You will find a glossary of all Love Island terms used throughout this post at the bottom of the page.
To the dissatisfaction of my family’s hopes and dreams for me as an intellect, I am totally guilty of tuning into Love Island at 9pm every evening. Drawn in by the mind-numbing drama, I actually find myself (due to fomo[1]) planning my evenings around watching it. Sad, you say?
Well maybe, but actually the programme has a lot more to offer than love affairs, relationship meltdowns and excessive fake tan. Never did I ever think I could actually learn something from Love Island - nor did I think I’d manage to get writing about Love Island past the boss - but here I am, and I think many other professionals and brands could take a leaf out of the programme’s book (consisting of many types on paper[2]) too.
(Image removed)And for the benefit of the boss (who somehow hasn’t seen the show?!) the basic premise is that they take a bunch of young, good looking singletons and put them all in a huge villa together. The aim of the game is to find love, and the winning couple (voted by the public) will receive £50,000. Not to mention countless deals with protein shake and teeth whitening companies. #Spon.
Love Island’s success is exactly down to something we, as businesses, should all be doing. The programme is completely shameless and honest in accepting its overall brand personality, embracing the ‘trashy’ label given to it by the public and creating a huge following by doing so. And for that, I commend the show.
So, how have Love Island harnessed this public reaction to create a brand personality, and what could businesses learn from the show in order to follow in its footsteps?
1. Using ironic hashtags is pretty jokes[3].
Hashtagging, while a particularly useful way to engage in topics on social media, is often done humorously on platforms like Twitter and Instagram too.
Love Island have totally jumped on this trend, with producers adding long, provocative hashtags to the end of any text messages sent to the Islanders. These are used both to add comical value and wind up specific contestants (cough, Jonny[4], cough).
Using funny hashtags on social media can help to show a bit of the personality behind your brand. Long hashtags, incorrect hashtags and self-mocking through hashtagging can be great ways to do this.
Take a look at how Raspberry Pi use comical hashtags in their posts when pointing out how people have incorrectly tagged them in food posts of raspberry pie[5], showing the more light-hearted and fun side to their brand.
2. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Parody accounts and memes can be your best friend, if you use them wisely.
Being laughed at isn’t always a bad thing, especially not in Love Island’s case. Rather than taking itself too seriously, the programme reacts to the action on social media, focusing on relatable content rather than anything too serious.
But where the real genius comes in is the parody accounts. Although parody accounts can often seem out to make a mockery of your brand, using them to your advantage can sometimes prove beneficial.
Accounts such as the Love Island Reactions page on Facebook and @LoveIslandBants on Twitter share funny content posted by viewers. In turn, this has created a bit of a stir on social media, raking in lots of likes and shares and attracting far more curious viewers towards the show.
Now that’s not to say businesses should encourage people to speak badly of them – the important message here is that Love Island doesn’t take itself too seriously. Sometimes, being able to share a laugh with your audience, customer or client can help build positive relationships and further custom in the future.
An example of when a parody account has helped a business on social media is The Dolphin pub in Hackney, created by David Levin. Initially, its only Twitter presence was in the form of a parody account about the pub, but this in itself has made noise and given the business an online presence – the account now has 28k followers!
The landlady also seemed quite happy about the fun Twitter page, and now has a real account which is mentioned in the parody account’s bio. Everyone’s a winner.
3. Be more Camilla[6].
She’s kind, she’s sensitive and she’s different from the rest – and that’s what makes her stand out.
With her strong morals and values and bomb disposal expert job role, it’s fair to say that Camilla is cut from a different cloth to the rest of the cast. Despite this, her unique and authentic outlook has really made her appeal to the public.
As a business, it is so important to be able to strike the right balance between showing personality and being able to relate with your potential customers. In a competitive world, it is also so important for brands to stand out from its competitors. That’s why showcasing your personality through your digital marketing strategy is so important.
Read the rest of this post on the Sookio blog.