The clue’s in the name – social media marketing should first and foremost be ‘social.’
People want to feel a connection to others with authentic content that feels inspiring, informative and crucially, human. In essence, they want to engage with other people, not brands.
The key to seeing success on social media, therefore, is to put humans (your customers and your employees) at the heart of your marketing strategy.
A purpose-driven business has a head start when it comes to creating more human-centric content. Your commitment to a bigger goal is a powerful USP that can supercharge your efforts and ensure you stand out from the crowd on social.
Presenting the human side of your brand will simply amplify your mission whilst building trust and emotional connections with your audience.
Sound good? Read on for our six top tips for developing a strategy focused on humanising your brand.
Use Video
We know you’ve heard it a million times – video marketing is the most important element of any social media strategy. That’s because it’s supremely powerful, and if you’re on a mission to humanise your business, then video is everything.
One of the most powerful ways to utilise video is by giving your followers behind-the-scenes content that paints a picture of your business and your people; a video walk-through, a personal introduction or a behind-the-scenes tour is a great way to do this.
Remember, these don’t need to be slick, highly produced videos, most phone cameras can capture brilliant footage nowadays, and a more informal approach to production (so long as it’s not too scrappy) will help with your efforts to make your social presence more human.
And who should be featured in these videos, you ask? Well, that leads us nicely to our next point…
Shine the spotlight on your employees
What better way to show the human side of your company than to put some focus on the people behind your brand?
Think about it, would you be more likely to engage with a logo or a face on your own social media feed?
Social media allows you to bring your employees’ voices to life and gives your customers the chance to put a face to a name. This is a powerful asset – most customers will react best when they are able to know who they’re speaking with.
Showing the faces of your team allows customers to connect with your brand on a deeper level, giving them a good idea of whether or not your brand’s values line up with their own.
Content could include photos at team events or get-togethers, or behind-the-scenes tours led by an employee. This is a great way to get your staff to contribute to your content – encourage them to get involved; their personality will shine through if they can bring their own ideas to the table, and it will help them feel more valued and engaged with your company as well.
Research shows that consumers are increasingly preferring to do business with actual humans than faceless companies, so now is the time to let your employees shine online!
Sell less (yes, really)
One of the most important things to remember when humanising your brand is to take your foot off the ‘sell, sell, sell’ pedal and ease into a more gentle gear that prioritises great content over winning business.
It may be tempting to shout from the rooftops about how great your service is, but your content should not be a glorified sales pitch to your followers. Instead, focus on the foundations of your brand – trust, integrity, reliability – selling the values at the heart of your business should be what captivates your follower’s interest.
Keep it chatty
One of the most crucial ways you can humanise your brand is through the language you use.
Using industry slang, formal sentences, and third person tense are all big no-no’s. Social media is about creating dialogue and building those all-important personal relationships, so keep things light and breezy, and don’t be afraid to write as you speak.
Some good advice is to act like you’re talking to your neighbour, be informal (but polite) and crucially – be human. Remember, you are not a robot!
Use follower content
We know it’s all well and good for us to spout on about what kind of content will humanise your brand, but creating that content can take a lot of time.
We get it.
So, here’s an idea for the time-strapped – share your follower’s content. You can’t get a better endorsement than an enthusiastic Twitter post from a happy customer or an Instagram story from your biggest client. It also works wonders for making you seem human by centring on real-life human experiences.
Embrace storytelling
Want to show the human side of your business? Then tell your story.
Storytelling is such a buzzword right now, and brands are getting smarter about how it can work for them on social media. It’s also a fantastic way to humanise your social feeds and build emotional connections with your followers.
How did your company start? Perhaps your founder was in a dead-end job and needed more purpose in their life; perhaps it’s a family business that has been passed down through the generations. Every business is made up of humans, and therefore every business has a human story.
Your job is to tell it.
The Human Touch
Approaching the job of humanising your online brand may seem daunting, but so long as you keep a people-centric focus, you’ll likely find the job of creating content becomes much easier.
Just remember to keep humans front and centre, be it your customers, your employees or other advocates.
You’ll find that creating relatable and consistent human-focused messaging will not only grow your business but will also boost engagement as well.
Good luck, and remember that human touch!
