For over a decade now, brands have turned to social as a place where the people are. We've seen the rise and fall of organic content, and in its place has come paid advertising. Social can be an awkward place for brands. Whether it's copying content creators and looking out of touch, or being too corporate - it's not an easy balance to get right. It's important to know how people want your brand to show up in the public conversation, as well as when to say nothing. So let's find out how you can make more out of social media.
1. Real talk
Brands are not as welcome on social media as they are on TV and other commercial media platforms. So it's tempting to follow the local language and pretend you're not a big corporation. But people are savvier than ever though, so they'll know when you're trying that little bit too hard. So strike a balance. You can drop the corporate jargon (to be honest, you should consider doing that anyway) and write like you talk. But the most important thing is not to fall into the sea of same, copying trending formats on the platform and find your own voice. Too many brands use the same words, hashtags and formats, and lose their chance to stand out.
2. Adjust for the formats
The same creative doesn't perform well across platforms. All media channels are different and you need to dial the corporate tone up or down to suit. You can't slap a TV advert as-is on Youtube. This means tailoring your budget to allow time to create bespoke creatives for each platform. For example, many TV ads have a logo at the end. But on skippable YouTube, that logo needs to appear in the first 3 seconds. The biggest challenge on social today is to ensure a branded link that hooks people in and keeps them watching.
3. Create a structure
What should you post? It can be a daunting question, especially if you're thinking about committing to social media long term. A good way to think about this is to break down your content into chunks. Innocent runs a structure like this: branded random (content that supports their message) is around 40% of its output. They split the other 60% between promotional posts and corporate social responsibility initiatives. And on that note...
4. Commit to the cause
If you’re going to communicate about issues your companies care about, it has to be bigger than a single post. People notice. They want you to show up year-round. So if you want to support Pride, do it all year rather than just the same week as all the other brands jump on the bandwagon. Another structure you can play with is the 80/20 rule. If you're using tried and tested stuff 80% of the time, try putting 20% into new channels or riskier projects. Sometimes you have to break the mould to break through.
5. Consider the unusual suspects
Often when we start talking social, there's a tendency to speak about Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram. In many ways these are now the bread and butter of social. But there's a world of alternative platforms out there. That could be lesser used platforms like Pinterest, Reddit or Medium, or something industry specific like Houzz. These channels might have a niche or a different audience. But that could be to your advantage if you can create a unique voice of your own in a quieter spot where there's an engaged audience.
6. Be active
It’s all well and good having social media accounts set up, but if you don’t use them, your brand won’t look alive. Being active doesn’t mean taking a scattergun approach and posting content every fifteen minutes. – remember, it’s all about relevance and meaningful content. But it does help to show up at certain times. Being active also means engaging in regular conversation with customers (yes, even the negative ones).
7. No perfect time
You know how the news is always on at 6pm and 10pm? Well, people will start to notice when you show up in their feed at a specific time. There is no perfect time to post. All you can do is test different times and find out what works for your audience. Sometimes a piece of content won't hit the mark even though you posted it at the "right" time. So rather than worrying about the perfect posting time, it's more important to find a regular flow. Whether you post once a day, or on the last Friday of the month - pick a time and stick to it.
8. Check yourself
The last step in the process is to analyse your progress. There are plenty of analytical tools to help you to track the performance of your social media content. Viewing the cold, hard figures will help you to realise your audience’s needs and wants. You’ll be able to see what worked and what didn’t, allowing you to make adjustments to your future social media behaviour.
Bonus tip - do nothing
There are lots of times it makes sense to post on social media. But there are those when it doesn't. Too many brands sent out the exact same "there for you" message when Covid-19 hit. In that case, it made a lot more sense for companies to say nothing and get down to helping in a meaningful way.
So there you have it. A playbook for getting more out of social. Remember to get attention (fast) and integrate your brand or product into a memorable story. And most of all - be yourself and stand out.
