Social media has two main purposes for brands: placing ads, and posting videos of cats wearing hats. Just kidding (mostly).
The second main purpose of social media for brands is to build a community of loyal followers and to curate a platform where you can speak to those followers directly and authentically. Simple enough, right? You develop one definitive brand voice, and you use that singular voice to write ads that are placed on social media, and to write copy for Instagram captions and Facebook posts that live on those social media sites. One and done, right? Actually, wrong. Ads and social media community management are two separate beasts: under no circumstances should you use the same exact voice for both. This is where many brands get into trouble. We’re about to break down how to speak to both sides of social media while still maintaining your brand persona.
Brand Voice Matters
Brand voice is just as essential to any brand persona or brand marketing strategy as packaging choices or aesthetic direction. The brand voice quite literally sets the tone for all future B2B and B2C interactions on comments and DMs, and informs copywriting on all captions, site copy, packaging, emails and ads. Unique brand voice also helps set a brand apart from competitors in the market (just look at Oatly’s cult following versus the lukewarm followings of competitor oat milk brands), and it helps you speak directly to target consumers, especially those in niche communities like Keto/Paleo dieters, Vegan consumers, etc. Last but certainly not least, a consistent brand voice establishes trust between your brand and your consumers – they know who they’re talking to, what you represent, and how they can expect you to interact with them.
Ads Vs. Community Management: What’s the Difference?
While it’s true that social media ads and social media community management both occur in the same place—on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and even Tik Tok—they are two distinct entities. Ads are straightforward and no nonsense: in their most basic form, they tell you what a product or service is, how much it is, and where to get it. People expect to be served ads as they scroll through news articles, browse listicles or shop online. And they expect the language in those ads to be direct and salesy. On the other hand, community management is all about sounding (and actually being) authentic. This voice should read like a trusted friend or family member.
You Need the Best of Both Worlds
It’s true that your overarching brand persona will influence how you write copy for social media ads and how you interact with fans and followers in your online community. However, the distinction between these two voices and their purpose cannot be overstated. Constantly selling to people on your social feeds sounds inauthentic, robotic and straight up annoying. Conversely, ads must maintain your brand voice (and still sound in-character and personable) while also being direct and to the point in order to drive sales. In order to execute a successful social media strategy and engage in an authentic and meaningful way with followers, you’ll need both voices and a team of strategic copywriters and social media managers. Luckily for you, that’s kind of our thing.
We Got You
In the age of algorithm-driven timelines, sky-high production value and smokin’ hot competition, we know it’s no longer enough to simply put out good content and hope the right eyes will see it. It takes strategy, carefully executed vision and lots and lots of sexy data to make a mark on today’s social media landscape. It should also go without saying, but when it comes to online customer support, it’s also not enough to hire a fleet of bots with automated responses to handle your customer inquiries or your social media community management. Our clients are real people, and their customers are as well. It’s our radical idea that we should talk to everyone on that same level. That’s why each of our posts pairs gorgeous in-house-generated content with smart, warm and truly genuine personality to best resonate with our target audience and maintain a consistent tone throughout all communications, whether it’s ads or IG comments. Chances are, if you’re running a company or launching one from the ground up, you don’t have time to mince words on social media or agonize over the nuances of brand voice. You have bigger fish to fry! That’s why, when you’re ready to call in the big dogs (or should we say, the brainy, wordy, kind-of-obsessed-with-marketing-data dogs), we’ll be there.
