Betty Francis (née Hofstadt, formerly Draper) said it best on the popular AMC TV series Mad Men: “Only boring people are bored.”
While Betty’s parenting skills might be debatable, at best, this quote can apply to more than just childhood playtime. It can apply to your brand’s social media efforts. Sure, the term “boring” is very subjective. It’s all relative to other companies. But don’t get stuck on the fact that your product, service, or industry might be “boring.” Instead, think of it this way: it’s not about B2B, B2C, etc. It’s about H2H – Human to Human. Social media is about people talking to other people. The goals and objectives of your brand’s efforts should be as follows:
- Establish brand identity and awareness
- Generate brand buzz = engagement!
- Gain a loyal group of followers
- Direct more people to your website
- Be personable.
So how do you do it? There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to social media, nor is there a scientific process or method. It’s all about planning, trial, and error. Here are some tips and relevant examples to take a look at and learn from:
Tip #1: Change the Way You Think.
If you think your brand is boring than everyone else will follow suit. Think about it – you are working for your company for a reason. What is it about your company that interests you? Start there. Is it the history of your company? Is it the new technology or innovations that you are producing? Is it the people that you work with? Once you can answer that, start brainstorming ideas.
Tip #2: Diversify Your Platforms
It’s not just about one platform anymore. It’s about integrating your social media strategy over different platforms. Image-based social media platforms are very popular, and can be a great way to show off your brand, with or without filters.
- Is there a process or a tutorial for any of your projects? Post it to YouTube!
- How are your followers using your product? Show it on Instagram. Sharpie (@Sharpie) does a great job displaying visually-appealing artwork created by people using Sharpies.
- Show off your products via Pinterest. A great example is General Electric. Who would’ve thought a power company could make Pinterest so exciting? With boards named “Badass Machines” and “From the Factory Floor,” GE shows off their innovations brilliantly.
Tip #3: Show Who You Are
Show off your team. It’s a great way to personalize your brand. Recently, Celanese, a global technology and specialty materials company, started #MyCelaneseWhy as a great way to engage their employees via Twitter. They also retweeted the responses throughout the day. Share pictures on any social media outlet of your employees in action. An added bonus; Twitter photos take up more space in a timeline and photos on Facebook lead to more engagement. Always try to show rather than tell.
Tip #4:
Use Humor
Michael J. Fox said “I think the scariest person in the world is the person with no sense of humor.” A great example of a brand that uses hashtags, humor, and timeliness is Charmin. They do a great job engaging followers, and they manufacture toilet paper! To the right is a great example of how they used their #TweetFromTheSeat hashtag to react to LeBron James’ return to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Tip #5: Incorporate Games, Contests, Live Events, and Podcasts
Everyone likes games and contests – whether you give a prize or you don’t. Developing a trivia game with a hashtag like #TriviaTuesday will get people to interact with you. Ask questions about your company history or services offered. You can shout out the winners, as people love mentions and retweets. How about hosting a live Q&A via Google+ hangout? You can use all of the other social media outlets to promote it!
Tip #6: Create and/or Distribute Useful Content
This may sound like a no-brainer. Write blog posts related to your industry and enable people to share them from your site. Use your social media platforms to promote your blog posts. Share how-to posts, product guides, etc. But also, don’t just make it about you. People will see right through the overly-promotional content. Think about topics related to your industry or other industries that you work with. Share articles from these industries, talk about them, and highlight the relationship. Also, people like to learn new things. Share or tweet facts about your industry that people might not already know. You’re the expert, after all!
Tip #7: Have fun
This is the most important tip of all! Try out different ideas and find the ones that work best for you!