How to create a brand personality via social media

Be there to help

Share content that is helpful to your customers. Using video can be a great way to do this. For example, take a look at the following video from Livia Sala, which shows how to make ravioli in a simple, but eye-catching way.

Being helpful can go a long way when it comes to brand personality. If you can show things that people want to try to do themselves in a way that's pleasurable and easy-to-understand, and do so on a consistent basis, people and potential customers will think of you as a helpful and fun brand - exactly the type of brand that they want to follow.

Highlight real people

Another content idea is to showcase content shared by people who use your product if you sell products. It's hard to beat endorsements from real people who are satisfied with what you offer. Ipsy, a beauty product provider, is great at this. They often show off images of happy customers or influencers who have used their makeup products, encouraging customers to participate. This helps promote a fun brand personality while also illustrating what can be done with the product.

Support causes you care about

Another way to convey personality to customers/followers is to show support for a cause you and your customers and viewers are passionate about. People love a brand whose values align with their own. Oreo is a classic example, having made headlines for posting images to social media in support of LGBTQ pride like the one shown here.

Be visual

Instagram is a good place to dedicate a great deal of your attention visually. It has 800 million users, 500 million of which use it daily, and it's a very visual platform compared to its peers like Facebook and Twitter. Sure, visuals are a part of these platforms as well, but here, they're the focal point.

On Instagram, it's all about showing off interesting or fun visuals, like the business below, making it a natural place for a brand to show off its personality. It doesn't hurt that it's owned by Facebook, which provides businesses with various tools to aid in their success. Determine how you want your brand to be viewed and post imagery that conveys that image, while maintaining a consistent message.

Brands should cultivate a specific and consistent “look” for their Instagram account. What kind of personality would you want your brand to have? Once you figure that out, have your imagery and overall aesthetic match that. Perhaps you could arrange products similarly, use a consistent filter, or feature similar scenes, colors, or objects across the images. Cadbury, which is well known for its social media presence, almost always incorporates its signature violet color, among other consistencies:

Uber and FedEx both have great accounts to learn from in terms of digital looks and aesthetics.

Similarly, Bolthouse Farms, which makes smoothies, salad dressings, and juices, makes it a point to frequently feature images of brightly-colored, healthy foods, even beyond their own products.

Engage with users and platform components

Utilizing components like hashtags and locations can help add to your visibility, but also contribute to your brand personality if they're aligned with aspects of culture that people identify with. Holiday-themed hashtags, for example, can show your celebratory side, while locations can provide people with a geographical reference.

Beyond the content you use to promote your brand on social media, engaging with your audience can do a lot to illustrate your personality. Respond to comments and seek out mentions to keep up on the conversation.

To get started, you can lLook at what other brands are doing and gain inspiration from them. You should have your own brand identity, but it never hurts to get new ideas from those who have had success.

Don't underestimate the importance of brand personality. It can help you gain a following and can contribute to word of mouth. No matter what types of content you're posting, however, remember to keep the quality high.