John Thornton, social media copywriter for Innocent Drinks, encouraged brands to start using Twitter “like a human” at the Digital Gaggle conference last week.

Speaking to an audience of over 190 marketers hyped up on free smoothies at the Watershed, John gave much food for thought on how brands can use social media.

During his session, John illustrated the power of a personable and consistent tone of voice to generate genuine engagement with consumers online. Using examples of his most popular tweets, varying from a #DogOnATrain thread and his weekly Great British Bake Off commentary, he made a convincing argument to not mention the product at all.

John said: “We don’t use our social media to push our products, we use it to push our brand”.

John explained how Innocent’s Twitter has stayed relevant because of their lack of a sign off system, opening them up to “reactive gold.” Dissecting the unexpected popularity of their new smoothie campaign, ‘Bolt from the Blue’, he explained how none of this could have happened if he did not have the freedom to respond right there and then to the flood of incoming tweets.

He said: “If you’re 70% sure, go for it”.

John was one of eight speakers at the event hosted by Noisy Little Monkey and sponsored by Edit, t&S creative communications and Somerset Design.

Alongside John’s talk, there was a wealth of more actionable tips shared by speakers throughout the day.

Jon Payne (Technical Director of Noisy Little Monkey) coached the audience on ‘Influencing Buyers to Grow Profit’. His talk taught attendees how to deploy subtle psychological nudges in their marketing in order to convert more of their prospects into customers.

Following Jon’s talk was Joyann Boyce (founder of The Social Detail) who taught Digital Gaggle attendees about inclusive marketing. In her session, she used examples of popular brands that have missed the mark when it comes to inclusivity and provided attendees with lots of tips to help them better represent their diverse audiences.

The brilliant Kirsty Hulse (founder of Manyminds and Roar! Training) closed the show with a galvanising talk that taught attendees how to harness the power of neuroscience to develop a slick process for coming up with creative ideas to implement in their marketing.

Kirsty said: “We need to stop seeing creativity as something we have or something we lack. We can teach ourselves to be creative”.

Audience members were also pleased to discover the virtue of day-dreaming, which Kirsty explained to be a vital part of the creative process. 

Digital Gaggle will return to the Watershed on 23rd April 2020 with another stellar line-up of speakers to inspire you on your next digital marketing campaign. Subscribe to the newsletter to be the first to find out when tickets are released.

About Noisy Little Monkey

Noisy Little Monkey is the digital marketing agency focused on HubSpot. We use inbound marketing and automation to deliver the kind of results your boss will want to give you a payrise for.