Five brands nailing it on social media

Social media is a great way to reach consumers and build a brand - but it's an art that some have mastered better than others. Here, we're taking a look at five social media pages that go above and beyond - and what they're doing to stand out.

1. Greggs - Twitter

What they’re doing right:

Greggs is great at brand building. They’ve got a humorous tone of voice for their Twitter feed that reels in retweets and replies. They also demonstrate a clear grasp of meme culture - essentially a form of communication for millennials and Gen Z that, when properly understood and used, works wonders for brand loyalty. Memes allow young people who frequent social media to relate to the page and therefore the brand.

B2C vs B2B writing: Think Fast vs. Think Slow

Iron Maiden and Taylor Swift. Kanye West and Queen. B2B and B2C. When it comes to audiences, they’re world’s apart. But how should you communicate to B2B and B2C audiences most effectively?

If you’re in the comms industry, you’re either dealing with B2B or B2C. Some lucky people like us deal with both. But one alphabetical shift to the right translates to two completely different buyer mindsets. So here we’re going to define why they need to be spoken to differently, and the principles of writing for each.

But first, let's get into those mindsets.

Happiness - a Coca-Cola subsidiary!

B2C - Emotion trumps practicality

We buy products that help us to look or feel a certain way. My dad once bought a jacket he saw in a Bond movie to make himself feel cool. Somehow, I’ve always doubted he was overly concerned with the material or whether it was waterproof.

That’s because B2C consumers are emotionally-driven in their shopping habits. We’re so often judged on the things we wear, the cars we drive and the places we eat that our purchases become an extension of our personality. As such, they need to be saying the right things.

The experts speak: five writing tips from the latest edition of 'The Copy Book'

This may be a book about advertising copy, but there’s no shortage of great copywriting tips contained within its pages. We’ve pulled out our favourite five.

1. Make an emotional connection

Your job is to forge an emotional connection that motivates people to engage with a brand. John Bevins, founder of John Bevins Pty. Limited, advises us to find your brand’s truth, then connect it in your own way to an essential human truth. Ask yourself; is it honest? Reliable? Amusing? Trustworthy? These are some of the main emotional hooks when it comes to copy.

Brand advertising should explain you, to you. Writing shouldn’t sound like it’s about your product: it should sound like it’s about the reader’s life. So use your own life experiences to animate your copy. Lead with an insight into an everyday human issue your consumer might face.

To pull this off, your tone needs to sound like the audience’s in real life. And to be distinctive, you need an attitude.

Charles Saatchi once said that you must find the right tone and stick with it. Own that attitude, and people will start associating your brand with certain emotions.


Surprisingly insightful: The Economist ToV

What’s the latest edition of The Copy Book tell us about changes in copywriting?

The D&AD’s bestselling Copy Book’s out in a new edition. We dived in to find out how copywriting has changed since the original publication in 1995. Here’s what we found…

The Copy Book is D&AD’s highest ever selling book. It features 32 of the best ad copywriters in the world talking about their craft and showcasing their greatest work. Many writers consider 1995’s edition to be their Bible. So much so that some of the original copies used to sell for over £150 on Ebay.

A lot’s happened since 1995. The internet, social media, fragmentation of traditional media audiences… to name a few. So we wanted to find out what the new edition reveals about what’s changed.

Advertising’s less dominant 

The new edition of The Copy Book welcomes just five newcomers to its pages. Of the five newcomers, there are two who are not from advertising. Dan Germain, a founder of Innocent, and direct response writer Steve Harrison. So copywriting experts are coming from new fields outside of advertising.

Talk about below the line.

Our five secrets of writing great copy

Ernest Hemingway revealed his personal writing secrets in a 1954 interview. He wrote just after sunrise when the air was ‘cool’, he typed his novels standing up, and he always stopped writing when he felt that he still had ‘juice’ ( the urge to carry on writing). But what if you’re writing sales emails rather than novels? 

Copywriting is a different creative process to writing fiction, so Hemingway’s tips will not necessarily result in great copy. In this post, we’ve revealed the five essentials that have helped us over the years.

Ernest Hemingway struggling with an email subject line, 1952.

Swearing: when it can work for brands

Sometimes it’s okay to swear (sorry mum). Step on a plug? That’s fine. Burn the Sunday roast? Fair enough. Missed the last train home and now your phone has died? Go on, let it all out. But what about when you’re working for a major brand? Well, you would be surprised.

Messages don’t always resonate with an audience in the way you intended. Unfortunately, it happens. But if you genuinely cause offense, it’s a complete disaster. This leads us on to the topic of swearing in copywriting and advertising - is it ever okay? Well, there’s a time and a place for everything. Here’s when a bit of bad language can work for brands… 

Save your money! Research has proven that swearing actually reduces pain 

Five techniques that guarantee great content marketing

Content marketing is a long-term play - you want to build relationships and shape brand perception whilst appealing to the search engine’s taste for quality content. So, what are the do’s and don’ts? 

Gone are the days of simply packing copy with key search terms. You’ve now got to provide authoritative content to be rewarded by the search engines.  

Laura Johnston wore these shorts for 135 days straight. We don’t recommend the same for socks.