When representing your brand in online communities, you’re worried about doing or saying something that might jeopardize your reputation. While this is a valid concern, it shouldn’t keep you from engaging with your fans in a way that’s beneficial for both of you. Some of the most popular marketing campaigns have gone viral because they ventured outside of the realm of safety and normalcy and engaged the audience in an exciting way. Below you’ll find 4 rules that you’ve probably never broken, but should. If you want customers to have your name on the tip of their tongue, you have to remember:
Don’t always be serious
Not everything you share has to be a press release. Create compelling content, share a video or some pictures from the last event your Company attended (tradeshows, social function). If you’re having trouble thinking up good content, don’t be afraid to be funny. People like funny. Your fans and followers will appreciate the humour and you may even attract some attention if your jokes are good (or bad) enough. If your comedy is timely and related to your industry, it won’t be long until you start to build an audience.
Don’t always be professional
Think of your favourite company, what makes them so successful? Often, it’s a simple as being more personal and human to separate you from competitors. If your company is represented in a way that you feel is robotic or detached, you can be sure that your customers will notice too. You don’t want to have your audience thinking you’re automated, so spice things up by offering a personal take. If one in every 5 of your tweets sounds ‘human’ (whether it’s a picture of what you saw or an experience from a recent outing) it will help people put a face to the name and builds trust in your brand.
Don’t always be neat
In 2009 a small printing company was having trouble attracting new clientele, so they decided to turn to their customers for content. It’s a well known office legend that the printer is the source of all evil, so they turned to social media to help them prove just that. They created a ‘Destroy your Printer’ contest which encouraged people to submit creative videos showcasing the printer retaliation. Bulldozers, hammers and even jackhammers were involved, and a few months later the company turned all the user-submitted footage into a great promotional video. The best contests come from destructive ideas, can you turn a bad experience into something good?
Don’t always be boring
There are a plethora of ways you can introduce information to your audience; audio books, infographics and eBooks are great alternatives to practical whitepapers. If your company can’t make this content with information about your company in particular, then why not work with a tradeshow or organization to create a ‘History Of’ infographic, or an eBook that brings together all of your sales team’s knowledge on how to close a deal. You have access to the information, all that’s missing is the creative spark.