Social media is an eclectic mix of post types, depending on the actual platform being used. Across all platforms, however, some of the most common posts are funny or amusing memes and inspirational quotes.
The question many business owners ask is: “Do these amusing or inspirational quotes have a place in business social media strategies?”
The best social media campaigns are comprised of an array of materials. Pure sales advertising of your product on your social media posts will become uninteresting and even potentially annoying to your followers over a remarkably short period of time and, let’s face it, these are not the posts that tend to be shared.
Social media users are more likely to engage with – and importantly, repost and share – posts that are meaningful to them. Inspirational, motivational quotes and funny material appeals widely and it is through these that the most social engagement is achieved.
Inspirational quotes
It is true that inspirational quotes can be divisive; people tend to love them or loathe them. They can, however, be a very clever tactic when used to boost social media user engagement. They work for many, many social media users, and as such, they can be remarkably successful when used as a social media marketing strategy for a vast array of brands.
Inspirational quotes work particularly well on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest. These image-geared platforms demonstrate the extended reach such a post can garner, via likes and shares.
Many users of Facebook, for example, use an inspirational quote as their profile picture or cover photo. These quotes are amongst those posts that generate the highest user response. When used well, this can translate to a vastly extended reach in the thousands or even hundreds of thousands. The best social media campaigns recognise and take advantage of this.
Why do social media users love inspirational quotes so much?
There is actually both an art and a science to inspiration and motivation. Ideas generate new ideas. The ideas of others, in the form of quotes, inspire new perspectives and can spur one on to new understanding, cementing beliefs, or giving one a new way of looking at some aspect of life. A quote that is meaningful to a person fosters a feeling of solidarity and unity with the rest of the world. Sharing these makes them both accessible and relatable. They affirm what we already know or believe about life and ourselves. A quote is simply a succinct and appealing way of communicating a larger concept.
By engaging with a quote that has meaning to them, social media users publicly define who they are, both for the benefit of themselves and others.
As a business owner, the types of inspirational or motivational quotes you share also define who you are as a brand.
Many experienced social media experts strongly advocate the use of quotes in business social media strategies. The golden rule? Make them universally appealing.
Tips for using inspirational quotes
- Make sure that, at all times, the content you post on your business social media platform reflects and is driven by your business objectives. “Likes” are all well and good, but having hundreds of likes means nothing if click throughs are not a result. At least some of your follower engagement should result in further effort on their part to learn about what you offer as a business. Brand awareness and ultimately selling are your end game.
- Seek out inspirational quotes that support your brand and its purpose. This will help you to target and focus upon your audience, as well as to depict your brand. Align posts to your brand’s purpose.
- Don’t saturate your page with material. Too many posts will annoy your followers.
- You not only need to gain attention for your page; you need to maintain it. This means you need a lot of material to share and it should not all be the same – mix it up.
Funny memes
Perhaps even more popular than inspirational quotes on social media are funny memes. By injecting your posts with humour, you can affect a level of user engagement that is unprecedented. Just as the use of humour is an effective advertising strategy, thereby allowing for audience connection and for a brand to be humanised, so too these principles can be applied to social media for business.
Too much of life is serious, and when people use social media, be it on waking in the morning, during a break at work or during after-hours down time, they are seeking a more lighthearted connection with what is happening in the online world. Using social media to share amusing pictures or concise anecdotes is a powerful way to inject some humour into and personalise your brand.
Tips for using humour to help create the best social media campaigns:
- Try to source humour that will appeal to a wide audience; never post anything to your business social media that can be construed as offensive in any way. Bad taste jokes and controversial topics are also to be avoided at all times.
- Material is even better if it applies in some way to your business. Your target audience will be able to relate to this and the right material will help set the tone for your business. For example, if your business relates in any way to the pet-care industry, sharing content such as “Grumpy Cat” or “dog shaming” memes will be highly likely to elicit a significant level of user engagement and distribution from your customer base.
- Try to find the amusing aspect of everyday life as it can be applied to your brand. Even the most uninteresting product or service can be seen in a way that is hilarious. Even if your company is all about serious business, there is no reason all of your posts need to be as well. There is always a place for laughter.
- There is a plethora of material already out there just waiting to be discovered and shared – all it takes is some time and creative thinking. Alternatively, you can create your own. Assess audience responses to material you post on a continual basis and tweak your approach as required to get the best results. Likes, comments, reposts and shares are a valuable way to gain insight into your audience.
- For example, “Friday funnies” can be a great way to wrap up the working week. Post something amusing, be it a cartoon or funny photograph to engage your target audience as they welcome the weekend.
Consider why you are using social media in the first place:
The whole point of using social media for business it to increase brand awareness, attract new customers, give your brand legitimacy and reflect your brand through the material you share with your followers. Appealing to your audience on an emotional basis will improve your chances of persuading them to further engage with your brand and the product you are selling.
Here are nine more ways you can make social media work for you in your business.
A clever marketing campaign will help your target audience to remember and recognise you and what you represent. By adding humour and inspiration to your brand and business, you are engaging their emotions without overplaying your self-promotion card.
Material shared via any social media platform should be done so with consideration that is both strategic and well planned. Social media posts should represent a blend of being informative, being helpful and fun, targeted to your customer base and creating cohesion between the online and offline identities of your brand. Doing so guarantees a great return on your time and social media marketing efforts.
Stay ahead of the game by keeping up with the latest social media trends. You won’t be sorry.
Social media a great tool for raising awareness, generating leads and boosting your bottom line. If LinkedIn is your preferred social media channel, check out our free LinkedIn eCourse to help you get the most out of the platform for your business.