In 2011, I wrote my first social media caption for a brand. Well, it was more than just a caption, it was the entire post. Back then, photos or videos in posts weren’t common. In fact, brands barely had a presence on social media, and we were all just trying to figure things out.
What we did know was that conversations were happening, and marketers wanted their brands to be part of them.
We didn’t know much about how to market on social media, but we did understand two key things:
- We had to be present consistently. Content would disappear from users’ timelines within 24 hours, so we needed to post daily. That’s how social media calendars became a thing.
- We had to capture attention without being overly commercial. A balance was crucial to avoid pushing people away with hard-sell content.
Most brands adopted an 80/20 approach: 80% fun, entertaining, or engaging content to connect with the audience, and 20% promotional or commercial posts to push products.
This split gave us the opportunity to have fun with the brands we managed. For 80% of the time, our job was to create entertaining content, how exciting is that? The key was to ensure that this content evoked emotion, and on social media, the most common emotion was humor.
Luckily, the brands I managed back then made humor part of their DNA. For example, Cadbury Dairy Milk was all about Moments of Joy. What better way to spread joy than through funny or witty content? This was around the time Cadbury released its iconic Gorilla ad, yes, the one with the drumming gorilla to Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight. If you haven’t seen it, or even if you have, it’s worth a watch (or rewatch). Watch it here.
Even years after its release, reposting that video would still generate incredible engagement. At the time, it was a 4-year-old ad, yet it resonated because it brought pure joy.
It became clear people engage with content that makes them feel something. The best performing posts weren’t overly polished, they were simple, emotional, and relatable. Whether it was a silly joke, a witty one-liner, or even a fun fact, the common denominator was emotion.
Those were simpler times, but what worked then still works today. Post something that evokes emotion, and you’ll always strike a chord with your audience.