Social media can feel like a non-stop thrill ride through striking images, full-throttle video, big-budget contests and savvy influencers—especially if you’re in the company of brands like Nike, Tesla, GAP or Starbucks.
But what if you belong to the “boring” industries of the world? We won’t name names, but many marketers in industries like healthcare and not-so-sexy consumer goods struggle to get inspired when it comes to their marketing initiatives. How can you use social media to stand out and keep your followers engaged in what you have to say?
Luckily, there are plenty of ideas here on how to use social media for “boring” companies—so let’s get started.
Focus on the End Users
Your company may not be exciting, but what about your clients’ businesses? Customer relationship management software may not excite the masses, but Insightly does a fantastic job highlighting its end users who have success with their CRM product. A fancy, shiny piano is way more attractive than a picture of software dashboards (yawn).
Instead of only posting about product features or software updates, Insightly demonstrates how its software is used by some of the world’s most renowned organizations. Not only does this legitimize the company; it also helps build trust and awareness for the brand. Think of the bigger picture.
Embrace Your Differences
Even if your company isn’t an industry pioneer, surely there are unique selling points that set you apart from your competitors. Tide Dry Cleaners isn’t the first dry cleaning service, yet they’re doing something different: drive-thru service. Surely, this lifestyle upgrade is an attractive feature.
When you want to highlight your differences, think about how you could do that in the most interesting way. Can you create a video tour of your business or a how-to video for your product? Is there a way to highlight the culture at your company or your talent? What makes you different makes you exciting.
Don’t Believe Us? Take Their Word For It
Here’s another direction on how to use social media for boring industries: have someone else do it for you. That’s right; I’m talking about influencer marketing. For example, Dyson knows vacuuming isn’t sexy…unless an attractive Parisian designer is talking about it on social media.
Dyson’s new product showcased by a popular non-celebrity influencer.
It’s a fact that people are more likely to buy a product or service recommended by social media influencers. But that doesn’t mean you can just hand over your social media duties to any influencer; you need to find the best fit. Data shows that non-celebrity influencers are 10x more likely to influence an in-store purchase than celebrities. If you can get influencers talking about your brand in a non-promotional way, then you’re more likely to expand your reach and boost brand awareness. (And as we’ve mentioned plenty of times before, influencers who genuinely like and use your product are often happy to promote it in an authentic way, often at low or no cost).
Bring the Humanity (and Humor)
Just because you feel like your company is “boring” doesn’t mean your social media needs to be. In fact, why not shoot for the direct opposite. Charmin embraces toilet humor on its social media pages, using hashtags like #TweetFromTheSeat and #EnjoyTheGo. They also do an excellent job of injecting humanity into their posts.
Social media users are more likely to engage with posts that are entertaining, so why not give them a reason to do so with your brand? Let your followers see the humanity behind your brand.
Whether your business is toilet paper, cleaning supplies, software or another “boring” type of company, there are ways to let your light shine on social media. How do you use social media for “boring” companies? Begin with an authentic story, include your customers’ experiences, and let others join you in telling it across social media.
And don’t forget to give your followers a reason to laugh every now and then.
Are you a marketer for a company that doesn’t tend to lend itself to creative content? Get inspired with Simplilearn’s Advanced Social Media Marketing certification training, packed with real-life case studies and projects to keep you inspired long after the course is complete.
