“If it’s not on Facebook, it didn’t happen”. This phrase is bandied about all the time, and while it’s a little extreme, it points to the powerful role social media plays in our everyday lives.
A brand’s presence on social media is no longer optional, but compulsory if it wishes to expand and in particular, reach the formidable (and disposable income-laden) tween and teen market.
Here, BD speaks to some of the brands successfully utilising social media, amassing thousands of fans (and customers) along the way. They share their insights below.
Communication is key
Swimwear brand Triangl Swimwear is one company that has navigated the digital waters like a true captain. Currently, it boasts 1.9 million Instagram followers, and 211,600 Facebook fans. Brand co-founder Erin Deering, believes Triangl’s foray into online has worked purely because the group understands that social media is helping to bridge the gap between company and consumer. “Instagram in particular has been the driving force behind Triangl’s success. Social media has allowed Triangl to connect with and communicate directly with customers, allowing the brand to be reactive to what our customers needs are,” she says.
Account manager from Elise Garland PR Carly Rogers maintains the social media accounts for dozens of major beauty brands. She agrees with TRIANGL’s approach, saying: “Social media has changed the way that we communicate. It’s a great way to genuinely connect with customers, share brand news in real-time and create interesting, engaging content that has the potential to reach thousands of new customers.”
The team at fellow Australian swimwear brand, and social media enthusiasts, Zulu & Zephyr believe that a company’s endorsement of the various platforms are “super important”. They explain: “A social program like Instagram is how we directly speak to our customer. Zulu & Zephyr is built upon mood, feeling, quality product, beautiful photographs and visuals. Instagram is ideal for creating a connection to all of the above.”
Communications manager for Australia Alexis Gilmer adds that social media also makes brands more relatable to consumers: “Social media allows us to tell our brand story and humanise CLINIQUE. We have a lot of fun creating local campaigns that can be a little bit more edgy, it’s what we call CLINIQUE with a wink and a smile.”
Don’t fear feedback
Every post, comment, like, tag, hashtag, and repost is a form of modern feedback. All this activity serves to grow and shape the brand into what the consumer wishes it to be. This is all contributing back to customer support and positive brand feedback. Deering deliberates: “It can be hard to filter comments, but that is what we actually love most about social media - it keeps all positive and negative comments transparent and allows us to hear what our customers really think.” Gilmer confirms this, saying: “People are a lot more vocal when they can hide behind their computer.”
Erika Geraerts, who is one of the five founders of frank body scrub, believes it is important for businesses to have a plan in place to protect them from damaging feedback. She explains: “Social media is a very vocal place. The anonymity that users feel allows them to say whatever they like at any given moment. This can be detrimental to brands if users have a bad experience, so a proper crisis management plan or response to negative comments should always be in place.”
Interact with your audience
Audience interaction is key, with regramming, tagging and hashtagging de rigueur for many Instagram brands with large followings. “We’re constantly posting images of our latest styles as well as customers wearing TRIANGL. It's so inspiring to see customers loving our bikinis and having a good time!” says Deering.
Geraerts agrees, saying: “[It is] important to be reactive, not just proactive. So while planning ahead is great, responding to your customers needs and wants is greater. If they like something, give them more, if they don’t, adapt and change. Sharing content is crucial to expanding your network and continuing to provide interesting material to users, however it’s important to give credit where credit is due.” This kind of audience interaction has given frank notoriety among social media users, and has contributed to it building up a base of 593,000 Instagram followers and 69,550 Facebook fans.
Pick a platform
Rogers believes that along with audience interaction, it’s important to determine what platform works best with your specific demographic. She says: “We have certain clients that thrive by using Facebook as a major tool to create conversation with customers, launch new products and share exclusive offers. Other clients with a younger customer demographic have been successfully using Instagram to drive brand awareness, and has found that it can have a direct link to sales.”
CLINIQUE Australia embraces this mentality, with Gilmer explaining: “We use different platforms for different results. Facebook is great to drive trial, for sampling campaigns and share videos. It’s also a very engaged audience for CLINIQUE so it’s a great way to receive feedback and reviews on products. Instagram is more aspirational and an extension of CLINIQUE as a person, while Twitter is used more around specific timeframes, such as pop up events.”
The number one rule is consistency
All sources agree that consistency is key to enticing and keeping audience numbers high.
“We like to say that social media is just that, social. So if you’re going to have a presence, make it consistent, make it clever, and make it convert. Although it’s important to our brand, it’s not the bulk of what frank is about - and our consumers know that,” says Geraerts.
Rogers emphasises that quality is integral: “It’s much better to post strategic relevant, high-quality content less often rather than simply posting an image just because you haven’t posted anything that day.”
As for what type of content gains the most followers, says Rogers: “In general, we’ve found that a mix of aspirational content, brand imagery and re-sharing blogger and customer images works well. Creating a promotional hashtag can also work wonders when done correctly.”
Most importantly, stay true who you are as a brand. Zulu & Zephyr believe that this is just as important as knowing your audience. "We post images that continue to inspire the brand each day – there is not a wrong or right image to post, it’s simply selecting one that resonates with the label. For Zulu & Zephyr, it is usually coastal, clean and honest." they say.
Deering agrees, putting it simply: “every brand is different and images that are reflective of your brand work best.”
