In a recent student survey conducted by the Campus Agency, 87.5% of participants reported that they consider social media to be a creative outlet. What does this mean for brands attempting to break through the clutter? Simply put, brands can bring authenticity to the platform by tapping into the creative side of social media.
While some companies have already started to do this, it’s an opportunity that most have left untouched. There are many ways to enter this creative space, but the easiest may be to reach out to artists who are already using social media as a platform for their work. By hiring them to collaborate on brand-oriented content, you not only get a unique product, but you attract the artist’s social following too. It’s also important that you choose an artist that will match the image you want to create for your brand.
However, that isn’t the only way to do it. When asked if social media provides them with all the tools they need to create the content that they want, only 58% of respondents said yes. In other words, over 40% of college students are still open to more opportunities or ways to express themselves on social media. Brands can take advantage of this need by providing their audience with creative inspiration.
Companies can leverage their existing brand & social pages to host a contest that will engage their audience. This won’t work for everyone, and the tone/objective of the contest needs to match the tone of your brand in order to be successful. However, the benefits of this strategy are numerous. The first is that the contest is extremely low cost to run and you will get a wide range of usable content all created with your brand in mind. This content will have organic reach far beyond your regular audience, and because it’s made by real consumers, it will be authentic.
Using this method to crowdsource creativity can elevate your brand and content to an entirely new level. This type of content can help reinvigorate the brand and use its audience to expand its image.
