How to Turn Followers into Die-Hard Fans: Try Sounding Like a Human
Want to know how to sound like a human on social media? Here’s how Innocent does it
I am crazy about Innocent’s social media. Everyday, I’m amazed at the quality of what they say. They’re really fun. And people love them for this. All across social media and among the people I know, Innocent has huge fans. How do they do it?
Now my advice for brands might sound obvious: behave like a human. Talk like a human, reply to people like a human, announce things like a human, show off your products like a human, make jokes like a human, apologize like a human. You can do pretty much anything you want, as long as you give the impression that the one typing on the keyboard is an actual human (and not a buzzword or a hashtag machine).
Don’t be a robot
Are you a robot? If not, don’t make yourself sound like one.
You might have been taught how to issue press releases and do advertising. But what works for TV and journalists doesn’t work for social media.
People hate that kind of talking.
Think of writing on social media like writing a text message. Be direct. Get rid of the noise, complicated words and marketing bullshit. Keep things short, simple and friendly.
Start a discussion
Imagine you meet two guys at a party. The first one keeps bragging and boasting about how he got the best grades and how his team won the football match. The second one starts off by making a joke, asks you about yourself, and then you start a conversation about whatever you’re both interested in. Which one are you likely to want to see again?
People don’t like being talked at. Don’t tell people how much your brand makes a year, how great your products are, or how long you’ve been around. That’s not going to make people them like you.
People want to be talked to. Give people your undivided attention. Listen to what they have to say. When they ask you questions, reply. Systematically. When they enjoy what you say, then you can continue.
Don’t take yourself too seriously
What’s better than marketing? Jokes.
A few weeks ago, Innocent started to take pictures of a melon that was alone on the table of their buildings, for fun, and called it #melonwatch. It was absurd. It was stupid. Everyone loved it.
Don’t be afraid to take risks. Anything outside the range of boring old brand marketing is good.
You can’t avoid marketing your brand, but you can make this marketing fun.
Innocent nails this. They ingested all the bad marketing we go through everyday and made a parody of it for our own pleasure.
So what’s the key lesson we can learn from Innocent? Don’t take social media too seriously. Make fun of yourself: it’s no big deal. You don’t have to yell with the crowd: when everyone is trying to shout louder than the others, try to talk in your own voice. People will thank you for it.
I dream of a future where brands stop belittling people and wasting their time.
Let’s make it happen.
Thank you for reading! If you liked it, go ahead an press the heart button or share it with your friends on Twitter!
Thanks to the amazing Mangrove friends Antonin Archer, Adriana Vecc, Matthieu Leventis and Olivier Thomas for the help. This was originally published on blog.youlovewords.com (in French).
