Growing a strong, vibrant social media following is essential for building a successful direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand.
A strong social media presence builds a loyal community of engaged followers, increases brand awareness, drives sales, and makes your paid ads more effective. However, coming up with content ideas that resonate with your audience can be difficult, especially with the constant demand for fresh and engaging content.
Burlebo Outdoors is an excellent example of how a DTC brand can use creative and authentic social media content to grow a dedicated audience. Burlebo, an outdoor lifestyle brand, has successfully tapped into its audience’s passions, blending the founder’s story with engaging visuals and storytelling. This post will break down five content strategies Burlebo employs and how you can adapt these to grow your social media followers and brand.
One of the most effective ways to humanize your brand is by putting the founder front and center in your content. Many brands shy away from this approach, but Burlebo leans into it, using its founder, Trey, as a spokesperson. Founder-led content is incredibly powerful because it establishes a personal connection with your audience, allowing them to see the personality behind the brand.
Trey frequently appears in videos to share the brand’s message, making customers feel like they’re not just buying from a faceless company but from a real person who shares their values and interests. Whether it’s talking about a new product, sharing the brand’s vision, or offering behind-the-scenes insights, having the founder directly communicate with the audience adds an element of trust and transparency.
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Founder-led content builds loyalty because customers feel they’re supporting an individual’s passion, not just a business. It creates an emotional bond that leads to stronger brand advocacy.
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Keeping up with social media trends is crucial for staying relevant and reaching new audiences. Burlebo excels at jumping on trends, using Instagram templates, popular sounds, and viral formats to create engaging, relatable content. This type of content is often lighthearted, fun, and shareable, helping to increase brand visibility without needing to hard-sell products.
On-trend content can be anything from participating in trending challenges to incorporating viral audio clips into your posts. The key is to maintain the brand’s authenticity while participating in social media culture, creating content that resonates with your target audience.
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When done right, on-trend content is a way to reach a broader audience, stay relevant, and show that your brand is part of the cultural conversation.
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Lifestyle content is a powerful tool for brands because it showcases your products in real-world scenarios and gives people a lifestyle they aspire to identify with. Burlebo frequently shares content of Trey and the team enjoying outdoor activities like hunting and fishing while wearing Burlebo gear. This gives the audience a glimpse into the lifestyle that the brand represents, allowing them to envision themselves using the products in similar settings.
By highlighting the experiences and lifestyle associated with your products, you can create aspirational content that resonates with your audience’s values and interests. This type of content allows potential customers to see a community and a lifestyle they want to be a part of.
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Lifestyle content is particularly impactful because it helps your audience connect emotionally with your brand, turning them from passive followers into engaged community members.
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Burlebo doesn’t just release new products; they create stories around them. Every product has a story, whether it’s the inspiration behind the design or the process of bringing it to life. This storytelling approach makes customers feel more connected to the product and the brand itself.
By sharing the story behind a product’s creation, you’re giving the audience a deeper understanding of your brand’s values, craftsmanship, and purpose. When customers know the story behind a product, they are more likely to see it as unique and meaningful, which can increase both engagement and sales.
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Storytelling makes your products more memorable and gives your customers a reason to care about your brand beyond just the items they’re purchasing.
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Customers love seeing the real people behind the brand. Burlebo excels at showcasing their team, from warehouse staff to office workers, in a variety of social media posts. This behind-the-scenes content gives followers a peek into the inner workings of the company and humanizes the brand.
By featuring your team in content, you’re giving a face to the people who make the brand run. This approach builds trust and transparency, showing that there’s a dedicated team working hard to deliver quality products and experiences. It also helps create a sense of community within your company and among your followers.
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Team content adds a human element that makes customers feel more connected to the people behind the products, increasing brand loyalty.
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One of the reasons Burlebo’s social media strategy works so well is that they’ve established clear content pillars. These pillars—founder content, on-trend content, lifestyle content, storytelling, and team content—allow the brand to consistently produce a variety of engaging content without feeling repetitive.
Establishing content pillars helps streamline your content creation process, ensuring you always have fresh ideas that align with your brand’s values and goals. This consistency is key for building a loyal following because your audience will come to expect and look forward to the content you produce.
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Growing your social media following and building a strong brand presence doesn’t happen overnight, but by following Burlebo’s example, you can create content that resonates with your audience and keeps them engaged. The key is to focus on authenticity, storytelling, and connection. Whether you’re a small DTC brand or a larger business, these strategies—founder content, on-trend content, lifestyle content, storytelling, and team content—are universal tools that can help you stand out in the crowded digital marketplace.
By consistently producing meaningful, relatable content that tells your brand’s story and humanizes your company, you’ll foster a deeper connection with your audience and encourage them to become loyal followers and customers while watching your sales and social media following grow month after month and year after year.
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