4 Secrets About Social Media Voice Your Competitors Wish They Knew!

Why do brands insist on sounding like they’re wearing a three-piece suit and a 50s haircut on my Facebook news feed? Which, mind you, has people sporting only one of those in full swing atm.

I’ll tell you why. Big brands think that they’re selling on social media, and therefore, need to sound like a travelling salesman, toupée, briefcase and all.

But social media isn’t for selling. It’s for connecting. Not to adorn the Captain Obvious title too early but c’mon, if I’m scrolling through memes and photos of my ex I don’t want to read about how cloud computing services will elevate my professional development and blah blah what?

Fine, if you want to tell me about the cloud please do, but use my language.

And my language on a social platform is like, totally full of abbreevs, emojis and popular culture jokes which your mother doesn’t get. And this is what I want! And I am a loose extension of “the people” and “the people” is a segment of your target market, right? For sure at least SOME of your prospects are endlessly scrolling through the social void of FB. You just need to tap into them, on THEIR terms.

All too many times we have a client who insists on speaking like a robotic loop, spitting out features like a rap freestyle and failing to capture my attention for 2 reasons;

1. They sound fake and
2. They tell me about things I don’t care about (who cares that a watch is like 575m water resistant, how is that gonna make me FEEL dammit?!)

Here are 4 easy ideas to totes use into your next campaign!

1. Make the underlying purpose of your post emotive.

Exasperated? Excited? Overwhelmed? Conniving?

Your mood needs to come across in everything you say and do on social. Have you seen those memes that all your friends get tagged in with a comment along the lines of "BIG MOOD" and (in like 96.3% of cases*) it's a picture of a fat cat? Eg.

I’m not saying make memes. I’m saying pay attention to what people react to. Sharing your feelings or making them obvious in a post will win you likes and show you as genuine. Which you are, right?

2. Use language that you yourself would use when posting.

This is a big one, my friends. Why would you sound like a 1970s politician when you can sound like yourself? Think about what YOU would actually say. Have a recommendation for a product? Pretend you’re posting it on your OWN wall. Don’t layer it with jargon you can’t define or a feature that doesn’t mean anything. Share the reasons behind why your product or service is great, not what it is. Use words that everyday people use, when talking about your product/service. You will instantly see a rise in engagement.

3. Talk about the value + lifestyle behind your product and service, not your offer itself.

Your mates don’t tell you about what features their new watch has. Your mates tell you about the feelings they get when they bought it. “Finally, I’ve wanted this <over-priced brand here> for ages!” The feeling here is aspiration, belonging, triumph, and they want you to rejoice!

Our friends’ comments and insights are valuable to us because they contain an evaluation of a product or service, not information about what it actually is. People like to feel and connect. They trust you and want to know how your recommendation will make them feel. So get your marketing team together and forget the features and fuel the feels. This will make your brand way more memorable.

4. Shake it baby, shake it.

It’s all about movement. Opt for a gif or video. Ditch the static scenarios, the tired stock photos and the text overlays… your mates and gal pals don’t overlay their photos with designer text and a logo, so neither should you. The point here is to blend in and look natural.

NOT THIS:

The result?

People won’t scroll past your post or ad, immediately classifying it as commercial. If you look like the environment, people will have a picnic with you.

So to wrap up,

1. Stop talking like we are trying to flog Enron stock.
2. Start fusing a bit of emotion in your campaign
3. Talk about value, not features
4. Use moving or engaging images instead of stuffy, static ones

For all things social (organic and paid) drop us a line or submit an enquiry.

*not a real statistic