Entertaining social media content isn’t just good for brand lift, it drives conversions, said Kate Kenner Archibald, CMO for social media marketing company Dash Hudson.
For brands targeting young consumers like Urban Outfitters or prebiotic soda company Poppi, entertaining content requires engaging with consumers by uplifting their content. “We really want to make sure that we’re not only part of your feed but part of your conversation,” said Cyntia Leo, head of brand marketing at Urban Outfitters. Here is how Urban Outfitters and prebiotic soda brand Poppi achieve that goal.
“This [Gen Z] consumer, the attributes are totally different from different generations. They’re not consuming ads the same way,” said Leo. “If they see something that really feels like an ad, they’re just going to swipe up and skip them.”
Urban Outfitters serves these ad-weary consumers by finding organic, user-generated content by searching the brand name and tags and amplifying what it finds with paid social spend. Videos consumers take in stores or trying on products can inspire viewers to visit stores to see new products or setups. “Some of our highest-performing content is the content that was just showing what happens in our stores,” said Leo.
Poppi takes a similar approach to finding user-generated content. “We constantly are scraping who’s tagging us in stuff,” Allison Ellsworth, founder and chief brand officer.
“If you try to do the same [on each platform], you’re going to look a little corporate and not in touch with culture,” said Ellsworth.
“Instagram offers a great opportunity, especially through Reels, to reach people you haven’t spoken to before,” said Archibald. That means content on Instagram should clearly represent the brand through visuals that showcase its products and aesthetic.
As the first touchpoint for many consumers, Instagram is “almost like your website,” said Ellsworth. That means Instagram grids need to be curated in such a way that a user can understand at a quick glance what a brand’s ethos is.
TikTok is more playful. Content can be more varied, and brands should interact with and comment on consumers’ posts. “[Posters] want you to reply. It’s almost an expectation on that channel.” TikTok comments with likes and engagement rise to the top of the comments feed, which means brand comments should be funny or surprising to encourage users to heart react. Comments can drive clicks back to Urban Outfitters’ owned channel, which in turn can inspire people to visit stores.
Poppi focuses on micro creators to drive conversions. “Your sweet spot is going to be in the 30,000- to 500,000-follower range. Once you get past a million it's basically going to be awareness, [and] you’re not going to get many conversions from that,” said Allsworth.
Finding smaller communities and reaching them at the right time is also important. For example, Urban Outfitters focuses on reaching high school seniors right after graduation with content related to dorm room decor, because that is when they’re most excited and looking for that inspiration, said Leo. That audience can then become consumers and post content related to their own dorm decor later on.
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