The expert view Simon Brew

It can’t just be me whose social media feeds increasingly have a robotic feel. I have a growing sense that algorithms are deciding which posts I see, and that those algorithms are defining the posts penned in the first place. As a consequence, businesses are increasingly able to target me – but kick the ball wide of the proverbial goal when it comes to what they actually want to say.

It’s not a new feature of technology that data tends to supersede the human brain, that it’s easier to point to graphs and in-depth market intelligence when defining a strategy than listen to the instinct of a human being. Social media provides huge opportunities for businesses to talk directly to their customers, yet little emphasis is given to the voice they use. A third-person pronouncement of a terrific offer may work if the offer is good enough. But what if you want a customer to engage more than once? What if you want them to be active followers of your social channels, rather than picking and choosing the odd morsel that appeals?

Having a human voice, a sense of authorship, to the messages conveyed via social media instantly lets those who do it stand apart. Clearly the voice must be tailored to the business, the message, and who the intended recipient of said message is. But look at one of the most thankless jobs on Earth: being on the receiving end of angry complaints by staffing the Virgin Trains Twitter account. Look at how many situations there are diffused by having a clear human engage with customers.

Human beings are often far down the list when it comes to social media strategies and planning. But having the right voice, the right tone, and the feel of an actual human on the other end of a post can, I’d argue, have as useful an impact as surgical targeting of who to talk to in the first place.

Simon Brew has helped several entertainment and tech brands grow their audiences to hundreds of thousands of followers from scratch.