The social media landscape is evolving
As platforms become oversaturated with brand content, consumer interest diminishes. Content designed with the sole purpose to sell products and services no longer generates the same results.
User behavior is changing
In a world of uncertainty and isolation, social media is now, more than ever, a tool for comfort and escapism. Understanding user behavior and sentiment towards social media can help you form a successful strategy to captivate your target audiences.
In 2024, social media usage reached an all-time high, the average user spending roughly 2 hours and 27 minutes online daily (source).
What’s driving the usage spike?
The 2024 Global Overview Report identified the primary reasons that people between the ages of 16 and 64 used social media. The results might shock you.
Although results varied, participants had one thing in common:
100% of people surveyed used social media to be entertained.
The GWI study also revealed a key insight that brands must consider when developing a social strategy.
Surprisingly, 50% of participants claimed their primary reason for using social media was to connect with family and friends, which means your content is likely a barrier between your audience and what they truly want to experience while online.
A good social strategist sees this obstacle as an opportunity to get creative.
Get Socially Savvy
Now, take a moment to consider what captures your attention on social media. Chances are, it’s something entertaining. Do your research and determine what the audience you want to reach enjoys online.
This is a vital step in developing a plan to amplify your brand voice and maximize reach.
During the research phase, it’s also valuable to review what your competitors are doing within the social media space. Look at the results they generated and leverage their successes and failures while you conceptualize ideas for your own content strategy.
Keep in mind that what works for one does not work for all. Before you hop on the latest trend, be sure it directly aligns with your brand voice, values, and goals.
If it doesn’t align, it’s okay to miss out on the trend. Trust me, they’re a dime a dozen.
Seamless Integration
Generally, branded content often feels intrusive and will easily be ignored if it doesn’t seamlessly integrate or provide value to the user experience. Gone are the days of making a graphic and calling it a day. Algorithms favor content that’s relevant, engaging, and entertaining.
If the platform ranks your post “low value,” it simply stops showing it! That means the content you spent valuable time and energy creating might not even be seen by your followers, let alone reach new audiences.
On social media, you’re not just vying for attention against your competitors; you’re competing with the entire internet. It’s time to step it up.
The Entertainment Factor
We know that users like to be entertained, but that doesn’t mean you should post your amateur stand-up routine. Although humor can be an effective tool, your content doesn’t need to be comedic to be entertaining.
Entertaining content can encompass a wide range of styles, from educational to inspirational, or just downright enjoyable. Lately, brands are relying heavily on humor to drive traffic, but if not done properly, it can border on unhinged and do more harm than good.
If being funny doesn’t align with your brand voice, don’t worry, it’s not the only approach.
You can be entertaining on social without being funny.
An Eye On The Industry
Top companies across industries have adapted strategies to integrate entertaining content. The execution of their strategy reflects a deep understanding of the social media landscape and has yielded impressive results. Let’s examine how some of the top companies in tech are leveraging entertainment on social media.
Tesla (9.7M Followers)
Tesla’s TM social media content is exactly what you’d expect it to be: high tech and innovative. They maintain a professional approach while evoking short-form video that reflects user generated content (UGC).
Tesla maintains a clean and professional look, but they do on occasion present a more comical side, like with this robot dating video, or giant rubber duck.
With a staggering 36,200 likes and counting, this video seamlessly blends into the user’s social media experience, avoiding the typical feeling of branded content. It’s rapid-fire editing style is attention grabbing.
Eliciting An Emotional Response
The response was polarizing, Tesla has masterfully sparked both delight and fury amongst viewers, and the comments section reflects that perfectly.
Regardless of whether users liked or hated the joke, a conversation was sparked, driving engagement. In this case, Tesla’s pun stirred a variety of emotions among users, prompting them to express their thoughts in the comments.
Reactions ranged from frustration to inquiries about purchasing a Tesla. Despite individual opinions, the video’s ability to evoke emotions and generate comments contributed to its success.
Microsoft (4.3M Followers)
MicrosoftTM takes a more casual approach to social media, seamlessly integrating funny, educational content with professionally produced videos and graphics.
You may be surprised to see Microsoft post about…pancakes?
From an outside perspective this might not make a whole lot of sense, yet the post generated over 4,600 likes. Let’s dive a little deeper into the underlying strategy.
For those embedded in internet culture, you probably know the insane popularity of foodie content (For reference, #foodstagram has over 258,841 posts on Instagram alone).
From a social media perspective, this post is a clever tactic to draw in new users and engage current audiences with content Microsoft knows that people want to see (pancakes) while also representing an iconic element of their brand in a clever way (Clippy).
Microsoft’s content strategy demonstrates a keen understanding of internet culture, often sharing humorous memes that resemble user-generated content (UGC).
A few more examples include a meme for font lovers, a holiday tribute to figgy pudding, and this animated image of a muscular pickle.
Apple (32.2M Followers)
Apple’s TM social media exudes a clean, modern aesthetic, leveraging beautiful and sometimes unexpected photography to engage users.
Their form of entertainment lies in the artistic nature of the content.
The content doesn’t overtly scream “we are a technology company.” In fact, at first glance you’d probably think that this was a professional photography account.
This was done strategically to “trick” the user into engaging with the content.
Think of it this way:
You’re scrolling the feed and see two posts; one is a sales pitch for the new iPhone. The other is a beautiful photograph that just so happens to be taken by the iPhone.
Which post would you engaging with?
For Apple, the content is a means to an end to strengthen relationships with customers and ultimately sell product. They keenly selected the path to maximize results.
shifting our focus
As you can see, some of the largest technology brands are really making a splash on social media, but they’re not the only ones.
Let’s explore tactics that other brands are using to make waves online.
The IRS (153K Followers)
When thinking about the Internal Revenue Service, fun is probably the last thing that comes to mind. Yet, the IRS has adopted a particularly interesting content strategy. See for yourself.
Probably not what you’d expect to see from the government organization that collects taxes.
Based on their content, it’s evident that the IRS marketing team knows they’re fighting against negative brand sentiments. No one LIKES to give money to the IRS. Despite the obstacles, the brand needed a way to capture attention long enough to deliver vital financial information to followers across the country.
The IRS took a big swing, especially with this bold pink content.
The strategy seems to be paying off considering that most posts have generated over 200 likes, an impressive amount given the – let’s face it, often stuffy nature of financial content.
Furthermore, the brand leverages major cultural moments, like holidays and movie releases, paired with a deep understanding of social trends (like this post that capitalizes on the popularity of the viral Elmo tweet and Stanley cup) to convey tax information in a way that is exciting.
ADT Security (31.9K Followers)
Next up, we have ADT TM, a company that sells products with life-saving potential, yet they cleverly integrate entertaining content that reflects pop culture trends.
ADT frequently utilizes memes to convey brand messaging and relate to followers. The brand uses comedy to drive engagement, but occasionally pushes the boundaries with content that borders on the unconventional (like this Interview with a Vampire post, or this philosophical jack-o-lantern meme).
Here’s another example from ADT, which leverages a popular astrology content format you might see being shared on a friend’s feed.
This type of content is not only relatable, but also has a high potential for generating shares and resonating with a wide audience.
While this post only generated 52 likes. Regardless, the strategy was clever and the content was professionally executed. ADT didn’t just piggyback off a popular trend, they leveraged this content type to showcase their product.
One thing is guaranteed, failure is inevitable for even the most seasoned social media practitioner. Keep experimenting and being willing to pivot your strategy when something doesn’t work. Eventually the analytics will reveal everything you need to know!
7 Eleven (1M Followers)
I’m not sure what I expected from the national presence of 7 Eleven TM. Snacks and Slurpees, most definitely. Certainly not car content. 7 Eleven found an opportunity to stand out on social media by leveraging social listening, to deeply understand customer behavior. By observing what consumers were already saying and feeling about the brand, 7 Eleven was able to harness valuable insights that helped drive their content strategy.
Subsequently, the popular convenience store had become a central hub for car and gear head communities to converge. Armed with this insight, 7 Eleven embraced their loyal fanbase.
Eventually the brand began actively engaging influencers from car communities, tailoring the content so it appealed to their audience. By allowing user behavior steer the content strategy, trust and loyalty among their audience became stronger than ever.
Another successful tactic
7 Eleven employed a strategic plan to re-post user generated content.
Despite the content being a re-post from the original creator, this content still generated over 38,034 likes when 7 Eleven shared it.
The Common Thread
The content we reviewed showcased a wide range of topics, from pancake art and DIY videos to Stanley Cup memes and car pictures.
Despite this diversity, the common thread among these brands’ social media efforts was the dedication to entertaining their audiences. Not once did we encounter a direct sales pitch or a call to action urging customers to buy or click a link.
Instead, these brands executed strategies aimed at fostering customer loyalty and trust, while also expanding their brand image, transcending traditional marketing tactics.
Diversify Your Content
While the IRS maintains a serious and professional public image, their approach on social media is refreshingly different. This approach demonstrates the concept of ‘tonal range,’ where brands adapt their tone to suit the platform demographics.
Thus, it’s expected and necessary for brands to modify the tone used on different platforms.
Content should be cohesive across all platforms but should cater to the individual demographics of each. What resonates on LinkedIn will most definitely not fly on TikTok. When evaluating your social media strategy, it’s crucial to consider the unique audiences of each platform and tailor your goals and strategies accordingly.
Each platform offers distinct opportunities and challenges. Understanding these nuances is key to effectively engaging audiences.
Consider what you can do to compel users to stop scrolling and keep that question at the forefront of your strategy.
Strategic Goal Setting
Tracking success is straightforward when you can sell with a click, making it easy to measure conversion rates. However, if you’re offering a service or a product with a long sales funnel, measuring results becomes more complex.
A robust social media strategy should address this challenge by setting SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely.
While the primary business goal might be to sell products or secure partnerships, social media can play a crucial role in earlier stages of the sales funnel. It can help build community trust and raise brand awareness, making it an invaluable tool.
Ultimately, the key is to do what works best for your brand, whether that means focusing on direct sales or using social media for broader brand-building purposes.
Key Take Aways
Social media is always changing. Therefore, to be effective brands must take a nuanced and flexible approach that implements a deep understanding of user behavior.
The success of top companies in leveraging entertainment on social media highlights the importance of creating engaging, value-driven content. Brands should focus on driving engagement with content that improves the user experience, building trust and loyalty rather than solely focusing on sales goals.
By diversifying content, understanding platform nuances, and setting SMART goals, brands can overcome obstacles in measuring success while creating meaningful connections with audiences in the ever-evolving world of social media.
