Using Pop Culture in Social Media Marketing
Film, fashion, music, sports. These are the things most people visit social media to talk about. 2020 saw more people indulging in nostalgia as we all seek out things from our past to bring us comfort in difficult times. And in marketing you need to be where everyone else is.
Incorporating elements from pop culture into social media posts allows you to join in more conversations; to be more social. Your audience is going to be much more engaged with posts which are about things they care about.
And it does only need to be a few elements: A Game of Thrones map style, use of a film quote in a title of a post with superhero style graphics. Seasonal occasions are good to use and are easier to add in to a marketing campaign as you know when they are coming. Add some spooky graphics to a post at Halloween or some Christmas sparkle to a newsletter. It’s a great opportunity to show your brand’s personality.
Timing is important though. We’ve previously looked at how important relevance is on Twitter. Trends can change very quickly and it doesn’t take long for something to become out of date. The time to strike is the beginning of a trend. Take the example of a movie trailer. When the trailer is first launched engagement begins as anticipation for the film release grows. You want your brand to be seen with this thing everyone is talking about.
How can you monitor what is hot in pop culture? Well, you can set up Google Alerts for free. Just go to Google.com/alerts and enter a phrase or word you want to monitor. You will then receive regular emails containing links to your chosen topics that have appeared on the web and in the news. You can edit the alerts to select where you want the sources to come from, whether you see all results or just the best results and from what country they originate. (Don’t forget to set an alert for mentions of your company name too!)
Finally you need to be sure that your target audience shares your interests. But it isn’t going to be hard to find something they can relate to.
Great points and definitely something to think about right now – thanks for the inspiration!