Joining us at The Hospital Club in January to offer some social media education were speakers from Branded3, Great British Chefs, Urban Fruit, Chalk Social and Waterstones. Before the event, we grabbed a few of our brand delegates to see what they were hoping to get from the day…
… “The fragrance market is a very lucrative market for us but it’s all about increasing our brand awareness, because we are very much in the shadow of companies like The Perfume Shop. It’d be good to learn how we can reach people in ways that maybe these other companies aren’t doing. We’ve been previewing offers on Snapchat and we’re just trying to test things out a bit.” (Tom Peters, Social Media Manager, The Fragrance Shop)
… “We’re trying to find out what people are doing in the space and learn new sorts of ideas. There’s a good, broad range of speakers here today so it’s good to see what’s going on.” (Martin Jaskolowski, Global Digital Manager, Aston Martin)
… “I want to see how things are going to change for social media in the next year. I’ve got a reasonable knowledge so far, but it’s applying that and seeing how we can get from just doing social media, to doing it properly.” (James Moore, Digital Marketing Officer, Macmillan Cancer Support)
Here’s what our speakers had to say
2015: The Year of…
“People are on social channels to be inspired, so make sure that’s what you’re doing.” (Laura Crimmons, Social & PR Manager, Branded3)
Everything needs to be shareable, says Laura at Branded3. With the rise of visual marketing tools such as Instagram and Pinterest, there is a real opportunity for brands to penetrate the visual market. But, she warns, don’t miss this chance to reward your customers for being on social. Share exclusives with them that they wouldn’t get to see via other platforms such as television. Reward brand loyalty by Retweeting their Tweets. Your customers should be inspired and guided in their purchase journeys, but this should not involve pushing products to them.
The Multiplier Effect – Partnership & Social Media
“I think social is about collaboration. If you’re an island, it makes things very difficult.” (Ollie Lloyd, CEO, Great British Chefs)
“Having people who love your product, and are talking about your product, is one of the most powerful marketing tools out there.” (Gurdeep Loyal, Marketing Manager, Urban Fruit)
When tackling social, don’t go it alone. Find a publication or brand partner that’s right for you, and build your campaigns collaboratively. That’s what Ollie Lloyd at Great British Chefs and Gurdeep Loyal at Urban Fruit did. Great British Chefs engaged a community that were united by a single passion (cooking), and made social the heart of it. By building interesting content every day, sharing it, and encouraging the community to get involved, their ranking rocketed. So when Urban Fruit got on board, the platform was already there for a far-reaching campaign. With a low budget, having the supporters in place to spread the word is a priceless tool.
How do UK Audiences Engage with Brands Across Social?
“UK consumers need a bit of prompting, so make sure you’re choosing the right channels for your objectives.” (Davina Dunlea, CEO, Chalk Social)
UK users are three times less likely to ‘like’ or comment on a Facebook post than the global market, and nine times less likely to share one. Therefore, says Davina at Chalk Social, brands need to make sure they are pushing the right kinds of costs for the UK market. Video content has seen a 75 per cent year-on-year increase on Facebook, but Facebook counts a video as viewed after just three seconds, so marketers should decide upon a duration metric against which to measure analytics. Interaction rates are cheaper on Twitter, but only if the audience is there. UK consumers need more prompting, so make sure you’re using the best channels to engage them.
Content vs Material
“I thought it’d be funny, so I did it.” (Jonathan O’Brien, Social Media and Blog Manager, Waterstones)
From a homeless apostrophe that gained nearly 4,000 Retweets to a new book delivery service called O.W.L.S (Ornithological Waterstones Landing Service), the monumental success of @WstonesOxfordSt came from a life-long love of telling “stories and jokes and other stuff”, says Jonathan at Waterstones. With a background in writing rather than marketing, each post was crafted by personal interest, rather by than thinking about targets and audience demographics. And yet Jonathan’s storytelling boosted the Twitter account by thousands. So, he asks, “What is it about what you’re working with that you really love? Use your passion or your skill, talk about it (well), and your audience will come. And they’ll love you for it”.
Key takeaway for brands: Use social media to engage with your followers, not to push your products.
Written by Estelle Hakner.