Culture-Leading Brands Start With Consumer Connection

Ten years ago, there were brands that didn’t know if they wanted to be on social media. The concern was natural. At that point, companies needed to think about how they could maintain their brand in a space where control was shared by brands and consumers.?

Nowadays, being on social isn’t a question. A recent 1000heads survey found that 94% of brands have been on social for at least 12 months. But wondering how to maintain a brand on social is still a concern for most companies because social media is always changing. Beyond platform updates and new technologies, the way consumers use social and what they expect from brands continues to evolve.?

In the social age of digital transformation, it isn’t enough for brands to simply engage with communities — they have to be truly connected to culture. These days, brands are being asked to get a bit weird.

The Move From Safe to Strange

Platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook are well-suited to brands maintaining the same personality they’ve always used in their advertising. For example, Instagram content looks immaculate, LinkedIn content looks professional, and YouTube content regularly has high production values.

But as brands increasingly adopt platforms like TikTok and Discord, they’re entering spaces where having a pristine look feels out of place. What looks normal on Instagram doesn’t look quite right on TikTok; it’s a platform that asks brands to move away from perfection and embrace being a little rough around the edges.

Similarly, Discord asks brands (quite forcefully) to cede control to individuals who post for the brand. The result is that brands need to be open to being personal and unpolished to find success on these platforms.?

According to our survey, 82% of respondents are on Facebook and 60% on Instagram, but only 26% on TikTok and 17% on Discord. It is perhaps the lack of control that makes brands hesitant to lean into these less conventional platforms. But, when done with the purpose of co-creating with one’s community and truly connecting to the culture you make together, magic can happen.

The Importance of Being Culture-Connected

Being culture-connected is all about understanding the spaces inhabited by customers and authentically being present in those spaces. We know brands care about this — our survey found that 57% of businesses say the majority of their social media communication involves building community around their brand through peer-to-peer conversation. Thus, brands need to think about how they can show up authentically in these spaces, even if it means having a hard look at their brand guidelines and tone-of-voice and deciding that they need to loosen up.?

Reddit is a strong example of this. In a space where the competition outspends them in marketing by the multiples, Reddit needed to take a unique approach to draw consumers in and keep them there. The result is a brand that is built largely with consumers.?

At SXSW this year, Reddit’s CMO Roxy Young shared examples of how their marketing approach has evolved to fully embrace community. Instead of advertising their brand with their logo and pre-approved one-liners, they have decided to listen to their community and advertise how Reddit helps users connect with the things they care about. For example, knowing that their community cared about political activism, they created an out-of-home campaign that took a uniquely “Reddit” approach to this topic.?

Credit: Campaign US

Credit: D&AD

Roxy felt that the campaign was truly a success when consumers began to engage with it in a way that allowed Reddit to start a dialogue with them. Reddit didn’t just want to be connected to the culture of their audience — they wanted to create it together.?

Credit: D&AD

Reddit’s CMO acknowledged that this type of interplay with consumers can be hard because brands lose some amount of control over how their brand looks and shows up in the world. However, she argues that the results are well worth it and encourages brands to be brave and loosen their grip on the brand bible; opting instead for a “brand operating system” that acts more like guidelines than staunch rules. This, she says, gives you guidelines to act quickly and authentically without losing brand integrity.?

Being Less Polished Is Becoming The Norm

While not every brand is fully ready to embrace their version of toast being nailed to a tree, most brands can start to take this leap by embracing less polished social platforms, like TikTok and Discord, or even just more co-creation-oriented features on top platforms.?

New features on long-running platforms may further push your brand into being less brand-y. Tools like Twitter Spaces and Facebook’s live audio rooms encourage being more in-the-moment and focusing less on production values and polish.?

Our research found that 84% of brand leaders believe social media will be a very or extremely important communication tool for their business or brand in the next two years. In an already crowded space, embracing the culture of your community in an authentic way could be the secret to standing out. When you think about it that way, getting weird with your consumers on social doesn’t seem that strange at all.

Learn more about culture connected strategies and the four other principles of a social brand in our white paper: The Social Age of Digital Transformation.?

Share your story! What’s a unique way your favorite brand has embraced or been a thought leader in culture??