Unlocking the Power of Social Marketing: Building Relationships That Truly Connect
As someone who’s worked in social media marketing for 15+ years (and used these platforms for far longer) I’ve witnessed first-hand the quality evolution — not just of the channels and content on-platform — but also how brands have embraced the opportunity to engage with and truly capture the hearts of their customers.
The million-dollar question for those working in the industry, however, is how to achieve this. What makes a brand and its content so good that it has a lasting impact on its audience?
I’ve noticed a trend and developed my own theory: the essential qualities I value in truly great social brand campaigns mirror the best elements of a personal relationship, including trust, compassion, loyalty, humour, and above all, great communication (of course).
What’s a relationship without trust?
Before Airbnb existed, the idea of staying in a stranger’s home in a completely unknown place was, quite frankly, bonkers. But the success of the company and its community is 100% rooted in trust — trust in the brand, its users, and the clever ‘reciprocal reputation’ system by which it bases that trust: keeping us safe and creating unique and affordable travel experiences for its community.
Reputation is born out of trust and is at the heart of Airbnb and its relationship with the hosts and guests that benefit most from its service. It’s no wonder then that much of the high performing content on its social channels leans into this — whether it’s sharing the completely unique experiences available to you via its platform (did you know there’s a grand piano filter?) or using its voice for good in times of crisis, like this initiative following the wildfires in Maui.
Compassionate at heart
It’s not groundbreaking to focus charity marketing on compassion, but the way Macmillan Cancer Support approaches this deserves a mention. Over the last few years, the organisation has changed its tone from quite traditional to far more personal — a brave move that harnesses the powerful work and stories of its employees, volunteers, beneficiaries, and their families.
By leading with this compassionate approach, the charity has been able to drive emotional resonance with a broad audience, which has really raised its profile and impact post-pandemic. Macmillan tells it how it is and provides its social audiences with the ‘real’ meaning of what it takes to be a person living with cancer and how it affects the people around them.
Loyalty breeds loyalty
Brands that disrupt entire industries get a big green tick from me and Beauty Pie is no exception. The company has managed to reduce the cost of luxury beauty products with a subscription model, meaning it’s able to retain customers over time. By focusing on longer-form, educational content on its social channels, the brand is able to clearly highlight the benefits of its products and services, which includes a commitment to keep prices reasonable and quality high (never a bad thing, especially in a cost of living crisis). Once bought in, customers become loyal advocates, which has helped the company organically develop a super-engaged community. Cue partnerships from highly influential ambassadors and a lot of positive sentiment to further drive its reach and engagement.
GSOH essential
Surreal has disrupted the cereal market, not just with its product, but with the company’s genuinely funny social campaigns and content. It’s a great example of a brand that really ‘gets it’ and by being relatable and fun on platforms where people go for connection and entertainment, you’re much more likely to capture audience attention with humour than those who don’t. As a relatively new e-commerce brand that probably started by having to make its marketing budget stretch and work extremely hard, the company definitely had the right idea in making sure that audiences connected with its brand, the people behind it, and then customers were sold on the fact that the product is genuinely great to boot.
Communication is key
All the brands I’ve mentioned so far have clear communication strategies, but on this front, a company that really stands out is Sky. Sky knows how to market its many products successfully and communicate its mission as a business to drive impact and ‘make life better for everyone’ — working to improve our cultural economy, reduce environmental impact, and by addressing inequality.
At 33Seconds we’ve been working with Sky Arts to help shape its social media strategy — as the UK’s only free-to-air channel dedicated to arts and culture, its goal is to drive participation, inclusion, and representation across every art form. We devised four creative formats that could be used across all Sky Arts series and all @SkyTV social channels, developed to drive engagement by either educating, encouraging UGC, or by simply showcasing the incredible range of content that Sky Arts makes available to everyone.
Our recent #CelebratingHockney campaign, for example, aimed to demonstrate David Hockney’s huge influence on creative trailblazers. We collaborated with Tom Daley, Edd Kimber, and HATCH Art to produce recreations of Hockney’s most celebrated and inspirational work through the mediums of knitting, cake, and canvas art — capturing audiences beyond the traditional arts and encouraging UGC with the #CelebratingHockney hashtag.
In a digital landscape that‘s overwhelmed with content, it could be argued that the threads that tie successful brands to their audiences are similar to those that create strong personal relationships. As we navigate the ever-evolving world of social media, let’s remember that behind the logos and campaigns, the embodiment of these human-centric values will be what propels brands into the hearts, minds, and ultimately, lives of their audiences.
Elisah van Allen is Head of Social of specialist communications agency, 33Seconds
