For corporate brands comfortable with the rhythm of business-as-usual campaigns, the prospect of injecting fun into their social media presence might seem daunting. However, finding new ways to create content and engage with different audiences using a different approach holds immense potential – particularly in creating authentic relationships with younger audiences and potential customers.
Embracing the playful side of social media offers a unique opportunity for brands to break free from the conventional construct and breathe life into their online presence. From memes to trending audio, and slang to timely references, adding a bit of fun into your social media mix can work wonders for engagement and brand affinity, helping you build a loyal and possibly passionate following.
Let’s explore some ways you can incorporate fun and humour into your brand’s social media strategy:
1. Trendjacking
Trendjacking is a marketing strategy where brands create content based on popular topics, sounds, hashtags, or events on social media. This allows brands to increase their follower count and engagement rates. The trend is already set, so all you have to do is tweak it to suit your business! The Singapore Police Force TikTok page is a prime example of trendjacking, as they are quick to jump on relevant social media trends and create content before the buzz dies down. Use social listening tools to identify trending topics and hashtags relevant to your industry and brand.
2. Memes
Memes tend to spread like wildfire across social media, and incorporating these into your content demonstrates that your brand is attuned to pop culture. Logitech Singapore began sharing relatable memes on its Facebook page last year, with exceptional results. This ‘Expectations vs. Reality’ meme garnered close to one thousand reactions.
3. Sarcasm & Satire
Gen Z has a unique way of using social media, treating all entities the same and using sarcasm, satire, and slang to communicate with anyone and everyone. It can seem somewhat unhinged – but if you want to capture their attention, you might as well get into it. Your brand will become more relatable to Gen Z when you use sarcasm and satire wisely, but only the bravest brands tend to succeed at this top-level marketing tactic. This can be done by reacting to a competitor’s post, as seen with Wendy’s tweets, or replying to comments, as exemplified by Ryanair. Both brands manage to be consistently funny without hurting anyone’s feelings too much. To get this right, you’ll need to develop a brand voice and guidelines for using humour on social media, ensuring it aligns with the brand’s values and target audience.
4. Behind-The-Scenes Content
Give your audience a glimpse into the human side of your brand by sharing behind-the-scenes (BTS) moments, team outings, or office shenanigans. Authenticity goes a long way in building trust and rapport. Take, for instance, the tutorials and candid conversations with the chef in the videos on Kucina Italian Restaurant’s TikTok page. Although most of their posts are over five minutes long, they’ve managed to earn millions of views organically. Long-form clips work when you manage to successfully capture the audience’s attention just a few seconds into the video; think tutorials, documentaries, and facts. Skip the short introduction and dive into the juicy details. In addition to building your company’s reputation as a thought leader, long-form videos will help your brand develop a deeper relationship with your followers. Be sure to plan and schedule regular behind-the-scenes content to provide your audience with a consistent stream of authentic insights.
5. Interactive Content Ideas
Lastly, don’t forget to weave interactive elements into your social media strategy. Each social media platform has basic interactive elements like stickers, polls, and quizzes, and you should use them to engage your audience.
One little trick that always gets high engagement: giveaways. However, for giveaways to be truly effective, the entry rules need to be easy to follow, and the prize has to be attractive enough. But if a giveaway isn’t in the cards for your brand, you can still add interactive elements to your everyday content – start small, just three times a week, and see how it goes.
Unleash Your Brand’sFun Side on Social Media
When it comes to social media, corporate brands don’t have to be all about business! Instagram isn’t just photos anymore, and TikTok isn’t just videos of people dancing – so it’s important to consider each platform and how you can tailor your content to communicate with audiences accordingly. And when you infuse a bit of fun, personality, and creativity into your content, you’ll connect with your audience on a deeper level. Ultimately, this will lead to stronger brand-audience relationships, awareness, and loyalty.
Go ahead, unleash your brand’s playful side and let the fun begin!
As a strategic communications agency, we specialise in social media content creation services, including long-form videos, and we are here to help you achieve your brand’s social media goals. If you’re on the lookout for a public relations or content creation agency in Singapore to help you craft a strong social media strategy, we’ve got your back!
Reach out to us at [email protected].