October 4, 2022

2023 Social Media Trends – Brands Become More Human

In a world of digital marketing and virtual dealings, we are seeing more brands showcase their personalities through social media. Buzzwords like “transparency” and “authenticity” are being used a lot in the business and customer dialogue.
For a long time, brands would only present themselves professionally and in complete control of their image. Mistakes were never openly admitted for fear of damaging a business’s reputation. These days, the opposite seems to be a more effective marketing tactic – so what’s changing?
As the effects of the pandemic linger on, people are craving human connection like never before. It’s not enough to just offer a great product or service - consumers want to see faces and hear stories from their favourite brands. Ultimately, they want to feel like they know and trust the business they are buying from.
What’s one of the best ways to build trust with your audience? Show your human side online. Humanizing your brand is the key to building relationships and creating a more loyal audience on social media.
Here are five ways to do it.

1. Show off your team

Whether you have a small team or you manage 100 employees, showing off your staff is a great way to let your customers know about the people behind the brand.  

Video content is everything right now, so leverage this trend by spotlighting your employees. Share a segment where you feature a different employee every week. Post about what they do for the company, their favourite part about work, or anything else they want to share. You can also share team events, birthday celebrations, or outings. The trick here is to keep the interactions casual and unstaged.

Remember, people love to see what goes on behind the scenes. Give your followers a glimpse into who keeps the machine running.  

2. Sign your posts and comments

We’ve all gotten those generic replies from brands on social media – you know, the copy-and-paste type of response. Robotic responses are one of the quickest ways to turn off your audience. Whether it’s online or over the phone, people always prefer to speak to a real person, especially when they have questions or concerns.  

Show your customers you’re invested in them by answering every single post, message, or comment (or at least as many as humanly possible). Whether it’s yourself or whoever manages your socials, end messages by signing a name so your followers feel a personal interaction. Don’t be afraid to get personal in the DM’s – it’s where a lot of conversations happen!

3. Tell stories

Highlighting features and benefits is great…but what’s the story? This is what your followers really want to know when they check out your brand – and it’s a great way to introduce the human element.

Every brand is trying to go viral on social media these days, but it’s not enough to only offer a great product or service. Brands can evoke an emotional response from their audience through storytelling – and as we know, people often buy from their emotional triggers. That’s not to say that every story should be told with the ultimate goal of selling – quite the opposite actually! It just so happens that relatability often leads to people wanting to buy from your business.

Don’t shy away from sharing failures and mistakes with your audience – after all, that’s what being human is. You’d be amazed how much customers respect you sharing these aspects of your business, and what actions you’re taking to improve. Not every story is a happy one, but vulnerability is always worth sharing and can drastically increase the human factor.

4. Use memes

Who doesn’t love a good meme? You may have noticed them taking over your Instagram feed lately.

Memes tend to elicit one of the best emotional responses – laughter. If you can make your audience laugh, they’ll want to come back for more. Try to find memes that are highly relatable, then get creative to tailor them to your audience. The vast majority of brands can inject humour into their marketing in some way or another.

Funny memes are also very shareable – people like to comment, share, and save them, giving your brand a boost in engagement and visibility.

5. Highlight your customers and community

Creating a community through social media fosters a place for employees, customers, and leads them to interact online. One way to do this is to encourage your audience to use a branded hashtag when talking about your brand. Leveraging everyday customers over influencers for an online campaign has a clear advantage – it’s organic.

Consumer-driven content continues to be a big trend in 2023. It highlights the genuine experience that customers are having with your brand. If you’re looking for a humanized approach for long-term success, focus on building relationship elements in your online marketing.

Are you ready to show up more authentically on social media? Need a strategy that will showcase your brand’s personality? Our team can help - get in touch to book your consultation today.
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