To stand out in marketing, take a different approach
Social media marketing is a good way to reach your potential audience. It’s also saturated with many posts, so a lot of them get lost in the shuffle and do not receive the interaction and reach posters hope for. For example, Instagram has over 2 billion users who are active on the platform. Considering that amount, it’s clear there’s a lot of content going on social media sites each day, hour and minute. Since there is a limit to how many posts a day you can make to not get lost in the algorithm, the content you choose to share needs to be meaningful.
Rather than just add the same things to an already overstimulated conversation, consider taking a different approach. A great recent example of applying current events to your brand is World Wildlife Fund’s latest ad, comparing extinction to Twitter’s heavily discussed rebrand.
Creativity and a new take helped Germany WWF’s latest ad stand out. While everyone else online was bashing the change, and agreeing that it was a questionable decision, the nonprofit used the new logo as an opportunity to get their important message across, showing the changes to the Tweet bird over the years, ultimately leading to an “X” logo, alone with the words “Protect wildlife, before it’s too late.” The ad had a strong message, and this unique take on a current event got a new conversation going.
This brings to mind other social media brands that have done things differently and drawn more attention from it.
Wendy’s is known for bringing other fast-food chains into their Tweets and roasting them. It’s a silly way for the brand to brag about their food, get people laughing, and eventually, talking about it. These conversations might inspire viewers to go to Wendy’s, or make them more memorable when people are choosing what to have for their next quick meal on the road.
Another brand that broke through the stereotypes was Dove, with their “Real Beauty” campaign. It launched in 2004, and the brand’s message with it is still going strong. To this day, they are still focused on body and self esteem issues young women go through due to media portrayal, and most recently, social media. It started out with a video showing a woman being transformed with makeup, and this year, the brand put together a video about how social media lead to eating disorders in teen girls. While raising more awareness, the brand is also advertising its products, to build rapport and trust through their videos and stories that, though moving and thought provoking, are ultimately advertisements.
So next time you want to create meaningful marketing, think about what your brand represents, what makes you different, and how you can get that message across to your audience.
Stephanie Sokol
Digital Content Manager