive Social Media Scheduling and Analytics: Plan, schedule and analyze social media content from 7 different social media platforms.

• Social Listening: Monitor, analyze, and take action with our social listening tool, providing you with fresh insights that keep you ahead of the game.

• Creator Collaboration Tools: Find the right influencers for your brand, and connect with them directly in the Later app.

• Team Enablement Flows: Use Later Social to collaborate with your team, approve content, and create best-in-class social content together.

Book a call with our team today, and let’s explore how we can help you achieve your social media goals.