Social Media usage is at an all-time high. 72% of respondents to a survey from Digital Commerce 360 stated their usage has increased in the past year. In fact (82%) of respondents indicated that social media is the most common channel from which they get information about a brand and its products and 62% agreed or strongly agreed that social media presence influences their decision to purchase from a brand.

Brands must focus on creating engaging, exciting social media content. Here are two examples from the past year:

Skittles

As at home time increased, so did conversations around how to use Skittles in arts and crafts, baking and science experiments. Skittles has been encouraging this behavior and featuring fans that share them. The in-house content creative team quickly develops content around the areas consumers are gravitating toward and challenges consumers to do the same.

Lucky Brand

Focusing on engagement over sales, Lucky instituted a Win From Home Instagram challenge. Daily there was a challenge, think learning a viral dance or power-squatting a pet, and participants had to post a photo of themselves completing the challenge using the competition hashtag.

The key thing to remember on social media is make it about the customer. Creating an engaging experience is the goal, not just pushing out information. Look to see what people are talking about and develop a social media playbook that makes your brand relevant to the conversation.