Tapping into what’s happening in pop culture is a solid component of your brand’s social media content plan.
Let’s look at the Super Bowl. Aside from the actual football game people are paying close attention to the ads…both on TV and online. Ever since 2013 when the lights went out, every brand is hoping to have an “Oreo moment.” But as great as that sounds not every brand will, can, or should make this a goal.
Optimistically, it would be great to be like Oreo — they saw an opportunity to cleverly engage when the lights went out and it worked. But tactics like this depend on the moment, the context, and of course the brand.
Can your brand realistically make a moment like that work? Will the brand voice fit? Or is it forced?
These are questions you need to ask before you jump into the “cultural” conversation.
For a fashion brand, something like the Grammy’s or the Academy Awards make sense. There’s a lot you can do to jump into that conversation- fashion, beauty, films. But, continuing with the Super Bowl example, you want to tread carefully– unless your fashion brand has a connection to health or athletics– it could be too far of a stretch to make sense.
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Contextual Relevance is the main ingredient. There is no need to be a part of every conversation. Choose the ones where the content will resonate with the audience; where the audience will be more likely to engage with you.
And remember, it’s OK if the event is a smaller occasion. Think about something like Coffee Day– this is a fun discussion that you can certainly relate to as a business owner! Sometimes smaller events allow brands to stand out more easily. Then you can work your way up to the larger ones, and continue to create greater engagement.
Next ingredient is Planning. It’s important that you know for a lot of brands real time isn’t usually in real time. It’s planned and prepared for. That’s not to say you can’t also be engaging real time….just make sure you have some stuff scheduled too.
When you know certain events will be happening such as an award show, big football game, conference like SXSW, Mardi Gras, or any other exciting event that people will be talking about, your brand should prepare ahead.
There are two ways to go about this:
- Be at the ready – have your community manager and creative designer/copywriter {even if that’s you} at the ready during the event. When you see something trending or an optimal opportunity to take advantage of hop on it. You don’t need a paid media budget when you have a hashtag many people are following.
- Have planned content ready to go – Not every brand has the time to be at the ready. So plan ahead. You know an event is happening every year on a certain date and time. Prepare content for it and schedule it to go on your social channels with the appropriate hashtag. You’ll be a part of the conversation with less stress!
By taking these things into account, you’ll be better positioned to see results from your social media efforts.