I have a confession to make. I know the exact dance moves to multiple ’NSYNC songs. While in college, a few friends and I would perform these dances in the annual talent show and I must say, we were a hit. There is even evidence of this on YouTube. One reason our act was popular was due to nostalgia. Many of the students had grown up listening to ’NSYNC songs and our act brought back fond memories.
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Nostalgia remains a powerful and effective tool. We’ve all seen it in things such as Pokemon Go, live action Disney movies, the upcoming Power Rangers movie, etc. But why does it work? It comes down to personal value. When you connect to customers on a personal or emotional level, they are more likely to buy your product or service. People make purchasing decisions based, in part, upon emotion. Reminding someone of a great memory is a valuable tactic.
Nostalgia is already part of social media. Facebook has “On This Day” and every Thursday and Friday you see #ThrowbackThursday and #FlashbackFriday. Here are a few tips for using nostalgia on social media:
- Use topics that relate to your clients and customers. If the majority of your customers grew up in the ’90s, then a question involving boy bands might be applicable.
- Keep it light and funny. People enjoy laughing and it makes a positive connection to your brand.
- Ask open-ended questions that will get your demographic talking about a fond memory. Perhaps post a picture of the company owner at his college job, where he had to dress up as a cow, with the question, “What unique job did you have while growing up?”
- Listen. As your followers respond, take note of what works and resonates with them. You can then use that topic or a similar topic in a future post.
Nostalgia can be a fun and effective way to utilize social media. Tap into the emotion and strike a chord with your audience that other tactics can’t reach. With that, I’ll sign off with a “Bye, Bye, Bye.”
Jacob Werre is assistant account executive at Brookfield-based The Ritterbusch Group Inc.
