The best brands and retailers have meticulous social media strategies that ensure they post the kind of content their audiences want to see.
Social media offers huge growth opportunities. According to research from Sprout Social, one in three shoppers use social media to discover new products and brands.
And, with consumers spending an average of 2 hours and 27 minutes on social media daily, reports Data Reportal, it’s the perfect place to reach new customers, show off your products, and foster brand awareness.
With so many more brands jumping on the bandwagon, it’s becoming increasingly important to take your social media strategies to the next level by introducing fun and humorous content, offering exciting promotions, and engaging shoppers on a daily basis.
Here’s how five brands and retailers are leveraging their social media strategies for success.
1. Dollar Shave Club
Shaving brand Dollar Shave Club has carved its own unique place in the grooming industry and has built a fun personality for itself, which is evident across its social media channels.
On Instagram, the brand posts an organized mix of useful tutorials, user-generated content (UGC), and humorous illustrations that depict everyday scenarios its target audience might face.
Handy frequently asked questions (FAQs) and pop quiz story highlights help shoppers find the right products and tackle potential purchasing hesitations.
The sentiment continues on TikTok with plenty of short, snappy point-of-view (POV) videos and humorous, relatable content.
Dollar Shave Club is a pro at keeping things lighthearted while still showcasing the benefits of its products.
Takeaways From Dollar Shave Club's Social Media Strategy
Take your social media strategy to the next level by:
- Using fun visuals and illustrations to create a unique, eye-catching social feed;
- Leveraging social media features (like story highlights) to answer questions and guide shoppers through the buying process; and
- Creating content that's super relatable for your target audience to increase engagement.
2. Innocent Drinks
Innocent Drinks is a minor celebrity on Twitter. The brand relentlessly showcases its fun and humorous personality through punny Tweets, jokes, and replies. Its followers can almost count on the brand's daily dose of humor. 
The brand’s TikTok account is the same, but instead of punny text-based replies, the brand shares snippets of humorous videos that are equally relatable but still manage to incorporate its smoothies.
Takeaways From Innocent Drinks’ Social Media Strategy
Take your social media strategy to the next level by:
- Creating a solid, consistent presence across multiple social media channels;
- Repurposing content to match the platform you’re on (Innocent uses snappy video content on TikTok and purely text-based content on Twitter); and
- Creating a strong brand personality — don’t be afraid to crack a few jokes.
3. Zalando
Fashion retailer Zalando leans heavily on its loyal customer base for its social media strategy. UGC plays a huge role across all of its channels — including Instagram where the majority of photos in the brand’s feed have been submitted by a fan.
The brand’s Instagram bio includes a hashtag for customers to use when they want to share a photo or video of them wearing a Zalando product.
On TikTok, the brand partners with influencers to keep up their UGC content strategy. Their partnerships include unboxing videos, mini fashion shoots, and wardrobe tutorials from some of the industry’s best-loved names.
Takeaways From Zalando’s Social Media Strategy
Take your social media strategy to the next level by:
- Bringing your customers on board and encourage them to create content you can share across your channels;
- Partnering with relevant influencers to spread the word about your products; and
- Creating a brand hashtag where you can collect UGC.
4. Rituals Cosmetics
Rituals Cosmetics’ Instagram page promotes a warm vibe. Its feed is packed full of beautiful, cozy photography that showcases its products in magical settings, but its story highlights takes this a step further and creates a lifestyle around the brand.
The highlights offer yoga tips, beauty tutorials, gift guides, sleep help, and meditations, showing the brand really understands the interests of its customer base.
Image Source: Rituals Cosmetics Instagram
On TikTok, the brand succeeds in creating cozy little moments through short videos, including meditations, gentle morning routines, and close-ups of its products.
Takeaways From Rituals Cosmetics’ Social Media Strategy
Take your social media strategy to the next level by:
- Focusing on high-quality photos in your brand colors to create a slick and cohesive social feed;
- Considering other common interests your audience might have and create content around that too; and
- Sharing small moments that showcase your products in the best light.
5. The Home Depot
The Home Depot sells all kinds of homeware, from candles and lights to shelves and furniture. Rather than sharing picture-perfect shots of its products on social media, the retailer creates educational content that shows its followers how to put up shelves and how to correctly hang lights.
This positions the retailer as an expert and do-it-yourself (DIY) guide, not just a store that sells homeware.
On Instagram, it runs the #THDdoerproject that highlights customer DIY projects for an extra dose of social proof and engagement.
Image Source: The Home Depot Instagram
On TikTok, it’s a similar story. The Home Depot shares short clips of DIY tips and tutorials to help customers make the most of their purchases.
Takeaways From the Home Depot’s Social Media Strategy
Take your social media strategy to the next level by:
- Creating educational content to position yourself as an industry expert;
- Posting engaging tutorials and guides to show customers how to make the most of their purchases; and
- Creating a hashtag customers can use to share their creative ideas.
Create Your Own Unique Social Media Strategy
The type of content you post on social media will ultimately depend on the products you sell and your customer base.
Consider the interests of your target audience and build out a content plan that incorporates a mixture of videos, tutorials, UGC, and beautiful brand photography.
Then, make sure your messaging is cohesive across all social channels to build a solid and memorable online presence.
Once you have a consistent strategy in place, you can start experimenting with personalized ads, new social media features, and additional channels.
To benefit from the huge opportunities on social media, you need the right approach. Having a solid social media presence can give you a competitive edge, help build strong connections with customers, and boost overall loyalty and retention rates.
Ready to start leveraging social media for your brand? Check out “The Social Commerce Crash Course For Brands” for tips on how to launch a winning strategy.
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