Humanizing Brands In A New Digital World

What do webinars, NFTs, and Chrissy waking up all have in common? They’re post-pandemic trends that are redefining the digital space. The world has turned to the internet for entertainment, community connection, and even long-term workplaces. This has led to personal networks that expand beyond physical boundaries, diversity in thought-sharing outlets, and new ways to connect, create, and innovate.?

As communities migrate and time spent online increases, many brands seek ways to stay trend relevant, maintain thought leadership, and create a defined online presence. Furthermore, they're looking for an “in” to these digital communities to build brand awareness and audience engagement in new and exciting ways. You can see these innovations redefine experiences such as concert viewership and charity fundraising.?

The key to these inventive successes is genuine integration within the activated trend and platform. Duolingo is a north star case on this front, skyrocketing in followers and app downloads becoming one of the most creative brand growth strategies on TikTok.?

With a growing array of social media platforms and rapidly cycling trends to choose from, how can brands target their marketing efforts to build authentic connections with audiences in the digital space?

The use of social media has increased exponentially since 2020 and so has the investment of brands in online social spaces. The high frequency with which audiences experience ads has sharpened their wit and trained their filter for separating sponsored and organic content.?

Brands need to be more nuanced in their content creation efforts on social platforms, moving away from their pristine corporate identity and taking a new form as more relatable and humanized figures. While you may be seeing trends like “that girl” on TikTok or expertly maintained aesthetics on your favorite influencer’s feed, for brands, we recommend shifting away from staged posts and towards platform native content to improve social media ROI.?

Our campaign data shows that influencer-generated content received 108% more engagements on average than the content shot in the studio. Influencer-generated content allows brands to also reduce production costs for their owned social media program while providing content that more authentically resonated with their viewers.

The digital world has become the newest Wild West and has proven the growth of social platforms, engagement tools, and online communities is endless. In such a vast space with a variety of audience touch points, it’s essential to be specific when defining your primary target audience.

Rather than looking to engage a broad demographic of consumers, i.e. women between 25-35, we recommend defining key traits about your chosen customer to help find where your core audience engages and authentic integration points within those communities. Are they tech savvy? Environmentally conscious? Do they invest in products or are they looking for a bargain buy? Identifying these traits can help strategically target the right communities to engage with, and the best platforms in which to invest.

Social media is full of niche sub-communities ranging from cottagecore to mukbang, and learning the ins and outs of these groups is key to building authentic brand engagement. By targeting the community your consumer frequents, you’ll find more genuine opportunities to connect with existing customers and access to new audiences who already have a pre-existing interest or need for your brand.

Having a diverse set of true influencer advocates as a part of a brand’s social marketing efforts is a tried and true way to connect brands and consumers authentically. Strategic influencer partnership can help build genuine product conversation, encourage thoughtful brand engagement within these communities, and provide a view into the consumer’s needs from trusted voices within the space.

Interested in learning more about how your brand can more authentically connect with audiences online? Looking to scale your existing influencer program? If generating best-in-class social media connections is a priority for your team, feel free to reach out to us at creatordeck.com/contact-us.