As social media platforms tighten the reigns on online advertising content, businesses have found a need more than ever to stay top of mind and keep a pulse on the latest news and trends in their industries so their followers continue to grow and engage with their content and brand as a whole.

While it is imperative to offer thought-provoking and relevant content to your industry, you might also consider adding a twist to your channels. When it comes to social media for small businesses, it’s time for your brand to get personal and showcase the people behind the company.

We know, we know. There are plenty of reasons this thought turns you off.

• You don’t want to be in front of the camera
• You want to keep your personal life separate from your business life
• You believe people just want the facts with no fluff

Shall we go on?

While you may want to believe others don’t want to hear from the people behind your brand, you have to force this common business marketing myth out of your mind.

Think about it from a different perspective – would you really be interested in following and engaging with small businesses that only discussed their business and services? Of course not! Bringing real life happenings into the mix offers your audience a chance to connect with you and strengthen their relationships with your brand.

For example, one of our clients, Olde Towne Cutlery, sells knives nationwide. They had a great start to their social media channels when they were posting about the various knives and sharing information about the makers of those knives. But engagement spiked when they added a face to the company. They began sharing photos of their family trips to different states as they visited new knifemakers. They added photos of videos of their family playing in the snow during the first snowfall in 2017.

And as they shared their story inside and outside of Olde Towne Cutlery, the following began to happen:

• Post impressions and post likes increased
• People commented more on their posts about related incidents or events
• Direct messages increased with questions about their products
• They gained more website traffic

Just the same but in a different industry, our client AV Solutions gains engagement (post likes and comments) when they share a post with their office pet, a Goldendoodle named Peyton. Even though a dog might not seem related to audiovisual services and/or technology, there are ways to make the content fun and relevant, even if it’s just to wish followers a happy holiday or to promote watching Halloween movies in a home theater by taking a photo of an office pet watching TV.

So why share personal content on your business channels?

• Adds fun, engaging content to your channel
• Adds variety to your promotional and thought-provoking content
• Humanizes your brand to help people better connect with your company
• Increases shares and comments on your posts, which increases the reach and impressions for your post and your company page in return

And lastly, what should you share?

• Office party photos
• Everyday office fun
• Holiday photos/videos
• Tradeshow/office events
• Business meeting highlights
• Favorite lunch/coffee spots
• Team member showcases and/or outside hobbies

Ready to start, but not sure how? Our content marketing strategists would love to help your company get personal with your customers, clients and employees.

Call on the dogs at Mopdog for help staying top of mind.