How to boost your brand via social media…

Lindsay Garvey-Jones, national partnerships manager for Holiday Extras, shares her top tips on making the most of social media.

"Social media is a vital networking tool to share our thoughts and experiences. I really love the ability to engage and interact with other users, ask questions and "listen" to what’s going on in my industry.

Through my own personal experience, I believe that great lovers of communication, who understand their brand and business, can achieve a magnificent presence on many platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, gaining real benefits for their brand as an ambassador.

I have put together some hints and tips to help anyone wishing to get more engagement and interactivity from their social media experience.

1) Create your visual I.D – Show your personality, be unique, stand out and make sure your biog page is up to date and contacts are visual. Think quirky and fun.

2) Link up, follow or become "friends" with like-minded companies. You will find lots of banter and passion to engage with.

3) Ask your audience questions. This can sometimes attract new followers or perhaps learn new things. Always be sure to listen and respond with care. This can enhance your visibility to other networks. Many situations can be avoided and positively treated as "customer service" if you’re able to react quickly to any issue raised by your audience. This show’s that you’re listening and supporting.

4) Add visuals – I like to promote products via a short video from YouTube. This brings products to life and gives a different dimension to the viewer. You may also like to think about a strong and relevant profile picture for your social media. This enables your presence to become recognised quickly. Photos are another great way of enhancing your profile and provide a sense of what you’re about.

5) Save time on writing your posts, creating status updates and Tweets by cross-linking. Using HootSuite you can manage your activity across many different social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and many more.

6) Interact and engage with your audience – Take time out to your audience members questions, react to their posts or Tweets and ask how their week is going! This allows you to personalise your interactions with your members and build stronger relationships.

I thoroughly enjoy reacting, responding and getting involved with most social media platforms. I’m naturally curious about other people and what they have to say. The travel industry is filled with passion and enthusiasm and to share what we all have between us usually makes for some really great banter, relationship building and trust, not to mention the support we can all offer. I find it a great way of instantly marketing products or sharing information, and of course making new friends."