4 minute read

Social Etiquette

5 TIPS TO GET STARTED ON SOCIAL

By Victoria Eklund of Jungle Social

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Not too many years ago, it would have been unfathomable to have a direct line of contact with your audience. Today, we don’t just have that line of contact, but a deeply rooted connection to consumers through a little something called social media. Through social platforms, brands have the opportunity to ask questions, take polls, provide customer service, and even take a peek directly into the lives of the individuals that make up your audience (that’s called social listening!). But with all of these resources at your fingertips, how do you make the most out of your social strategy?

As a Creative Director in Social Media Marketing, and now an agency owner, I have some guidance for founders who are ready to launch their new brands online. Keep in mind; it’s a full-time job. Successful brands have large teams and a significant budget allocated solely to social. If you’re not ready to hire help, start where you can. But whatever you do, do not underestimate the immense power of marketing through social media. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind when it comes to building your initial social media strategy.

LIMIT THE PRODUCT IMAGES

As a new brand, you want brand awareness and for people to recognize your product packaging. However, don’t expect to get away with simply posting pictures of your product all the way down your feed: your product on a rock, your product held in someone’s hand, your product on a colorful background. Think from the audience’s perspective; what are they gaining from your images? What value do they bring? Don’t be the brand version of someone who only posts selfies!

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

I can’t stress this one enough. Every day, I have brands coming to me asking to be just like *insert your favorite cult brand here*. The reason these brands (think: Oatly, Recess, NUGGS) are so successful is partially thanks to innovative, edgy creative, but more importantly, this creative was informed by data on their very specific target audience. If you do one thing only, do this: create consumer profiles. Know your consumer like you know your best friend — their purchasing habits, lifestyle, behavioral traits. Spend time on this, and use it to inform your creative or provide to your creative partner.

VALUABLE CONTENT

Once you have a solid handle on your target customer, start thinking about and researching what interests them and what kind of content will excite them. You can provide valuable content through humor and entertainment (everyone loves a good meme), useful recipes (not only using your product), or a place to connect with like-minded individuals. Try to think outside the box, while staying relevant to your specific consumer persona. For example, Oatly created an instagram account to highlight baristas, the meme account @fuckjerry promotes their product Jaja Tequila, Barilla used Spotify to share playlists that correspond with the cooking time of their pastas. Try to focus less on ROI and more on how you can give, give, give to the consumer.

BRANDING

Ideally, you’ve worked with a branding team to develop your visual identity, color palette, brand story, core values, brand voice, and so on. At the very minimum, you have your logo and colors for your packaging. This look and feel needs to be consistent throughout all of your outward communication to the world — including your social media platforms. If you do not have a dedicated team working on your digital content, make sure that you have a brand guide that you can share with anyone creating content for you. If you are working with a photographer or videographer for example, make sure that they have access to your color palette and any mood boards that represent your desired visual creative direction. ered enough. Again, develop your brand voice based on your consumer profile. Do the research. How do they speak to one another? How can your brand be one of them? Are you a relatable brand whose consumer communicates through abbreviated texting and slang? Do you want to establish yourself as a go-to source of information in your industry and build trust with your audience? What words do you or don’t you use? How do you want to make your audience feel? Developing a consistent, intentional tone of voice is key in building authentic relationships with your consumer.

Victoria Eklund is the Founder and Creative Director of Jungle Social, a creative agency specialized in making CPG brands look their best on social media. Victoria strongly believes that creatives carry a responsibility to output imagery that is genuinely inclusive and meaningful. When she is not working she spends her time styling her dinner plate for IG stories, lurking on Clubhouse and most recently; rollerblading and dabbling in NFTs.

www.jnglsocial.com jnglsocial @jnglsocial

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