“Show your personality,” brands are told, “Find a way to make yourself unique.”
We’re shown examples from professional comedians and TV shows and even restaurants with to-die-for, drool-inducing photos when we’re told this.
Sure, anyone can create a great brand with a lot of personality on social media. What a lot of blog posts and resources fail to mention is that this is much harder to do if you’re in a “boring” industry. Of course it will be easier for a famous comedian to get more engagement on social media than it would be for an accounting firm. Of course that popular restaurant with the gorgeous plating will have an easier time than the small bookstore down the street.
This doesn’t mean, however, that doing so is impossible. There are plenty of brands in “boring” industries that have gotten a little creative and found ways to kill it on social media. In this post, we’re going to look at four of those examples and see how you can emulate their strategies for yourself.
1. Rev Transcription Services
There are plenty of individuals and small businesses (and large businesses) that offer transcription services. It’s not a particularly thrilling industry overall, but Rev has managed to create social media content that shows a ton of personality and draws users in.
Their social media content is alright, with a few exceptional posts that demonstrate brand personality like the “bring your dog to work day” post below. What they’ve managed to do incredibly well, however, is their PPC and Facebook Ad campaigns.
Rev has used pop culture references and wit to capture user attention and get their point across incredibly effectively in their Facebook Ads. In the example below, they use the Kermit Sipping Tea meme, which is an extremely popular one on social media to throw some shade at someone. This immediately jumps out in feeds, and actually got my attention enough that I hired them for a project.
They also used the ever-popular cat video meme to capture attention in a separate ad. By utilizing pop culture content and a sense of humor, they make themselves stand out quickly.
2. Wendy’s
Restaurants in general have it a little easier on social media than some other brands. Fast food, I’d argue in many ways, does not; the food isn’t quite as picture-perfect, and the menus are pretty set and limited. Big name brands typically take fewer risks with social personality, because it’s hard to maintain and can be risky. Wendy’s has found a way to be the exception.
Wendy’s Twitter account has actually gone viral several times thanks to the account managers’ quick wit. They actively roast both other users and their competitors, nd let the UGC and shares carry them to social infamy in the best possible way.
Admittedly, roasting customers isn’t something that is advisable for every single brand (and they still take customer service seriously when they need to). But the brand’s one-liners and zingers keep users actively coming back to Wendy’s; they’re excited to interact with the brand and see what they come up with next. That’s a pretty great place to be.
3. Purple Furniture & Mattresses
This is one of those businesses that everyone should think about. I mean really, what could be more boring that mattress shopping? Purple, however, is a furniture and mattress store that is bursting at the seams with so much brand personality that they’re killing it on social media.
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They use diverse, fascinating characters and a wacky sense of humor that make you want to keep watching. These characters come to life thanks to their liberal use of video marketing, which they both post on social media and actively promote through PPC campaigns.
They also incorporate pop culture references, trending topics, and timely events like holidays with their quirky sense of humor to create an endless source of great, entertaining content that users are excited to see. And the majority of this content somehow includes mattresses, seat cushions, and bed frames. No one else has much of an excuse when you think about it.
4. Gainesville Police Department
Police departments are not known for their overwhelming personalities; they’re often extraordinarily official and to-the-point. This makes sense. But whoever runs Gainesville Police Department’s social media has proven that this doesn’t have to be the case.
They use an incredible sense of humor and on-going jokes to win people over. A great example of this is how they embraced that one of their photos of three good looking officers went viral. The department continued to post pictures of attractive, single cops to show off their sense of humor.
They also use video marketing and share pictures that feature charismatic, personal cops from the department to humanize the department. This helps to establish more trust, which is essential to the well-being of the community.
What We Can Learn From These Brands
There’s a lot we can learn from these brands, each of which has found a way to show their personality to bond with followers despite having “boring businesses.” They use humor, wit, trending topics, pop-culture, and unique characters to set themselves apart. They’ve incorporated these characters and storytelling into their content on social media to help humanize the brand, and keep users watching about what was going to come from the account next.
You can use these strategies for your own brand, helping you to gain social traction. This will allow you to get more followers, build engagement, and grow your business organically.
What do you think? Do you know of any brands that have “boring businesses” but killer social media? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
