Does my brand need social media?
In 2026, social media is pretty much a non-negotiable for any brand, since it’s one of the most common and accessible touchpoints between your business and target audience. It’s the first place that most consumers will go (after your website) when they are researching whether to work with or buy from you. The key is knowing which social media platforms are relevant for your brand:
- LinkedIn: For brands looking to reach stakeholders, decision-makers, professionals, and industry players through long-form thought leadership articles and commentary on current affairs. It’s the primary platform for expert positioning, and especially effective for brands with a big B2B focus.
- Instagram: For brands with a strong consumer focus, Instagram can help sell the lifestyle aspect of your business. The key to success here is having access to volumes of great visuals or a versatile brand look and feel that can translate into engaging design work.
- Facebook: We recommend Facebook as a platform for brands that want to build and grow and community around their product or service. The engaged, inclusive environment of Facebook enables you to build stronger relationships and give audiences the feeling they are a part of something bigger.
- TikTok: We only recommend TikTok for brands who have capacity to create authentic content on the ground, all the time. To get a lot out of this platform, you have to put a lot in.
- X: If your brand has a lot to say, and isn’t afraid of getting into in-depth, often difficult engagements with consumers, then X offers a great opportunity to be at the centre of conversations.
Of course, there are exceptions to every ‘rule’ – but knowing what your intention is, who you are trying to reach, and how you want them to perceive your brand is the first step in figuring out which platform to be on.
See examples of our work to see how social media can elevate your brand presence with target audiences and industries.
Does my brand need PR?
A traditional PR approach – crafting and distributing press releases or op eds to secure media coverage and interviews – is useful when your brand needs to establish credibility through third-party endorsement. Here’s how we decide whether a brand is well-positioned to launch a traditional PR campaign:
- Newsworthy stories: This approach is most effective for businesses that can offer a unique perspective on industry current affairs, insight into the macro and micro-contexts in which the brand operates, and those who are launching a groundbreaking product or service. The key here is having a newsworthy story to tell that will position the brand and its spokesperson as a thought leader.
- Data and research: If your brand invests in industry research, or holds interesting, valuable data that can be shared publicly – then PR is an effective way to leverage these insights (through press releases or visually-driven reports) and establish your brand as an expert in your field. It signals to potential customers and other stakeholders that you are locked into the broader context your brand operates within.
- Ready to commit: Effective PR is a slow-burn – it takes time to build up brand familiarity with journalists and recognition among target audiences (i.e. they need to see the brand name come up more than once in their go-to publications). Brands need to be comfortable with the fact that PR does not result in immediate, direct sales leads – it’s a brand-building initiative to build credibility and awareness.
Additionally, if your business operates in a high-risk industry like fintech, healthcare, insurance etc. you’ll need to have a PR agency on standby, to assist with any crises. Ideally, you’ll want to bring them on board beforehand, to proactively identify and plan for possible crisis comms scenarios.
Does my brand need an integrated communications approach?
If your brand is securing coverage in the media, it’s a no-brainer to share it on your social media platforms. This allows the content to live longer, spread faster, and reach further – demonstrating that your brand and spokesperson is recognised by a third-party, ‘objective’ source as being a trustworthy expert. In general, your communications strategy works better when all aspects are aligned and complementary to each other.
How to choose the right strategy for your brand?
There are a million ways to get your brand name out there – but generally, only a select few, will reach your target audience and make the impact needed to grow your business. Rather than spending energy and resources on rolling out comms across every available medium, taking an intentional approach, that aligns with your business objectives and customer profile, is much more effective. The trick is figuring out which communication outlets make the most sense for your brand.
Be-cause is a South African PR, social content creation, and communications agency based in Cape Town – we work with innovators, disruptors, and changemakers across the healthcare, renewable energy, technology, education, property, and development sectors. If you still need help deciding whether to start with a traditional PR, social media, or an integrated strategy, send us an email at connect@be-cause.co.za and we’ll help you decide.
