Creating Heritage Month content may seem like a simple process. However, it's more than just developing punchy captions that incorporate local slang, using pictures that exhibit South African cultures and using the right hashtags.
It is a month that celebrates the South African identity and honours the diverse range of cultures in South Africa (SA). Now, brands have the opportunity to do something more meaningful with their content.
Not quite sure how to make your posts more powerful this Heritage Month?
Then continue reading as media update's Lara Smit looks into five ways that you can nail your Heritage Month content right here:
1. Tell your business's story
Everyone loves a good story. So why not get into the spirit of Heritage Month by telling your followers the story of your business's heritage?
Create posts that explore the roots of your brand and tell people how you got started. This will allow your followers to gain a better understanding of
what your business is and
why it came into being.
But why is this important?
It shows your audiences that your business is more than just a business — it's a dream actualised. Therefore, when they choose to purchase your products and services, they feel as though they are investing in this dream and playing an important role in helping it come to life.
Another benefit of telling people about your brand's history is that it allows you to show your audiences how proud you are to be a South African brand. Not only will this encourage the same pride in your SA audience, but it will allow your customers to feel as though they are contributing to the success of their community by investing in your services.
2. Allow employees to share their own stories
Heritage Month is all about celebrating the diverse range of cultures and people that we have in our country. Therefore, a great way to honour this sentiment is by showcasing the unique people behind your brand.
An example of how you could do this is by using live or video features on your platforms to share interviews where your employees can share stories about their cultures, perspectives and traditions.
Content like this allows you to acknowledge and celebrate the distinctive cultural identities of your employees and give people insight into how their perspectives play a part in what they do. Additionally, it helps you to create entertaining and interesting content that is either relatable or educational for your followers.
This type of wholesome content also assists you in humanising your brand by showing the people who are pulling the strings behind the scenes. Lastly, it demonstrates your business's
genuine appreciation for its employees and who
they are.
3. Host competitions
One of the best ways to get your followers completely engaged with your content is by asking them to involve themselves in its creation and distribution.
Now, the likelihood of people creating content for your brand for free is low, so you have to make sure that there's something in it for them — so give them a chance to win a stellar prize, for example ...
For Heritage Month, you can take a more unique approach by hosting competitions and making the prizes and tasks
distinctly South African. Examples of how you can do this are by:
- asking people to share images of how they are celebrating or honouring their heritage this month with snapshots in their traditional clothing
- telling people to incorporate SA hashtags like '#LocalIsLekker' or '#HeritageMonth' into their posts
- encouraging your followers to post their best braai selfie this '#BraaiDay'
- asking people to share how they use your products to perform traditional tasks like sharing recipes that include your brand's spices, and
- making the prizes hampers containing distinctly South African products like mielie meal, biltong or even some new braai equipment.
This type of content will help you spread that Heritage Month fever and encourage pride among your followers for their SA heritage. Furthermore, it will get people engaged with your content and spread the word about your brand organically in an effective way. So, their possible win is a
big win for you in the end.
4. Promote local initiatives
Heritage Month isn't just about honouring the diverse cultures of South Africa. It's also about celebrating the shared SA identity of its population and generating pride for being a part of the South African community.
Therefore, one of the best ways to show your pride this month is by getting your business involved in local initiatives that help boost the community.
Using social media, you can create posts that promote philanthropic organisations that are involved in helping people from this community.
By doing this, you can help share their stories and get more people to onboard their initiatives.
What's more, it will show your followers that your brand is involved in aiding positive causes. This is advantageous for your brand because it will improve your brand image and make people feel as though they themselves are assisting these causes by purchasing from your business or enlisting its services.
5. Spotlight locals in cultural industries
Another way that businesses can celebrate Heritage Month in a meaningful way is by giving recognition to people who are playing a part in preserving South Africa's rich cultural heritage.
People who play a major role in preserving and developing SA culture are those who work in the industries of:
- literature
- history
- art
- cultural events
- media
- architecture
- cuisine
- fashion
- dance, and
- music.
Therefore, your brand can contribute to the preservation and growth of South African culture this Heritage Month by creating posts that spotlight individuals who work in these industries and acknowledging their contribution to the maintenance, awareness and broadening of SA's culture.
Additionally, your business can use this opportunity to team up with them through sponsorships and mentorship programmes that assist them in achieving these goals. This will allow your business to play an integral part in promoting South African culture.
What are other ways that businesses can celebrate Heritage Month on social media? Share your ideas in the comments section below.
South African businesses, now that you know what content you must create this Heritage Month, find out what type of content you should be creating for the rest of the year in our article, Growing your social media: South African edition.
*Image courtesy of Canva