How to Build a Social Media Brand

How to Build a Social Media Brand

Building a strong brand on social media isn’t just “nice to have” anymore – it’s essential. The numbers speak for themselves. In 2025, an estimated 5.42 billion people worldwide will use social media, switching between an average of 6.83 different social networks each month. Video content, particularly short-form video content, continues to dominate, with 78% of users preferring it over other types of social media posts.

For Australian businesses, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube are not just places to post updates — they’re powerful tools for building a brand. A strong social media presence can boost traffic, increase brand recognition, and create personal connections that turn casual followers into loyal customers.

However, making an impact across different social media platforms requires more than just regular posting. It calls for a clear brand identity, a consistent brand voice, engaging content tailored to your audience’s personal values, and a strategic approach to social media marketing.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to build a social media brand that stands out. You’ll learn how to define your target audience, create a consistent brand image, plan your content strategy, manage multiple social media accounts, and measure success through social media analytics. Whether you’re just starting out or refining your marketing efforts, these key elements will help you grow a brand presence that resonates with Australian audiences — and beyond.

Table of Contents

Why Social Media Branding Matters for Your Business Brand

With millions of Australians active daily across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, the right social media branding strategy can dramatically increase brand awareness and drive real business growth.

At its core, social media branding is about creating a consistent brand identity across different social media platforms. It’s not just about posting often. It’s about showing up with a consistent brand voice, visual identity, and messaging that reflects your business brand and values. A consistent brand makes it easier for people to recognise you instantly.

Social media also plays a powerful role in shaping purchasing decisions. Many users today research brands directly through social media accounts, looking for authentic content, user-generated content, and personal values they can connect with. By creating engaging content that reflects your company’s culture and remaining consistent across social media channels, you’re not just selling a product or service — you’re building personal connections that influence customer trust and loyalty.

Simply put, if you want to remain competitive, social media marketing efforts should be woven into the fabric of your business brand strategy. Not treated as an afterthought.

How to Start Building Your Social Media Brand

Building your business brand on social media platforms is about intentional brand building that connects with your target audience, reflects your brand’s personality, and helps increase brand awareness across multiple social media networks.

Here’s how to get started the right way.

Set Clear Business Goals for Your Social Media Accounts

Before you create content or post links, it’s crucial to know exactly what you want to achieve through social media marketing. Are you looking to generate leads? Increase brand recognition? Drive more traffic to your website? Boost engagement with current customers? Each business brand will have different goals depending on its growth stage and marketing efforts.

Your social media marketing strategy should align with your broader business objectives. For example:

  • New businesses might focus on building brand presence and attracting new followers.
  • Established brands may aim to strengthen customer loyalty and gather feedback.
  • E-commerce brands often prioritise driving sales through paid advertising and social posts.

 

Setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals will give direction to your social media management and make it easier to measure success through social media analytics later on.

Identify Your Target Audience and Age Groups

Effective brand building starts with knowing exactly who you’re talking to. Different social media platforms attract different demographics. For instance:

  • Facebook users tend to span a wide range of age groups but are particularly strong among those aged 25–55. It’s great for building community, sharing updates, and running targeted paid advertising campaigns.
  • Instagram and TikTok skew younger, making them ideal for visual, fast-paced content such as short-form video content, behind-the-scenes posts, and real-time engagement.
  • LinkedIn is perfect for B2B marketing, as it helps position your business brand among professionals and decision-makers. It’s especially effective for thought leadership and company culture content.
  • YouTube offers massive reach across all age groups, with many users turning to the platform to discover new brands, learn from tutorials, and consume long-form content. Creating a dedicated YouTube channel allows you to showcase your brand’s personality and values through educational videos, testimonials, or even storytelling series — helping boost both engagement and brand recognition.

 

Start by conducting simple market research to define your target audience:

  • Age
  • Location
  • Interests
  • Online behaviour
  • Values and aspirations

 

Understanding your audience helps you create quality content that resonates, fosters personal connections, and ultimately drives better results across your social channels.

Define Your Brand Identity, Core Values, and Brand’s Personality

Your brand identity is what makes your business brand instantly recognisable across different social media platforms. It includes everything from your visual elements to your tone of voice.

Take time to define:

  • Core values: What does your brand stand for? Think beyond products and services. Align with causes, beliefs, or company culture that reflect your brand’s values.
  • Brand’s personality: Is your brand fun and cheeky, or professional and polished? Your online persona should be relatable to your target audience and remain consistent across social media accounts.
  • Brand voice: Craft a consistent brand voice that will be used across all social posts, comments, blog posts, and video content. It builds trust and strengthens your brand presence over time.

 

A strong brand identity helps you stand out in crowded social media networks, making it easier for customers to remember and recommend you.

Create a Strong Visual Identity Across Social Media Channels

Visual identity plays a massive role in social media branding. With endless scrolls of feed posts and social content vying for attention, you need to make your brand instantly recognisable.

When designing your visual elements for social media:

  • Use a consistent logo across your social media accounts.
  • Stick to a set colour palette that reflects your brand’s personality.
  • Choose typography that matches the tone of your brand voice.
  • Use templates or consistent layouts for your social media posts, especially if posting on multiple platforms.

 

Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube each have different formats and display requirements. Make sure your visuals are optimised for each — but always remain consistent in style to reinforce your brand image.

Consider investing in high-quality photography, graphic templates, and short-form video content to maintain professionalism across your social media channels. Remember: a cohesive visual identity doesn’t just look good — it boosts brand recognition and keeps your audience coming back for more.

Crafting a Consistent Brand Voice Across Social Media Platforms

Build a Social Media Brand

Your brand voice is the personality and tone behind every piece of content you post. Inconsistent messaging can confuse potential customers and weaken your brand presence. That’s why defining and maintaining a consistent brand voice is essential, especially when managing multiple social media accounts across platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and your YouTube channel.

Of course, each platform has its own culture. A message on TikTok might look very different from a post on LinkedIn — but the core voice and values behind the message should always remain consistent. You can adapt the tone without losing the essence of your business brand.

Here’s how to craft and maintain a consistent brand voice:

  • Create a tone of voice guide
    Document how your brand communicates. Include guidelines on word choice, emojis, punctuation, humour, and how to handle sensitive topics. This becomes your go-to for creating social media posts and responses.
  • Understand your audience across platforms
    Identify how your audience differs on each social media channel. For example, Facebook users may appreciate longer, value-driven posts, while Instagram followers prefer short captions with visuals.
  • Tailor your messaging, not your identity
    Adapt your delivery style per platform, but always keep the heart of your message aligned with your consistent brand voice.
  • Ensure internal alignment
    If multiple people handle your social media management, make sure everyone follows the same tone of voice guide to avoid inconsistencies.
  • Audit and refine regularly
    Review your social content across all social platforms. Look for tone mismatches and adjust where needed to keep your voice sharp and consistent.

 

A consistent brand voice is a key element in building long-term relationships and making your brand instantly recognisable across all your social channels.

Choosing the Right Social Media Channels for Your Brand

Not every platform will be right for your brand, and that’s okay. One of the biggest mistakes businesses make in social media marketing is trying to show up everywhere without a clear strategy. Instead of stretching yourself thin across all social networks, it’s smarter to focus on the platforms where your target audience is most active.

Start by considering your brand identity, visual assets, and the type of content you plan to share. For example, if your business relies heavily on visuals or showcases behind-the-scenes content, platforms like Instagram and TikTok may be ideal. If thought leadership and B2B networking are part of your marketing efforts, LinkedIn is a natural fit. YouTube, meanwhile, is perfect for video content and long-form storytelling that builds authority and trust over time.

Facebook remains a strong all-rounder. It’s still a go-to for local audiences and community building, and its advertising capabilities are incredibly robust.

Don’t forget about platform-specific formats, too. TikTok rewards fast, authentic short-form video content, while Instagram favours a polished visual identity and feed posts. LinkedIn demands a more professional tone, but it also performs well with updates that highlight personal values and company culture. A YouTube channel requires more effort in production, but it can offer long-term discoverability, especially when combined with relevant keywords and high-quality content.

Choosing the right social platforms also depends on your internal capacity for creating content and managing social media. It’s better to do a few platforms well — with a consistent brand voice, high-quality social media posts, and a clear brand presence — than to spread your marketing team across too many platforms without impact.

At the end of the day, your social media channels should work with your overall brand strategy. Select platforms where your message fits, your content shines, and your audience is already active.

Best Platforms at a Glance

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

TikTok

YouTube

Creating Engaging Content That Reflects Your Brand Values

personal brand

Every piece of content you create should serve a purpose: to inspire, educate, entertain, or engage. When done well, social media content becomes a vehicle for brand storytelling and long-term customer trust.

Here’s how to create engaging content that’s true to your business brand.

Share Content That Aligns with Your Core Values

Your brand values are what make your business more than just a product or service — they humanise your brand. Whether you prioritise sustainability, innovation, community, or quality, these values should come through clearly in your social media posts.

Start by identifying 2–3 key values that define your brand. Then, brainstorm content ideas that showcase those values in action. For example:

  • If your value is transparency, consider doing behind-the-scenes posts or real-time Q&As.
  • If your focus is community, highlight partnerships with local businesses or charities.

 

Values-based content builds authenticity and trust — two things modern consumers care deeply about.

Mix Up Your Content Formats for Better Engagement

Different social media platforms reward different types of content. To keep your audience engaged, diversify your content strategy while staying on brand.

Some effective formats include:

  • Video content – Especially on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and your YouTube channel. Short form video content is ideal for storytelling, tutorials, or showcasing company culture.
  • User generated content (UGC) – Encourage your audience to share their own experiences with your brand and reshare it (with permission).
  • Social posts with strong visuals – Branded graphics, quotes, or product imagery that reinforce your visual identity.
  • Educational content – Tips, blog post snippets, or explainer videos that help your audience solve a problem.
  • Personal stories – Founders’ insights or team spotlights help put a face to the business.

 

The key is to remain consistent in tone and style while adjusting format to match the platform and audience expectations.

Use Storytelling to Build Personal Connections

Facts tell, but stories sell. Storytelling turns ordinary social content into memorable brand moments that resonate emotionally.

Instead of posting just what you do, talk about why you do it — and who you’re doing it for. Consider:

  • A short story about how your business started.
  • A customer spotlight that shows how your product made a difference.
  • Day-in-the-life content from your team to highlight your company culture.

 

Stories help reinforce your brand’s personality and make your content feel more human, especially on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn where storytelling drives engagement.

Plan Ahead with a Content Calendar

Creating engaging content is only half the equation — the other half is showing up consistently. Without a plan, even the best ideas can get lost in the day-to-day rush of running a business. That’s where a content calendar comes in.

A content calendar helps you stay organised, align your social media strategy with business goals, and ensure you always have something valuable to post. Whether you’re running social media accounts in-house or managing them with external support, a calendar makes your content creation process proactive — not reactive.

Here’s what every solid content calendar should include:

  • The content theme – Choose a theme for each week or month that reflects your brand values and core message. For example, a sustainability-focused business might use “Eco Tips Week,” while a real estate agency could theme content around “First Home Buyer Insights.”
  • The type of post – Decide if the post will be a static image, short form video content, behind-the-scenes story, carousel, or feed post. This helps diversify your social media posts and keeps your content fresh across different social platforms.
  • The platform – Tailor your content to where your target audience spends their time. A quick how-to video might be great for your YouTube channel, while a quote graphic works well on Instagram. Don’t try to post the same format on every platform — tweak your content to suit each one.
  • The goal of the post – Every post should serve a purpose. Are you trying to boost engagement, drive traffic, increase brand awareness, or promote a product? Knowing the goal helps shape the content and call to action.

May 6

May 8

May 10

May 12

With a structured calendar, you’re able to:

  • Post consistently across multiple platforms
  • Maintain a consistent brand voice
  • Coordinate campaigns with real-time events, promotions, or seasonal trends
  • Save time and reduce stress during busy periods

 

Planning ahead also gives you room to track performance using social media analytics, so you can adjust future content based on what resonates with your audience.

If your business can’t post every day, that’s okay — even 2–3 quality content pieces a week can make an impact when planned strategically.

Keep Listening, Learning, and Refining

Creating engaging content isn’t a one-and-done task. Use social media analytics to measure success and see what resonates with your audience. Pay attention to:

  • What gets saved, shared, or commented on
  • Which video content keeps people watching
  • What type of feed posts generate the most personal connections

 

Then, adjust your future content to build on those wins. Remember, great content comes from knowing your audience — and evolving with them.

50-30-20 Rule for Social Media: How to Balance Content

The 50-30-20 rule is a simple but effective social media strategy that helps you balance your content mix. Allocate 50% of your social media posts to educational or informative content, 30% to content that builds personal connections or reflects your brand values, and 20% to direct promotional content like product launches or offers.

This ratio prevents your feed from feeling overly sales-driven and ensures you’re adding real value. It also helps maintain a human brand voice, keeping your business relatable, trustworthy, and relevant across different social media platforms and audience touchpoints.

Leveraging Paid Advertising to Boost Your Social Media Presence

Organic content builds relationships. But if you want to speed up your brand’s growth and reach highly targeted audiences, paid advertising offers a powerful advantage. When combined with a strong organic strategy, paid ads can significantly increase brand awareness, generate leads, and boost traffic across your social media channels.

One of the greatest benefits of paid advertising is the ability to target precisely. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow you to reach people based on demographics, behaviours, and interests. You can target Facebook users by location, age groups, or even specific hobbies, while LinkedIn Ads let you connect with professionals based on job title, industry, and company size. Using relevant keywords and custom audiences further refines your targeting, ensuring your social media posts appear to the people most likely to engage with your brand.

Video content also plays a major role. Whether you’re running short-form video content on TikTok or longer storytelling pieces on YouTube, paid campaigns can help amplify your best content to wider, but still highly relevant, audiences.

For businesses looking to scale their reach quickly, incorporating platforms like TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube into their paid social media marketing strategy can offer new ways to meet potential customers where they spend their time. Influencer marketing can also complement these efforts, particularly when launching a new product or trying to tap into specific niche communities.

At Evolving Digital, we help businesses integrate paid advertising seamlessly into their social media marketing, offering tailored services across TikTok Ads, Facebook and Instagram Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Pinterest Ads, and YouTube Ads. Each platform offers unique opportunities — the key is selecting the right mix based on your target audience and brand objectives.

When paired with high-quality organic content and a consistent brand voice, paid advertising doesn’t just drive quick wins — it builds a stronger, more recognisable brand over time.

Using Social Media Analytics to Measure Success

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. That’s where social media analytics comes in. Tracking your performance across social media platforms is essential for understanding what’s working, what needs refinement, and how to allocate your marketing efforts for maximum impact.

Start by setting clear KPIs based on your social media marketing strategy. Are you aiming to increase brand awareness, generate leads, boost engagement, or drive traffic to your website? Different goals will require tracking different metrics, such as impressions, reach, click-through rates, or conversions.

Most social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube offer built-in analytics dashboards. Key insights you should monitor include:

  • Engagement rates (likes, comments, shares)
  • Follower growth (new followers over time)
  • Top-performing content (which posts drive the most interaction)
  • Audience demographics (age groups, location, interests)

 

Social media analytics also allows you to spot trends, gather feedback based on user behaviour, and refine your content calendar for future content planning. By measuring consistently and adjusting your strategy, you ensure your business brand stays relevant, builds stronger personal connections, and maintains a consistent brand voice across all social channels.

Bring Your Brand to Life on Social Media

Building a strong social media brand demands consistency, strategy, and genuine connection. Focus on aligning your brand identity with your audience’s values, stay authentic across platforms, and always adapt through analytics. A well-crafted social media brand doesn’t just grow — it leads.

Your Brand Deserves to Shine Online

Work with Evolving Digital to create a social media presence that captures attention and converts followers into loyal customers.