With the evolution of social media into a prime public relations tool, some companies are taking unique approaches to communicating online.
For these corporations, gone are the days of standard corporate lingo. What’s in? Humor, combat, and the occasional (or sometimes routine) snark.
As it turns out, digital audiences enjoy humor and entertainment! It makes companies human, while creating a more newsworthy and engaging social media brand.
This approach cuts across industries. For example, an American fast-food giant and a low-cost European airliner stand out for attention-grabbing social media tactics.
Take Taco Bell for example. After Fox Business Network Contributor Scott Martin recently commented that a lunch at Taco Bell cost him $28, the company responded by questioning the claim and plugging their famously inexpensive menu items.
A subsequent email promotion providing a 20% discount on purchases of $28 or more created more engagement and generated media coverage surrounding Taco Bell’s unique selling point – affordable prices.
On the other hand, Ireland-based airliner Ryanair’s social media content ranges from corny humor to trolling customers. This is incredibly on-brand for a company known for practicing unique PR stunts.
Notably, a recent company tweet used a meme to mock a customer upset about an early flight time he booked.
Grocery stores have also gotten in on the fun, as seen through Aldi’s self-deprecating dig at the nature of bagged salads going spoiled and uneaten in the refrigerator. This tweet generated significantly higher engagement numbers than the company’s account normally sees.
What do these cases, and countless others, indicate? That authenticity and building a human connection online can be even more important than the content or tone of the message.
While edgy or humorous social media posts tend to drive high engagement numbers, they can also generate an increasingly difficult commodity: earned media. Some of the accounts mentioned produced coverage in Newsweek and The Washington Post, centered around both social media and the affordable nature of these companies’ products.
Finding ways to be creative remains key to creating a more authentic, personalized brand, even if it’s not as casual of a communications style as Taco Bell, Ryanair, or Aldi.
Here at Xenophon, we are proud to provide tailored social media support to our clients that advances their messages in the most effective way possible. Learn more about our services by visiting https://xenophonstrategies.com/work/developing-a-brand-on-social-media/.