Somewhat appropriately, there's an element of diversity to how the word "diversity" is used, so let's address that right away. Are we talking about simple variety, avoiding stagnation through deviations in the route you travel? Or are we referring to the kind of diversity that spans all aspects of the human condition — the type that has inspired so much discussion and action throughout recent years? Well, we're talking about both. They're both critical.
Your brand's social activity absolutely needs to stay fresh and inventive, both for your metrics and for your ability to remain committed (boredom is always a threat). It also needs to get away from naked corporate interests and find worthwhile things to say. The best branded social accounts manage to do these things well and make them look easy, but they need to be more.
If you're putting effort into presenting your brand through social media, then you need to make this a serious priority. You must embrace diversity to maintain your enthusiasm, retain your followers, and possibly damage your reputation. So, what steps can you take to make decent progress? In this piece, we'll cover some decent social diversity tactics. Let's get to them.
Give all your employees opportunities to participate authentically.
While it's great to have one or two social media managers to figure out posting schedules and check that you're using the right hashtags, it's a mistake to lean too heavily on their efforts. It's certainly an issue from a productivity standpoint. The heavily ironic comedy stylings used by so many fast-food brands are, rather appropriately, churned out in bulk by teams of contributors.
But it's also a mistake when it comes to authenticity. The aforementioned fast-food brands can afford to be flippant because they have such resounding brand recognition, with built-up customer bases that just want some entertainment with their burgers. Your brand is not in that position. If you start making social media waves, people will notice what you say and how you say it. It'll inform how they view everything you do.
This is why it's a good idea to give all your employees opportunities to get involved in your social media activity — and why the worst thing you can do is handcuff them with exacting brand guidelines. Having a central ethos is fine, but showing that individuals with varying preferences and identities back your brand is a great thing. It humanizes you, making it easier for you to support (you don't want to appear "cold and indifferent," as Cross & Crown so neatly puts it). So loosen the reins!
Experiment with unfamiliar formats and content types
Short Twitter post, short Twitter post, short Twitter post with stock image attachment. If that accurately reflects your content plan, it's time to change things up. Digital media wonder that you have so many options, from short story videos to interactive infographics.
Many brands opt for basic post types because they're intimidated and don't want to embarrass themselves by making mistakes — but there's nothing wrong with making mistakes.
OK, some mistakes can be disastrous, particularly when you're getting into contentious or taboo topics (it's possible to cover them delicately as Likeable details, but it isn't easy). But making a branded video or shooting a subpar Q&A video won't destroy your reputation.
If you go about your task with dedication and enthusiasm, people will inevitably support you, and your efforts will only get better as you go. So why not make a creative photo montage or whip up some exciting GIFs? Show a willingness to experiment.
Look at things from different national and cultural perspectives.
The drive to build diverse teams has already paid dividends, but you must do more than simply tick boxes. The strength of having a varied team is that you get different skills, views, and styles.
Each person looks at things slightly differently, preventing you from getting rooted too firmly in one way of working. So, in addition to welcoming applicants of all kinds, you need to consider your social output from varying stances.
This is particularly true in the era of global business. In the somewhat likely event that you're trying to nurture a worldwide audience (with the goal of selling to them, of course, whether now or later), you can't just linger in your national viewpoint.
You need to seriously consider what people in other countries want and how they think and communicate.
This is just one reason why building an international team is so valuable. Having employees spread throughout the world offers rich diversity and doesn't have and doesn't offer compelling routes into unfamiliar territories.
If you're hoping to crack the American market, for instance, having an American person represent your brand can be invaluable. And with Employer of Record services making hiring in the US — or indeed, hiring anywhere in the world — perfectly viable for overseas companies, you have no good reason not to consider at least expanding your brand growth past national borders.
Contribute time to supporting and promoting good causes.
Some companies only post in blatantly self-serving ways, and it makes them look utterly cynical. Now, it's true that posting about something on social media will always be self-serving to some extent (the more selfless the act, the more of a positive PR impact it'll have), but that isn't the issue. The problem is the framing. It's always easy to spot when a brand doesn't actually care about something it claims to support. To be different, you need actually to contribute.
Don't just mention a cause. Do something. If you're concerned about poverty, donate funds, food, and items of clothing. If literacy is a particular passion for your brand, invest in reading schemes and help create projects to maintain and grow public libraries. Done well, this is a classic win-win. You get to show that your brand is about more than just profit, and the cause you're endorsing receives a much-needed boost.
You also get great opportunities to wax lyrical about the things that matter to you, and the same goes for each of your employees. This will further bring out the humanity that stops companies from feeling dispassionate. And as we all know, there's no quicker way to connect with someone than to find things you both care about. Keep in mind, though, that your passion must be consistent; it's a core part of having a strong brand voice.
Partner with unique influencers and take creative input
Brands often need to avoid losing touch with their audiences. They start to think they know what people should want and believe they can force it upon them through steady effort. If your customer base doesn't like your revised creative direction, it's merely due to a stubborn reluctance to accept new things: simply double down and keep going. This attitude doesn't work, of course. Just think about what happened with New Coke in the 1980s.
It would help if you accepted that what you want matters less to your business than what your customers want, and you need to stay in touch with their preferences. But how can you do this? One great way to diversify your social activity in beneficial ways is to partner with influencers — but not the extensive and expensive influencers you might consider. Instead, you should look for upstarts: organic influencers just starting to build up some social currency within your audience.
When you do this, don't ape their styles (it's inauthentic, and you'll get them wrong), and don't settle for arranged promotions. Your goal should be to treat the influencers as creative consultants. They can offer so much insight into what your customers want, and openly working with them (mentioning it in your social media posts) will demonstrate your commitment to maintaining a brand that adapts to suit customer demand.
Most brands are utterly dull on social media, and one of the core problems is a need for more diversity (of any kind). By rolling out the tactics we've covered in this piece, you should be able to refresh your social strategy, start building up some social capital, and build a global audience. Good luck!
