Bringing Humanity to Your Online Brand
“Marketing is about values. It’s a complicated and noisy world, and we’re not going to get a chance to get people to remember much about us. No company is. So we have to be really clear about what we want them to know about us.” -Steve Jobs
How many marketing messages would you estimate that you see on a daily basis? When you do the math, it might seem like your brand needs to start screaming in order to be heard through all of the online noise. Although it may seem impossible at times, one of the best ways to cut through the crowd is to humanize your brand and tell a story to which your customers can relate.
Here are 4 ways to successfully humanize your brand on social media:
1. Engage with Your Customers.
Your fans don’t want to feel like they’re talking to a logo or a robot when they reach out to you on social media, so make sure that you use everyday language when speaking with them. Being as humanly as possible on social media is not only a great opportunity to reach new fans, but to correct any negative experiences. Customers will be a lot more understanding and empathetic when they realize there is an actual person behind the screen just trying to do their job.
2. Create a compelling voice.
Know what you’re trying to convey with your brand and develop a unique voice to match. Just like each person who you meet has their own way of speaking, your brand should, too. You can develop your voice by thinking about what makes your company unique and by listening to your community. Use the same language that they do and think about what your personality can add to the online conversation. Start to ask yourself questions like:
- If your brand was human, what kind of personality would it have?
- Which three adjectives would you use to describe your brand?
- If your brand was human, what kind of people would they spend their time with?
3. Don’t be Afraid to Use Humor.
Humor is a great way to show the human side of your brand on social media. It will help customers trust you more and feel more connected with you. You wouldn’t appreciate being bombarded with promotions and sales tactics every time you met someone at a party and the same goes for social. TacoTime NW has done a great job of incorporating humor into their online presence in a way that is unique to their brand. Although many people start following brands on social media to find deals, a lot of them also expect to be entertained. TacoTime NW succeeds at blending humor copy with promotions and sales.
Not sure how to sprinkle humor into your social media posts? Social Media Examiner has a great article, 5 Tips for Using Humor in Your Social Media Activities that will give you some inspiration.
4. Tell a story.
Every brand has something that makes them unique. Perhaps it’s the history of your brand or something that you offer that no one else does. Make a list of these traits and then think of ways to weave them into your online copy.
When coming up with ways to humanize your brand, the possibilities are endless. Inspired to take your brand’s social presence to the next level? What are the ways in which you already try to humanize your brand online? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter @ThinPigMedia!