Things Brands Can Do On Social Media Other Than Sell

The main function of any business is to sell a product or service to a base of clients or customers. From a brand’s bottom line to the way they come across in advertisements, “selling” is what most brand messaging tends to do. As direct and effective as it can be, it can really limit the ways you advertise and share your brand with the world if you only have that type of to-the-point messaging to offer at any given time. There are plenty of other ways that brands can engage with fans, followers, customers and the general public without always selling. Here are just a few.

Tell A Story

Some of the best advertisements tell a story, and this can be in written, audio, image-based or video format. Find the “story” within your brand and make that the forefront of a particular campaign. Obviously, it will be important to tie your brand into the story to keep it relevant, but there are plenty of products and service that have great tales come out of it. Think about infusing user-submitted content or even conducting a focus group if you have to. Find things that resonate with people in a way that goes beyond the use of a product.

Fix A Problem

Every product or service exists to address a particular problem, whether big or small. It’s important that you find ways to explain this correlation so your brand doesn’t become another in an industry that might be oversaturated. You might go into it thinking your product or service addresses one issue, but might later learn the others it can address as well. This is especially the case for items that are multi-purpose in any way. In that case, it’s imperative that you play up that aspect for future customers know just how useful it is.

Start A Conversation

Much like telling a story, starting a conversation is a great way to connect with your customers both past and prospects. It’s also a great way to engage your followers by asking them to get involved. Start a hashtag that speaks to something within your industry and ask your followers to sound off and share some of the ideas on your own accounts. You might find that many people will come for the conversation and stay for your brand if you approach it the right way. It’s a good way to appeal to an even wider set of people. These conversations can also lead to some great and useful feedback for your own brand if you post a question specific to one of your products or service. How can we be better? How can we offer you more than before? Pay close attention to the suggestions you see the most often and try to address them as best as you can. Encourage users to make use of a unique hashtag when sharing so you can keep track of everything when it’s all said and done.