How to do marketing the Innocent way | 2-minute read 

You may already be aware of Innocent Drinks witty, self-aware tone and knack for viral, feel-good content on socials. They’ve built a brand that feels more like a friend than a business which proves they’re not just great at making smoothies.

So how do they do it?

Here’s what we learned from Innocent’s winning approach to social media and how you can apply it to your brand.

Define clear roles in your social team

Innocent splits their social team into two: proactive (content and strategy) and reactive (those who handle customer engagement). Even if you’re a small team it’s important to assign clear roles. One team drives content while the other nurtures the audience. Better focus = better results.

Entertain first, sell second

Innocent content is funny and relatable, and not just about smoothies. To follow in their footsteps, keep the sales pitch light. Aim for 80% engaging content and 20% product focus. Look to use memes, humour, and cultural references that make your brand feel like a mate, not marketing.

Have a consistent, relatable tone

Always witty, never cringey, Innocent stick to strict brand tone of voice guidelines. Ensure you have clear tone of voice rules that show how your brand sounds when being funny, empathetic, or direct. Remember, the joke should always be on you, not your audience.

Brainstorm beyond the social media tea

Innocent get finance, IT, and other teams involved in their content brainstorms to encourage fresh ideas from fresh perspectives. Consider shaking up your creative processes by getting different departments in on content planning.

Be picky with trends

Don’t feel the need to jump on every trend. Innocent ask, “does this actually fit our brand?” and if not, they move on. Before hoping on a trend ask yourself the same question. If yes, keep it simple, low-cost, and effortless. Never chase a trend for the sake of it.

Listen to the data

Monthly performance checks are what helps Innocent refine content strategies. They look at engagement, follower growth, and feedback. Keep tabs on your numbers. What works? What flops?

Make customer engagement personal

Every comment gets a human reply from a team member at Innocent. Prioritise genuine interactions. If time is tight, focus on loyal followers and key influencers, but ditch the robotic auto replies.

Tailor content to each platform

For TikTok, Innocent keep things short and snappy. For Instagram, they prioritise longer storytelling. One size often does not fit all. Adapt your content per platform. Tweak, test, and track what works best where.

Turn your failures into wins

When Innocent’s ‘conker milk’ idea flopped, they turned it into a funny, viral moment. If you mess up, own it with humour. Transparency and personality usually equal engagement gold.

Take notes, apply what fits, and make your brand the one people want to follow. Want more marketing tips? Get in touch!

Listen to the full Marketing Meetup interview with Anni Mueller and Ellie Keon, digital and social media manager and European communities manager, at Innocent, here.