In recent years, social media has solidified its place as a key component in holistic marketing efforts. The ability to connect with consumers anywhere and at any time is a valuable opportunity for organizations of any size or function. The current array of social media platforms offers brands the ability to increase brand awareness, promote products, and build relationships with consumers. However, as social media strategy has continued to evolve and change, so has the relationship between brands and consumers on the platforms.
Social media is undeniably a strong lead generation tool for businesses given its capabilities to promote products and directly link to purchasing options. However, with the rise of social commerce and advertising on the platforms, some users are experiencing fatigue from the endless barrage of selling that’s done across social media platforms. In a survey conducted by Hootsuite, 52% of consumers said they are exhausted by self-promotional content from brands.
With the recent rise in exhaustion from promotional content, brands have savvily adapted their approach to create content for social media. Organizations have shifted from strictly using social media as a promotional tool and are now also utilizing it as an opportunity to personalize the brand. Instead of exclusively relying on content that highlights products or services offered, organizations are using trends, memes and interactions to reach consumers in a new way.
Brands such as Wendy’s, Steak-Umm, and Old Spice were early adopters to this new approach on social media. These organizations put their own spin on trending memes, utilized slang in their captions, and engaged with other users in a playful tone to redefine their brand strategy on social media. As these efforts resulted in millions of interactions and new followers, this more relaxed and entertaining approach to brand social media management has ballooned in popularity over the last few years. Organizations across industries have also discovered huge success utilizing a similar approach, with Duolingo, Dude Wipes, and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation being a few of many examples.
Although this new social media strategy is clearly a correction from the traditional sales-heavy approach, some may question if this is actually what consumers are looking to see. In Hootsuite’s “The Social Media Consumer Report”, 55% of consumers agreed that they enjoy content from brands that makes them laugh – making it the second-most agreed upon type of content that consumers want to see from brands. Content with a comedic slant has been popular on the internet as long as it has existed, and now more brands are discovering the value of utilizing this approach on social media.
This playful and trendy approach creates tangible results for brands in social media metrics such as engagement and followers, but does it truly impact an organization beyond the digital landscape? If done correctly, the answer can unquestionably be yes. Engaging with and responding to comments, even when done so humorously, can strengthen how consumers view their relationship with a brand and increase customer retention. Utilizing social media as a platform to build connections with consumers can make them more likely to purchase an organization’s products over a competitor’s and recommend the products to a friend or family member. If a piece of content from a brand goes viral, the potential reach can exceed tens of millions of users which heavily increases brand awareness.
As social media continues to shift and adapt, there’s a valuable opportunity on the platforms for brands to connect with their customers by utilizing a conversational tone and humorous content. Content strategies should always be anchored in an organization’s values and culture, but the opportunity to increase reach and awareness with different forms of content and communication is something brands should consider. At the end of the day, social media is not consumers interacting with brands, but rather people interacting with people. Brands that tap into their humanity and personability on social media have the opportunity to use the platforms in a way that leads to real results.
