• by Eliott Maidenberg , Columnist, July 19, 2018

Twitter is the social network of champions when it comes to turning brands into icons. Most brands find it difficult to make waves on Twitter because they spend too much time thinking about how to make their branded content appealing to the public instead of trusting their guts and wits. While other platforms can and should be used for brand building through content, brand building on Twitter is a different exercise.

Take Risks

Great brands are like great businessmen; they understand that risk is a pre-requisite for reward. What gives a brand strength is its willingness to forego safety in the pursuit of fun. You can’t have a human social media strategy if you don’t have a humanistic corporate culture, one that favors risk taking, trial and error, and amusement. 

Wendy’s understands the concept of Twitter risk taking more than anyone else. Its brand gained widespread attention when it introduced some sass to its Twitter feed by roasting their customers and competition.

Be Culturally Aware

Originality on social media is important but it shouldn’t be a roadblock to tweeting. When struggling to come up with a truly original strategy, look towards popular culture for inspiration. Memes, gifs, celebrity gossip, political affairs, and popular events are all tweetable so why not make use of them?

Netflix has gained attention for its clever use of GIFs from the shows that it hosts on its platform. This strategy combines owned content with relatable situations to bring consumers closer to the brand, as was the case with its tweets on the Fourth of July.

Be Ready to Communicate

Being available to converse with consumers, even on matters that may seem inconsequential, can elevate the status of a brand. JetBlue, a brand that has managed to garner the affection of its consumers, uses Twitter in a powerful way to ensure customer satisfaction. Its Twitter presence has turned into a customer service power house. One customer got a swift response to his question about a flight change and was happy with the company’s proactive tweet, but he was even more impressed when a member of the JetBlue staff approached him in the terminal to discuss his flight change and give him a branded bag.

Have a Clear Brand Voice

Adapting a banner ad on Twitter simply isn’t going to cut it. The inner voice of a brand is what propels it to success. What kind of person is the brand? What would it say? How would it say it? 

Personality is power on Twitter, a reality that Innocent has capitalized on. Innocent juices has a well-defined brand voice. It is sweet, childishly comedic and, of course, innocent. It communicates in a series of short sentences, about four per tweet, which differentiates its feed from others on the platform. Its most recent tweets about the UK heat wave are a prime example of its style.

Finally, Twitter isn’t just about posting but engaging in human conversations. Building a team that is tailored for this type of engagement is critical to a brand’s success. Handing control of the social media brand voice off to younger members of the organization who understand the brand well is a very effective strategy that executives need to learn to become comfortable with.