Times are changing. Once, people enjoyed the idea of large, sophisticated corporations that based their reputations on impressive logos and compelling content. Those days, however, are gone. Now, most people are interested in brands that make the effort to be genuine online.
As a business, this can be a rather daunting affair for you to consider. This is especially true if you have made quite a bit of effort in constructing an austere and professional image. Nevertheless, it is time to shake things up.
Now, most brands will appreciate that it isn’t all that simple to appear authentic on social media. All endeavours are made even more difficult by the fact that the average user has clued into most of the tricks that businesses have previously been relying on. Still, these strategies should make your job a little easier:
Know Your People
Be perfectly honest, how much do you know about your target audience? If the answer is very little, then you are going to need to start doing more research. You need to get a better idea of who is following you or, at least, the people that you want to follow you.
In case you are wondering why this is important, the answer is rather simple. By understanding who your audience is, you are then able to construct a social media profile and plan that is relevant and appealing to these individuals. Thus, you will automatically become more genuine to the people that you are trying to attract or engage with.
Imagine, for instance, that your posts are peppered with memes and hashtags but the majority of your followers are over the age of 45. Most of these efforts will fly over their heads and they will be unable to really interact with whatever you are posting. So, do your homework and know who you are catering to.
Have a Consistent Voice and Personality
To reiterate: you want people to think of your brand as a person. So, the whole faceless corporate strategy isn’t going to cut it. Rather, you need to come up with a voice and a personality that is consistent with your brand’s image and values.
Now, this can be rather tricky to manage, especially if you don’t have a great deal of expertise in this department. Thus, it can be helpful for you to reach out to a social media agency Melbourne has for some assistance. These professionals can work with you to create the right persona behind your brand.
Of course, much like an actual person, it is important that this persona remains the same. So, whether you are posting, replying, or engaging on social media in any other way, the tone should be familiar to your followers. As you can imagine if this ‘voice’ keeps changing people will find it hard to trust you.
Humanise Your Brand
Speaking of getting rid of that “faceless corporation” stigma, the best way to do this is to show people what goes on behind the scenes. One effective tactic is to include live video of your walking around your manufacturing or processing areas. This will show your followers how their goods or services come together before it is packed off to them.
If live video isn’t your thing, at least create a product video or behind-the-scenes clips. It could be you introducing the main members of your staff or your employees celebrating a fun event like Christmas or an anniversary. All of these little things can have a big impact.
Don’t Always Have an Agenda
By now, it has probably been drilled into you that all product posts must be followed by a call to action. Find here! Link in bio! Buy now! On paper, this can seem like a great idea. This is because you are directing your followers to where they can purchase the item or service that you portrayed so well.
However, if you constantly only post such things, it can come off as rather self-promotional. When this happens, your brand loses authenticity. To avoid this, just focus on posts that allow you to connect with your followers. Do this every now and then to maintain a sense of genuineness about your company.
Sure, it may take some time for you to master the strategies mentioned here. Nevertheless, once you do so you will definitely be able to notice a change in how your followers interact with your social media page.
