Whether you tweet, Facebook post, Instagram, Snapchat or shoot Vine videos for yourself or a client, every social media moment matters. Just as the goal of any actor is to be able to tell a story through a character, your brand needs warmth and personification to really resonate and engage.
Not all brands are wild and wacky, but there are plenty of examples of conservative brands who exploded on social in 2015 once they found their “voice”. Check out the Twitter feeds of @oldspice, @tacobell, @MyCascade, @lushcosmetics, @jetblue, @PopChips, @Intel and the SM conference favorite, @Oreo (check out #OreoHorrorStories). It’s okay to have fun and develop a personality while displaying your passion for your product.
Create engaging graphics for your social platforms
Closer to home, Dennehy PR is proud to enter its fifth year promoting King Richard’s Faire, New England’s longest-running and largest Renaissance Festival, through the media, meetups, and every social platform at hand. On social, I tweet, Pin, Periscope, Instagram and Facebook post as “King Richard” to establish a unique and regal voice for this large attraction destination for 200,000 very loyal guests, both mainstream visitors and “renfaire” loyalists. For example, on social, we address “my subjects” and ask “thee” for a favor (to share, buy, write a haiku, clicketh here).
Reach and engagement numbers have far surpassed expectations with more social sharing, with nearly 37,000 fans eager to become the King’s best brand ambassadors and win his favor. For other DPR clients, we try to ask a lot of questions in order to establish tone, voice and character before we start writing or creating any content – are we cool and hip, or more grounded and down to earth? Is this cookbook’s best audience 50+ and more conservative since it is co-written by actor/director Anson Williams of “Happy Days”?
Put yourself in the shoes of your social media fans and followers for every bit of content you write… and create content with a passion for your brand.
Of course, with passion comes risk. Remember these four tips:
1. Control. Skip automated feeds and be in control of the timing of your content, and the tone of your content. Your social platforms are your (and your client’s) voice… be careful who you allow to speak for you.
2. Clips. Think beyond narrative, and think visually. Studies show Create GIFs (Giphy.com), graphics (visual.ly, canva.com) and videos (Animoto, Vine, Instagram). Your brand voice is more powerful, easier to convey and much easier to share through short videos – as long as they aren’t poor quality, too “salesy” or irrelevant.
3. Cleverness. Create attention-grabbing content using visuals, wit, and humor or word play to engage brand followers, but be careful about timing (see #1) and treading the boundary between what seems clever and funny and what can be deemed as trite, controversial and insensitive.
4. Concise. On social media as in life, less is more. Don’t fill the pipeline/feed with static.
Like aStay in character, and choose to feed it with your brand’s beautiful music and positive messages.
By Julie Dennehy, APR, owner of Dennehy Public Relations and PRCG affiliate covering the Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island markets. A native New Englander, Dennehy represents major festivals, consumer products, retailers/restaurants and other special events seeking traditional and social media support. For more information, visit www.dennehypr.com.
Leave a Reply