10 tips to help you create a trusted brand with a consistent message
By ZUZANNA BIALAS
Global Business Journalism reporter
Tracee Evans was present at the creation of the Social Media Era.
As communications director for U.S. Representative Kevin Brady, the future chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, she was an early adopter of social media who quickly understood its potential to radically reshape the worlds of journalism and communication.
“Social media changed the game,” Evans, a former radio and television broadcaster, said when asked about the impact of social media on journalism. All of a sudden, “news stories [went] global … in a matter of minutes.”
After more than a decade on Capitol Hill, Evans, who also has a law degree, left politics to become the Public Information Officer of the Spring Fire Department near Houston, Texas. In her new career, she has reimagined her department's social media presence in the new era of short video, short attention spans and dangerous disinformation.
On Sept. 30, Evans shared her experience and expertise with students of Global Business Journalism at Tsinghua University. In a guest lecture to Professor Rick Dunham's Multimedia Reporting class, the veteran communications specialist discussed how to build and maintain a trusted brand on social media – no matter which side of the story you are on.
As a journalist, it is essential to adapt to the shifts in news consumption habits and social media trends. For a communicator, it is vital to provide accurate and unbiased information as quickly as possible.
“You have very little time, as a public information officer, to get your information out there,” Evans said. “If you don’t [use social media], you’ll find that the stories will basically take off on their own.”
It is not an option for either reporters or communicators to avoid social media or to "lay low" when big stories break. But how do they use social media most effectively? Here are a few tips Evans shared about building brands – and credibility:
1. Accuracy is Job 1
The most important part of creating your social media brand is gaining people’s trust. So, remember – post only verified information. Speed is important. Accuracy is essential.
Evans acknowledged the dangers of misinformation and cautioned against sharing rumors or unverified information from other sources. She underscored the importance of creating a reliable platform and warned that errors are damaging to your credibility.
“What I’ve been doing for over 16 years is making sure that what I put out [on social media] is accurate, verified information,” said Evans. “Information that people need to hear.”
2. Don’t play around. Social media is forever.
Social media is serious business. Still, it's all right to post some lighter content from time to time to show your human side. But don't be too informal. Be careful of those party pictures or those alcohol-fueled stunts.
“It is OK to … post something silly now and then," she noted, "but think about what kind of brand you want to create.”
Don’t post anything you may regret later. Potential employers may look at their social media feeds when they are considering you for jobs.
“It stays out there forever,” Evans reminded the group. "It's harder and harder to scrub something from the internet."
3. You have one chance to build your image. Do it carefully.
If you are trying to create a public image for the first time, create a personal mission statement summarizing your intended image. Then develop a strategy to build it.
“Think about the image you want to project,” she explained. “This is your chance to market yourself.”
Before you post each time, think of how this can contribute to the image you’re creating online. Consider how it can serve the brand you are building.
Once you have built your brand, maintain it with high quality posts that are published regularly, particularly when there is news breaking related to your area of specialization.
4. Be strategic about the timing of posts
There are two times to post on social media, Evans says: When news is breaking and when people are most likely to be using a particular platform.
When you're in the middle of a big story, you'll want to post right away, of course. Otherwise, programs like Meta Business Suite can help you determine the optimal times to post on their platforms to maximize your audience.
“We use a program that tells us … when our audience is on social media looking for information," said Evans. "That’s when we post."
5. Consider your audience on each platform
Every social media platform has a different audience. The audience for TikTok is different than Instagram, which is different than YouTube or X, the former Twitter. Keep in mind that different audiences require different content.
“We also look at who is on those channels” before deciding where to post specific pieces of content, Evans said.
As part of the strategy, think about who you want to talk to.
“Facebook is predominantly millennials… and predominantly males,” she pointed out. “Instagram is slightly more female, slightly more Gen Z ... Think about these demographics.”
6. Be interesting
No matter who you post for, stay interesting. You don’t want your audience to get bored.
“Everything has a rhythm to it, almost like music," she explained. "[Track] how it flows, what gets traction and what doesn’t.”
Remember that the audiences are different on each platform. What interests a middle-aged viewer on Facebook might not interest a young audience member on Instagram or TikTok.
Your posts must be interesting in two ways: images and words. Your visuals must attract the audience. Your substantive text must keep them on the platform.
"People want really good content," she said. "People want content that will make them smile. People want content that will make them think."
7. Be consistent
The number of times you should update your content depends on each channel and its algorithm. However, consistency is key not to losing your followers, she said.
Figure out the "sweet spot" that drives traffic on each platform and post a consistent flow of quality content. You don't want to "go dark" for long periods of time. It's a good idea to have some "evergreen" posts available that you can publish during times when there is less breaking news so you maintain a consistent level of social media activity.
8. Adapt to each social media platform
It is crucial to adjust the content and the frequency of your posts to the platform.
“Meta is not a fan of breaking news,” stated Evans. “It is hard to get traction on something that is newsworthy on Facebook.” she noted.
Indeed, many news-related social media figures now do not post story links on Facebook because the algorithm will downgrade the post. Instead, they will use a photograph or graphic and post the link in the comments section.
“If I have a bigger story, I put it on X,” where audiences go for news and the algorithms reward news links, Evans acknowledged.
She highlighted the importance of flexibility in posting strategy, noting constant changes in social media algorithms. To break through on social media, we have to adapt to the platforms that bring the highest audience reward, she said.
9. Set up a professional account – separate from any of your personal accounts
Switching from private to professional account may be the key to making the breakthrough.
“If you’re using a professional page on Facebook… you can see when the peak times that people are paying attention [to what you post] are,” shared Evans. “Those are the times … you need to be using to post.”
Private accounts do not offer such a function. Learn how to track the activity on your professional page and use it to your advantage, she added.
10. Stay true to yourself
At the end of the day, your goal is to build a community. People whose sole goal is to chase followers often end up yesterday's fad.
“I am not a fan of following trends,” admitted Evans.
At the end of the day, your goal is to build a community. Quality, consistency, trust. These are the factors that build durable followings on social media, she said.
Stay authentic and find your niche. Share stuff that would resonate with the right group of people. They’ll like it, they’ll share it, and they’ll stay with you fueling the “organic growth” of your platform.
"Your brand is going to take you to the next level and the next level after that," she said.
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