Marketing content: Lighten up, will ya?

If you love building social connections and engaging with audiences on social networks the way I do, then you probably spend lots of time looking at content – Tweets, posts, blogs, images, videos, etc. It’s amazing but let’s also admit that there is a ton to sift through. Our social tools, like Sprout Social and Hootsuite, really help a lot. BUT it’s still wickedly time consuming. Yes, I said wicked…I live outside of Boston.

And it is never lost on me when one person out of the hundreds of people and brands I follow inserts a bit of humor and personality into their content; a fun image, an interesting metaphor, a personal story. Here’s a fun and very simple example. Wistia, an awesome video hosting company here in the Boston area, always injects a bit of humor into their content – always! They obviously produce a ton of their own videos that are always natural (vs. posed), include multiple employees and are not only offering valuable content but always make you laugh at least a little. So I always watch them! Yes, for the great content but also because they make me laugh.

I was just looking at Wistia’s Twitter page and saw this – a great photo + a fun addition to the bio description.

Let me ask you this question: can we not be both professional and show a bit of humor and personality at the same time? Why does everyone think that things have to be formal and serious? If you had the choice, what would you rather read?

So, my friends, it’s time to lighten up. For companies, that means…

When posting:

On behalf of the company

Think about common themes that run through your office.  Is there a group that goes running at lunch or plays softball in the spring? Think about how you can bring some of these themes into your content.

Come up with a fun campaign. This is especially helpful for companies whose products tend to be very technical or traditional.  A great example is the Approva Corporation, an audit software company, who created the campaign, “I love a good audit.” They created a website, a greeting card app, videos, etc. But even if you don’t want to take it this far, think about how you can have a bit of fun with your brand or product. It may be a Facebook contest, an email campaign theme or a video and it could be as simple as a fun graphic that you carry through your marketing channels in various ways.

Posting on your personal accounts

What are you passionate about? What are things that you contemplate that you’re curious about? You likely have full networks of people that might share these interests but also might be curious about some of the same things! So take the opportunity to connect and engage with them. Below are a few examples.

So many of us travel for business and sometimes more often than we would like. I have seen executives post stories about their business travel, including how they passed the time and suggestions for frequent travelers, that have garnered more views and comments than anything they ever posted about their products or company. What about posting a “travel log” when visiting interesting locations? Add photos, unique experiences, people who you met, etc. These stories can be valuable because they make people “relatable” through common experiences.

Conduct a quick poll. Chances are you are connected to people within your industry and areas of expertise. So utilize these networks to ask questions of your peers and to gain new insights. For example, I have been seeing other social media consultants using titles like Social Media Advisor and Social Media Coach. So I created a quick little poll to see if I can find out what people prefer. I’m hoping to get thoughts from clients, prospects and other consultants. It’s like my own focus group that I have access to 24x7!

Post by Take Root Marketing.

These are just a few ideas to bring your content down to earth and hopefully add some personality and humor to the mix. If you’re looking to get down to specifics or for more ideas like these, please reach out. I would be happy to explore them with you.