With the sheer number of brands utilising social media to connect with their audience, as a marketer, you must
make your brand stand out. Why should your target audience follow
you out of the thousands of other brands out there? And, how will you build a relationship with your audience online to make them stick around?
Relationships are built on trust, and while it may seem like a difficult task, trust can be created if you’re willing to
put in the time and effort. Here, we want to discuss how showing your audience the ‘human’ side of your brand can make a huge difference.
Ask yourself the following questions: who are the people behind your brand? What goes on behind-the-scenes? And, what kind of content makes your audience tick? Really think about how you can
provide fresh, unique, and engaging content on social media. This will create more transparency for your audience.
Below, we have listed some ways that will help you
build trust with your followers. We also think these methods are great for helping you to tell your brand’s story and reiterate your values from a different angle. This will help with humanising your brand.
Meet the team
A simple but effective way of humanising your brand is allowing your audience to
meet your team. It’s common for brands to feature their employees on their website, but we recommend going that step further!
Utilise social media to showcase employees: tell your audience about their roles, interests, and quirks, as well as what they like most about your brand. Here, it is crucial to think about what your audience would like to know. Do your research and create content that will engage them and build trust. Perhaps every few weeks you could introduce your followers to a new member of your team?
See how your followers interact with this content and take it from there!
Behind-the-scenes
Content that shows your brand behind-the-scenes offers something refreshing for your audience. It can
make them connect with you if they see what goes on behind a brand and the hard work that gets put into it. It can also make your audience see the fun side of a brand, improving that connection with followers. Think of creative ways that
show your brand from a different angle, but still conveys your personality and values. Showing your followers a typical day in the office, an event behind-the-scenes, or conducting a social media takeover are all excellent ways to humanise your brand. All of these methods can be done on most social media platforms, so ensure that you’re utilising platforms that your followers are most active on.
User-generated content
User-generated content (UGC) is a form of content, such as imagery, videos, and text that have been posted by users on social media.
Encourage your audience to share UGC using relevant hashtags and then use it to your advantage! Not only will it create a sense of community, but it shows that you have a strong relationship with your audience. For new followers scrolling through your social media feed, seeing
real people interacting with your brand will promote trust. Building trust will occur over time, but posting UGC is a great place to start!
Show appreciation
Showing appreciation and gratitude towards your audience can be really useful for humanising your brand on social media. You can do this by
sharing your brand’s milestones. What have you achieved in the past month? And, how much has your brand grown over a certain period? For those who have been following you for a while, it will be great for them to see your brand’s progression. Sharing your achievements and showing appreciation to those who have helped also
creates transparency and credibility for your audience. Who knows where you will be one year from now? Make your current followers stick around to find out!
Be human
Finally, our last tip is to be human! While all brands are run by people, it can be easy to use overly formal language or not give your audience enough interaction. Unlike traditional marketing methods, social media allows
two-way communication between you and your audience. Interact with your followers as much as possible through likes, comments, and sharing UGC. Use a conversational style and a tone of voice that is guaranteed to engage your audience.
Summing up humanising your brand
We hope we have demonstrated how
humanising your brand can really make a difference! If you’re not doing it already, try some of these methods and connect with your audience. Keep in mind that it’s essential to remain professional. However, certain social media platforms allow you to show the people behind your brand and have some fun.
Once you start implementing these methods,
use social media insights. See if you’re getting more interaction on posts that involve the above techniques. Finally, remember that building trust takes time, so don’t get frustrated if it doesn’t happen overnight! We’re sure that humanising your brand will bring you that one step further in connecting with your audience. Try it!
Written by Emily Ralphs
