Source: depositphotos.com
People prefer to do business with brands they are able to relate to. If they have a choice between a large, multinational corporation and a small, local business that creates great products and offers good service, they will often choose the latter.
Why? Because the local business appears more human. It’s easier to form a relationship with it; it’s easier to follow and appreciate it.
Let’s look at eight ways to use social media marketing to humanize your brand, whether your business is massive or a solopreneurship.
Show Your Humorous Side
Nothing helps people bond like humor. Sharing a joke or laughing over something funny together is a great way to deepen relationships and forge deeper, more meaningful connections.
As a brand, you can use social media to showcase how funny and witty you are. It will not only boost engagement rates but also show your followers that there’s a very real, human side to your brand.
Before you start cracking witticisms, take a moment to consider the personality of your brand and your target audience. What are they like and what do they like? What kinds of puns are likely to make an impact?
Going is a great example of a brand that has found a way to connect the nature of their flight deals business with airport and travel humor. Their banter is relatable and inherently shareable, as most people will have experienced the situations they are taking the mickey out of on social media.
Source: instagram.com
Share Some Behind-the-Scenes Snapshots
People are often curious about what goes on in a company. They want to know what it’s like working there. They want to know what the offices look like. They want to know how you come up with ideas, how a product is made or packaged, and so on.
Showing them a sneak peek behind the scenes of your brand will instantly humazine it. It will also deliver a lot of useful information and help you show off your staff and their personalities.
Depending on the nature of your business, you can show your assembly line, the process of packaging, what a brainstorming session looks like, etc.
You can also show what your team does in their time off together. Ahrefs is a great example of putting this tactic to great use. Their Instagram profile shows their staff engaging in all kinds of activities, from participating in conferences to going skiing at a team-building event.
Market Your Offline Efforts
On a similar note, you can also take photos and videos of your offline marketing efforts and showcase them on your social media profiles.
For example, if a member of your team is the speaker at a notable conference, make sure to film parts of their talk for socials. You can even stream the entire event live, if you are allowed to.
If you run a local charity event, promote it online too. This is a great way not only to see your staff in action, but to convey a lot of your values and beliefs to your followers.
Kianda, for example, has done a good job with showing their presence across various fairs and other offline events. Even if you can’t make it there in person, they do a great job of capturing the atmosphere and sharing all the most important conclusions and details from it.
Make sure your posts don’t come off as overly promotional. Think of it more as a way to capture the faces and personalities of your staff rather than promoting a specific product or service.
Write in a Casual, Friendly Tone
The tone of voice you use on your social media profiles will help you establish better connections with your followers and make your brand appear more human. Ideally, you want it to be friendly, casual and laid back.
The tone of voice of your brand and website may be quite serious. When this is the case, try to adapt it at least somewhat to social media. You can still come off as highly professional and a bona fide expert, even if you are a bit less formal.
If your brand voice is casual anyway, don’t be afraid to be quirky, humorous, and friendly. It will make you infinitely more relatable, and your posts will generate higher engagement.
Pergola Kits USA is a great example of this tactic. Their Facebook photo captions read like a conversation with a friend. They may be showcasing some of their products and trying to get you to check them out and potentially buy them, but they do it in a very non-salesy tone. They aren’t afraid to be funny, and they sound just like someone you’d meet in real life, trying to find the best pergola kit for their home.
Source: facebook.com
Engage Your Followers
Social media was designed to have conversations with people. The more you can engage your followers and your target audience, the better.
You can do this in a variety of ways. Merriam-Webster, for example, uses a combination of polls, questions, and outrageous facts to engage their followers. At the same time, they are sharing some incredibly interesting and useful information, so chances are their followers will want to comment or share.
Make sure to respond to as many of your comments and shares as possible. Showing followers that you notice them and care about their questions or concerns is a great way to make you appear more human and less like a faceless brand.
You can also mention some of your followers, particularly the people you know are brand ambassadors and love and regularly use your products.
Offer Social Support
Offering customer support on social media is a great way not only to actually help customers, but to showcase your dedication to customer care. Since all reported issues can be seen by all of your followers, the way you respond can earn you some serious appreciation.
For example, Domino’s takes extra time and care to respond to customer concerns and issues on their Twitter account. They respond quickly, they are always friendly and genuinely helpful, and they want to ensure the customer has the best possible experience.
They even respond to comments of a more humorous nature, and often engage with the content their followers and fans are sharing on social media.
You can create a dedicated customer support profile if you want to ensure you get to every message as soon as possible. Just make sure you also check your regular profile too, as a lot of people will still comment there as well.
Share User-Generated Content
User-generated content is a great format for humanizing your brand. Whether it’s videos or photos, they will showcase your products or services in a large variety of ways. They will prove that others have liked working with you, and help you reach a larger audience.
Glossier is great at sharing their followers’ content. They are at the same time shouting out their loyal customers, and potentially boosting their following. They are also tapping into a practically endless pool of content that will showcase the diversity and quality of their products.
Make sure to always tag the author of the content and send them a personal message, letting them know about the share. The more engaged you are, the more human you’ll be too.
You can also add your own comments and stories to the photos you share, thereby adding another layer of messaging to them.
Film Helpful Videos
Video is a great format for showcasing your human side on social media. Most platforms allow you to share short or long video formats, which you can use in a variety of ways to get closer to your followers.
GetSafe has a great YouTube channel that can serve as inspiration. They detail how their solution can help you stay safe at home, and in a witty and engaging manner describe the benefits.
Source: youtube.com
You can film similar content in a shorter format for Instagram. Highlight the benefits of buying your product or service, and describe how it will make customers’ lives better.
How-to videos are another great format you can use on social media. Any kind of advice that helps customers make the most of their products will go a long way in helping them see you as more human.
Ideally, you will show yourself or some of your team using the items in various situations. That way, you can both show the people behind the brand and the various uses for your solutions.
Wrapping Up
Are you already utilizing any of these tactics to make your brand more relatable and more human?
If not, consider which one would be the most effective for your target audience as well as which one you can implement the easiest.
Don’t forget that building a social media following takes a bit of time. Stay consistent, and the results will follow.