Business owners use any means necessary to extend their reach for their audience to grow. After all, the broader their audience is, the more likely consumer growth will pick up. Given the research poured into this, using social media has been discovered as an excellent medium for businesses, considering how most of society frequent online platforms.
But despite its potential, establishing a brand through social media is often hit-or-miss. Some businesses might experience a boost in popularity, while the rest won’t be as lucky. Because of this, certain steps must be taken. One of them is by humanizing your brand on social media. Here’s how you can do it:
1. Create A Persona
For your brand to ‘act human,’ it must be viewed as one. Establish a persona with a specific personality, similar to how people are. After all, using different personalities for only one brand might give the audience whiplash and deter them from forming any attachments to it. After all, it’s difficult to ‘connect’ with someone when they frequently change their personality.
Think of your brand as a fictional character. With social media as the only way to further their character, use every chance to reveal more about your brand’s persona. Breathe ‘life’ into them by setting down their traits and sticking to them. Ensure that what you’ve chosen is relatable while reflecting the brand’s image. That way, your audience will view it as its signature.
2. Set The Tone
People rarely listen to anyone talking using a monotone voice or complex jargon unless they’re in the same field. Finding that sweet spot between professional and casual is the language brands must use on social media. This profile here does an excellent job promoting their business while making it relatable since homeowners have already encountered one too many plumbing problems.
Determine what kind of audience you have to connect with them even better. For those aiming at younger people, slang or abbreviations often stick to them more. Older audiences have a broader spectrum since others might prefer a friendlier, relaxed language, while others find swear words funnier. Either way, know what language to use to be ‘one of them.’
3. Be Engaging
Engagement is a tool that all brands must take advantage of. After all, having people pay attention to it means there’s a better chance for consumer growth. But instead of only focusing on promoting your products, consider expressing the brand’s human side more by having opinions or speaking up about certain matters passionately. Also, remember to be timely to indirectly inform everyone of your investment in current issues.
4. Have A Sense Of Humor
Since you’re humanizing your brand, humor is something you can play with. This is because having a great sense of humor makes the brand more approachable and memorable.
However, be mindful of the kind of humor you use. Considering you already have your audience and personality established, use humor that your target will understand. After all, using a joke that references the Great Depression might not land too well with a younger audience.
5. Go Behind The Scenes
Letting the audience know that real people are working behind the brand is another way to make it more human. After all, it’s easy to forget that people are involved when all everyone sees is company branding. Regardless, this is a great opportunity to highlight the team’s efforts while giving the audience a peek at what’s happening behind the logo.
Give each of your employees the spotlight regularly. Let them use this opportunity to show off some of their traits, be it a special skill or the reason why they’re working under the company in the first place. But to push it to the next level, consider asking your employees hard-hitting questions, such as what they’re striving for in the company. Use this chance to captivate everyone and be invested in what the brand entails.
On the other hand, you can always lean toward professionalism to be on the safer side. Showcase the process behind the team running the brand. Use social media as a platform that practices transparency to engage your audience further.
6. Practice Accountability
Although professionals are working behind the scenes, mistakes are still unavoidable. But instead of ignoring them, own up to the mistakes made under the brand. Granted, there’s always the risk of ruining your reputation. However, covering up your missteps will only make people more suspicious of your integrity. Once that happens, they might question what else you’ve been hiding from them all this time.
7. Go Beyond The Screen
The entire reason you’re marketing via social media in the first place is to showcase your services using an online platform. However, consumers rarely order anything online without seeing reviews. After all, knowing other people have ordered the same products they’re looking at proves whether they’re high-quality or not.
Consider featuring customer reviews to make products more authentic. Include consumers who bought them upfront from physical stores. With their population combined, it’s much easier to find someone outside the business representing your products—and, by extension, the brand.
Takeaway
Although simple, humanizing the brand is an effective strategy that engages the audience the most. After all, people engage more with someone like them instead of a generic company brand. On top of that, adding social media to the picture improves the likelihood of consumer growth picking up.
