Social Media Tip: Talk About Other Brands

I find too often that brands don’t want to mention other brands on their social media channels. They feel they shouldn’t be “diluting” their message, and often feel they’re providing a service for free.

I say this is silly.

The first rule about writing a good ad is to write like you’re speaking with someone. If you write like you talk, you’ll notice that you talk about real world things, using brand names more often than you think. Heck, just think back to anytime you were out at a bar. You didn’t ask for a “spiced rum and soda,” you asked for a “Captain and Coke.”  That’s what makes the show Chopped so odd at times – they won’t use common brand names when referring to food items, so you’re often sitting there trying to figure out just what the hell the ingredients are.

In our day-to-day lives we refer to brands all the time, and that’s why you shouldn’t be afraid to say them on your social media channels. It’s better for communication, and besides, you might accidentally back into a cross-promotion.

Most importantly, however, it allows you to have fun, and fun means interesting to your followers.

Here’s an example:

Your client is AMC, and they want you to write a social media post for their hit show “The Walking Dead” to get people excited about the upcoming new season about the zombie apocalypse. Which of these two posts do you think is going to get the most traffic, shares, and participation?

Option 1:
“Hey folks, The Walking Dead returns February 14th! To celebrate, tell us who is your favorite character and why.”

Option 2:
“Hey folks, The Walking Dead returns February 14th! If Crayola were to make a box of colors celebrating the apocalypse, what new colors do you think would be added? Nuclear orange? Ebolavender? Add your own!”

Not talking about other brands is a handcuff that makes no sense for social media. Besides, only talking about your brand is boring, and bores your audience.

After all, the last time you ordered that Captain and Coke at the bar, did you really want to hang around with the guy who only talked about himself all night?