I was standing in the checkout line when I saw marketing materials for a new Mentos gum product which used a quote from Aristotle and tried to equate choosing flavors with choosing your destiny. I like choice and I like gum but it was a bit much. It was playing in an area it really had no permission to play. Leave Aristotle for something a bit more grand than gum.Then I came home to see Pinnacle Vodka posting quotes from Martin Luther King on its Facebook page. Yes, it was MLK Day, and yes, he's an amazing man, but you're vodka. Not all holidays are meant to be celebrated by all products. As community managers struggle for content it's easy to just say, well what's going on in the world today? But you can't jump on every opportunity just because it is there.
Social allows brands to take on a personality but it doesn't give you permission to play everywhere and anywhere. You still at the end of the day are what you are, even if you're a bit more casual in the social sphere.
So here it goes- Be yourself. Be true to who and what you are and consumers will respect it. They "liked" you because they liked you in the first place. They expected to hear about cocktails, recipes and new products, so give them that, and if there's a creative way you can spin yourself into a holiday or the musings of some Greek philosopher well go ahead and try. But if it feels forced, it probably is.