6 Creative Strategies to Make Your Social Content Stand Out
Creating a strong social media presence for the festive period
Are your decorations up yet? The speed at which the upcoming festive period is approaching seems faster than ever. However, with another lockdown in the UK just beginning, many shoppers, not just in the UK, will be turning online to secure their loved ones gifts this year.
The need to have a strong social presence is more important than ever to make your brand stand out if you’re in the business of securing sales, and even if you’re not. Brands focusing on awareness must also create a solid creative strategy going into the latter stages of 2020 and into 2021 to ensure they remain front of mind for their customers, especially at a time when commerce and sales and gift buying is so rife.
So what are some of the common creative strategies that successful brands are leveraging? To find out, Facebook has recently analysed some of the most effective campaigns from around the world on their platforms and revealed six key behaviours with measurable business impacts. Each of these strategies is both enduringly effective and highly relevant at the moment, as we navigate the many changes wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Open a Dialogue
People turn to social media with the desire to discover, connect and express. Campaigns and content that cater to these needs open a dialogue – by delivering creative that enables people to see, try on and identify with ideas – often drive stronger results.
A fantastic example of this, cited by Facebook is food brand Lay's. They took dialogue to the next level by utilising Facebook's augmented reality capabilities, enabling users to easily post selfies, learn about the charity Operation Smile, share inspirational stories and express support for the cause. By giving fans the ability to interact with their cause in an innovative and fun way, this campaign by Lay’s proved to be 22% more impactful than their previous efforts.
The Mighty Approach - We challenge brands and help them answer these questions: How can they open up a conversation? Start a dialogue? We look at tools at their disposal such as Facebook Messenger and others to create one-to-one interactions. We look for ways for fans to weigh in on the topic for the campaign and offer their opinion using devices like polls on Instagram stories or Facebook. We look for every opportunity to give fans a voice and work with our clients to implement this into their strategy.
Cultivate Culture
Social media is the front door of culture, where people see and experience what's happening around them. Campaigns at the forefront are building ideas and creating artefacts that not only capture the current zeitgeist, but weave into it.
The Mighty Approach - At Mighty Social we work with brands to see if their campaigns can create these cultural artifacts. For example, does the idea lend itself well to meme culture? Can our clients tap into a community of relevant creators and influencers? We use our years of experience to monitor social and advise on which conversations are people already having that brands can naturally participate in.
Working with toy brand Mattel, in collaboration with Disney, our Baby Yoda paid campaign was trend-based, delivering popular meme-style content to engage and resonate with the audience. Using humour and sensitive references to the current situation, the content was very well received and smashed KPIs.
Serve Others
We like to think that social media can empower anyone to advocate for a better world, and in this day and age brands are not just able to use their voices for the benefits of others, they're expected to. Breakthrough campaigns are finding creative ways to address important issues and spark action.
The Mighty Approach - As we develop campaigns with our clients, we work with them to consider which issues matter to their audience that they can authentically champion. Simply posting with a trending hashtag is very transparent and audiences will always see through it as jumping on a bandwagon. Once we’ve agreed legitimacy, we then find ways to creatively highlight these causes and advocate for change. Facebook offers different tools for the job. Things like AR and VR can really engage people and compel action. Alternatively it can be very simple changes that work. Changing a brand’s profile picture to highlight an inclusivity message can be very powerful for examples.
Astound Communities
Community lies at the heart of the experience on social media, specifically on Facebook and Instagram, where the algorithms are set to favour content that is community focused and sparks conversation. During what is looking like a year long pandemic, people have been and will be seeking to deepen connections and share their passions with friends, family and others using social media. So it makes sense then that brands that understand, amplify and astound communities are building lasting bonds with fans.
The Mighty Approach - When working with clients we think about the daily struggles their audiences face and how the brand we’re working with can provide novel solutions. We look to find ways we can demonstrate an empathetic understanding through community engagement. So ask yourselves: what can you do to show that you’re listening and are there to help?
Break the Mould
People constantly surprise us and each other on social media with new ways of expression and connection. Brands that break through are creating equally innovative campaigns that challenge assumptions and defy well-established norms.
The Mighty Approach - First, we consider the most common clichés in our clients’ industry. The tired, repetitive ideas. It could be male representation in automotive adverts, it could be how teenagers are typically represented. Next, we think about how we can challenge and flip these tropes on their head. Can we portray people in atypical ways? What executional norms can be reinvented? How can we flip expectations so that their campaign feels truly fresh? For Barbie, our social media expertise and ATOM technology enabled us to change audience perception of one of the world’s most well known and well loved brands. We changed sentiment as well as increased engagement levels by taking an entirely new approach to how Barbie was represented to the world, gone were the tired cliches and iconography of what everyone expected Barbie to be, together we help show the world that #YouCanBeAnything.
Push the Purpose
Social media is at the heart of expression for many people around the world. Breakthrough brands are finding common ground with people's personal lives and highlighting how their products and services serve a higher purpose.
A campaign we have admired recently from toothpaste brand Close Up with their campaign in Latin America did just this. They didn’t shy away from taking a stand with this LBGTQ-friendly creative. Rather, they put their beliefs front-and-centre with the multiplatform, interactive campaign and made its messaging about more than just promoting products.
The Mighty Approach - When working with clients we always think about how they can play a deeper role in people’s lives. How can their social campaigns reinforce what makes them different and also serve a greater good? We work with them to tap into something insightful about their audience and deliver a creative idea that feels personally relevant.
A Final Word
Forward-thinking brands will be constantly innovating on social, developing fresh and compelling campaigns and content that build lasting connections and drive results - we are here to help them do that.
With more traffic on social media platforms than ever before, now is the time to start putting out the content and adverts that consumers want to see, instead of what gut instinct tells you. Look at the data, look at what’s resonating and bear in mind the above points - then start connecting with more of your audience than ever before. Get in touch today to find out how we can help you start breaking through on social media.