My blog was inspired by a difficult time in my life, and I chose to focus on a business that helped me at that time. It was only a few years ago that I struggled with loving myself until I discovered this amazing group of women who gave me the inspiration I needed to love myself unconditionally,
Royally Fit is all about helping women feel good about themselves, and inspiring other liked minded women around you to live the best life they can. Women run this business, and they engage with their audience on social media beautifully. On their social media channels, they also make great use of repetition and imagery to build their brand identity and convert their target audience into joining amazing women who inspire you to feel your best. The reason I know this is because I was one of their target audiences, and they converted me into a member and helped me feel more confident.
In my opinion, their approach to social media works well because they listen and engage with their audience. In this course, we have learned that it is critical for businesses to engage with their customers as this not only builds relationships but also enables them to establish their brand online. Royally Fit has done a wonderful job in both marketing its product online and motivating its target audience to act.
Building a brand provides opportunities to tell the story of the message to their audience. It is this factor that distinguishes Royally Fit from its competitors.
Nike uses a variety of platforms, but the most popular among young people is Tiktok. They post on it on a regular basis and engage with their audience by posting TikTok videos while wearing Nike products, which is a great strategy that makes customers feel like they are a part of NIKE.
Nike’s tone with customers effectively represents the brand and demonstrates the brand personality, as well as how much they value their mission and work toward it every day. They enthusiastically retweet the client’s posts and videos, making everyone believe that this is the right product for them.
Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest are some of the other platforms they use. They engage in client conversations and post on Instagram. They use Twitter on a daily basis with links to blogs about their products and sneak peek news, which keeps the audience interested in their posts.
Nike primarily mentions famous athletes in each post, which encourages people to retweet, share, and expand their posts. Their main fans are the younger generations, as evidenced by the platforms they use. Audiences engage more with the visual videos and they posted a video at least every week. Every day, blogs about Nike and their products are published, implying that they are paying influencers to expand their reach.
Nike’s use of social media is the primary tool in their social media marketing strategy, but they value quality over quantity. Nike’s use of storytelling has proven to be an extremely effective marketing strategy because its content, in the form of storytelling, speaks for itself. They effectively communicate their core values through photos and videos.
Their engagement with their audience is higher with video postings like 2M views, which encourages them to post more videos, They ask viewers to make TikTok more engaging by showing their moves while wearing Nike products, which doubles the number of mentions for their Tiktoks and allows them to retweet their TikTok on a daily basis.
Their content has a consistent tone, and they keep emphasizing that it is a brand for every athlete and every person, which gives them credibility. Their posts on Instagram and Tiktok perform admirably, providing them with more opportunities to target specific age groups and engage effectively with them. Their Twitter engagement is poor, as they need to retweet more mentions to reach more people.
I will advise them to make better use of social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. To make things easier, I’ll link Instagram and Facebook posts so that I can post the same content at the same time. This will be expanded to a different type of audience who uses them on a regular basis.
I’ve decided to do a Business to Consumer Case Study on the business Ponyback Style. It is a Canadian business that started with a mom looking for a ponytail hat but not being able to find a functional one. She decided to take apart a baseball cap and recreate it into the first prototype of what is now the successful Ponyback Hat. They have a magnetic back closure which allows you to wear your hair in any style with it on. This business has been very successful, even appearing on the Dragon’s Den TV show. They have done an incredible job with their social media campaigns and interactions on Tiktok and Instagram.
I’m going to share some research I did on their social media pages so you can understand which ones are successful.
Tiktok
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Followers
173.9K
43.8K
19.5K
43
Post Frequency
Almost daily
Multiple times a week
Couple times a week
Barely any/not updated
Engagement
Very high
Very high
Barely any/none
None
Type of Content
Personal, fun, educational videos
Professional photos, fun videos, interactive stories
Professional photos, formal captions
Formal, scripted tweets
Interaction
Replies to all comments and answers questions (some with videos)
Replies to comments or likes them, answers all questions
N/A
N/A
In addition to their social media pages they also have a blog on their website that shares fun and informative posts such as motivational quotes, “Reasons You Should be a Hat Person” and “Hairstyles You Can Wear the Ponyback Hat With.”
I believe that their approach to social media is working, on their Tiktok and Instagram pages. Their social media campaigns and interactions are helping bring them success in the sales of their products. If they’d like to increase the number of viewers that see their content, I think it would be beneficial for them to put more effort into their Facebook and Twitter pages as well.
Have you ever been held back from wearing a hat because of your hairstyle? Maybe you could try out a Ponyback Hat!
Photo owned by Kraft Foods – OREO (found on Pinterest)
In my post today I want to talk about the Daily Twist campaign that Oreo launched in 2012 for the 100th anniversary of the Oreo cookie.
What I like about this campaign is that Oreo is not trying to sell us anything with this ad.
They are trying to connect with the consumer and I believe they were successful.
How Oreo made advertising fun
They took holidays and days that we celebrate (like pride month, grandparent day), current & historical events, meme’s from the internet and landmarks etc.
Oreo shared those ads daily on their Facebook page. Their 30 million followers loved it and shared it with their friends without Oreo asking them to do that. People just loved it that much.
Photo owned by Kraft Foods – OREO (found on Pinterest)
Oreo’s Daily Twist was engaging, colourful, aesthetic and fun. This ad did not want to sell anything to you. It was entertaining.
Photo owned by Kraft Foods – OREO (found on Pinterest)
It shows us that advertising or engagement with our consumers does not always have to be “you have to buy this product!” Or “buy this product because it is the best out there!”. Ads can be fun and show off your product in a new way that your consumers have not seen before.
Try it out, you might be surprised!
Any similar ads that you can recommend to me? Or any advice on how to improve business to consumer advertising? Thank you for reading.
On a recent walk in the park in Kanata, ON where I live, I noticed a sticker on a bench. In black letters on a simple white background, the sticker read, “Support a local business. Shop at Books and Nooks.” The catchy name stuck in my mind and I soon found myself googling it.
Books and Nooks is small, family-owned company selling books, accessories and knick-knacks online.
Screenshot from the Books and Nooks website.
Books and Nooks on social media
The company has a great-looking and easy-to-navigate website. The website tells the story of Books and Nooks and features on online store. It is also home to the company’s blog, MishMash, offering tips and insights around everything related to reading, home decor and fashion.
Books and Nooks has an active presence on Facebook and Instagram. The company is using these platforms to build relationships with its customer base and to drive traffic to its website. To achieve this, Books and Nooks posts images related to reading, motivational quotes, links to new blogs, and stories about the products it is selling.
Screenshot of an image on Books and Nooks Facebook page, encouraging customers to buy from local businesses.
Interactions
The company also uses its social media presence to responds to questions and comments from customers. These interactions, however, appear to be scarce. Overall, Books and Nooks’ social media accounts do not seem to register much engagement.
Yet, the company’s interactions with customers that are visible on the platforms are timely and professional. Whoever runs these accounts responds to comments and questions in a courteous and helpful manner, thus helping to establish long-term relationships with customers.
I think that Books and Nooks has so far failed to capitalize on its social media presence. The company does publish content that some of its existing customer base may find interesting. However, its posts on both platforms generate few interactions and do not seem to help the company attract new customers.
Do you happen to know of any small, family-owned companies successfully using social media to promote their business? What makes these companies successful? Please let me know in the comments below.
Earlier this year, Amanda Lindhout was invited as a guest speaker at work. After going through her her biography in the event invitation, I felt the urge to read her book before she would come. Since I read at an extra slow speed, I decided to look for the audio book version on Audible . In only 2 days I managed to “read” the book, just in time before her visit. My reading speed was not an issue anymore; problem solved.
My picture of Amanda Lindhout used in a Social Media post from work on Facebook.
I was hooked. Suddenly my commute was more enjoyable, and I could go through a book in less than 6 months! While I was not very keen on another monthly subscription, Audible’s initial offer was very generous; 3 audiobooks for free over 3 months.
They followed up with an email strategy that worked where other had failed; they were sending me personalized suggestions of book to read with the possibility of sampling them. With over 5 millions followers on the Audible’s Canadian Facebook page, they are truly engaging with their audience effectively. In this article from Mediakix , they explain how Audible is using Influencer in marketing campaigns on Instagram and Youtube to encourage new clients to try Audible and feed the discussion. Audiobooks are like movies in a sense that they are easy to share and comment on and the company can easily afford to have influencers do that for them.
Personalized suggestion from Audible received via email
When my offer came to an end, I decided quit to save money. Once again, they had an offer that was hard to resist and to this day I am still with them and have gone through many books since. I believe their marketing is very effective and not aggressive but yet generous. At least it works for me…
Here are a few of the books I have been listening to. Which one was your favorite?
An explosion of fashion and a phenomenal number of social media, dazzling advertisements, movies, tips, trips, cultural promotion, and an array of entry points inclusive of customer service, store locations, and environmental responsibility. This fashion giant, H&M, seems to have the glimmering photographs, splendid navigation, and discounts where appropriate. Nonetheless, there is lacking when compared to some competitors and oddly it is right at the Business to Customer (B2C) level despite all the glory and fireworks when attending their website and social media. Customer engagement is imperative.
Customer engaging for online purchase
Customer Engagement
H&M do a phenomenal job at consumer engagement. At every turn on social media there is a cornucopia of delightful models, blouses, pants, shirts, shoes, men, women, children, exotic travel scenes and the like. They are colourful, fashionable, light, heavy, seasonable, and they know their accessories. However, they are not approachable due to some issues that become obvious and their respective use of social media is more for product promotion than customer engagement.
Social Media Apps
Social Media and H&M
H&M uses a bounty of social media. They employ YouTube
extremely well. It encourages viewership by the breadth of topics of
fashionable concern. Beauty, swimwear, makeup, designers, back to school
matters and travel. There is little interaction by consumers and each video
seems to be well scripted and uses models. Thus far, there is a perception that
no consumers are interviewed about the product at hand. Very professional, but
not customer interactive.
Facebook is well utilized for promotion, but any customer
complaint is dismissive and relegated in the language used. Instagram, though
colourful and robust, again, has no customer pictures, nor community. Their “Your
Stories” is a ruse by nature of every Instagram photo is a given reflection of a
fit model without blemish or overweight persons as reflected in the real world.
Twitter reflects the above. It is an ad nauseam of advertisements and a few seemingly directed comments by alleged consumers. On two social media sights, the Community pages read as “Sorry, this content isn’t available right now”. They also use a magazine format for a blog, but purely for advertising. Where is the communication?
What we have here is a failure to communicate
There is little to no customer communicative interaction. There
seems to be no real back and forth as is indicative in B2C. It must affect
sales as “social Media is not a one-way street and it requires you to listen
and interact (Ryan, 2019).
Nordstrom is an excellent model to follow. Through all their social media there are appropriate and well worded responses to customers and effective email marketing that ensues. They deal with customers diplomatically, make appropriate referrals and point them to an array of clubs and discount points where needed. A good blog is in place to facilitate changes in customer and fashion activity (King, 2015).
Harris, Jess, Sales & Service Excellence Essentials, 7
Best Marketing Tools For Small Businesses, How technology can help you increase
customer base, HR.com Inc., 2016
Ryan, J., Digital Communication, Lesson 4: Choosing the Correct
Storytelling Tools for Your Audience, Lesson Content, Readings, Lesson Notes, B2B
vs B2C vs B2G, Algonquin College, 2019
Scollon, Ron, and Wong,
Suzanne, LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY 21, Intercultural Communication, A Discourse
Approach Second Edition, Chapters 2. Language and Social Networks (second
edition)Lesley Milroy, 17. The Language of the News Media, Allan Bell, 2001,
Second edition published Blackwell Publishers Inc., 350 Main Street, Malden,
Massachusetts 02148, USA
Wilson II, Clint C., Gutiérrez, Félix F, Chao, Lena M, Racism,
Sexism and the Media, 4th Edition, 2013, SAGE Publications, Inc., 2455
Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, California 91320
After squandering through various online stores and in-person mattress retailers, I finally came across Silk + Snow, a Canadian brand who sells mattresses for a fair price. With the “Bed In a Box” trend becoming increasingly popular, there has been a surge in competition for those who compete to have the best quality and prices in the industry. Silk + Snow is a B2C company that engages on social media and relies heavily on online advertising to promote and sell their products. Using a wonderful website and a variety of social media platforms, which include Facebook and Instagram, they are effectively able to capture interested buyers and promote products to a vast market online.
Above is a screenshot from Silk + Snow Instagram page, where they use an adorable golden retriever to show how compact the Bed In A Box style mattresses are. With the younger generation being infatuated with social media, the marketability of a compact, quality product that can be mailed to your front door has large appeal. The King-Size version of these beds retail for slightly over 1000$, which compared to the in-store options is an absolute steal! This B2C company proves that versatility, impressive site design and appeal via social media are all key elements of success. Take a look for yourself to see the incredible graphic design and interface that Silk and Snow uses.
Being transparent about your reviews is essential in this day and age. While the Facebook site for Silk + Snow doesn’t have a perfect 5 star rating, they do have many such as the one linked above. By not buying reviews or deleting poor ones, you demonstrate as a company that honesty matters, which can go a long ways with. B2C company. Buying a mattress is a big investment, with many people splurging s much as 5000$ to ensure they have a good night’s sleep. This Canadian company proves that their honesty, ethics, quality of products and reliance on social media to effectively brand and sell their products sets them apart from their competitors. After just spending 1100$ myself on a Silk + Snow, I feel confident recommending them to others and see lots of value in this rising Canadian brand!
How Starbucks Uses Social Media to Engage With Its Audience
Starbucks uses a multi-channel approach when engaging with their customers over social media.
Photo Credit: Pexels.
App/Rewards Program
Starbucks Rewards has created a loyal following both with an experience-based program and rewards program.
The experience side allows users to manage their card, reload funds, use location service and is enhanced by mobile ordering—a customer can order and pay for any menu item, chose the location, and walk in and pick up their drink without having to wait in line, thus creating loyalty by this enhancement to the customer experience.
Members are given “stars” (points) for their purchases that can be redeemed for any menu item when they reach 125 stars. Participants can also reach “Gold Level” status which comes with great perks, including an actual gold card. The elite member status symbol is a strong motivator.
The app also features seasonal drinks and menu items that greet the customer when they first load the app. Oftentimes a member will receive more stars for trying these recommended offerings.
As a member, I regularly receive triggered emails that mirror my purchasing history with a slight twist. For example, I frequently buy Caramel Macchiatos and Cool Lime Refeshers. The company offers me extra stars if I purchase both, plus another menu item of their choosing within a certain time period. It is a win-win: the customer receives a bonus and tries something new, and the company is upselling by offering extra stars.
Facebook
Besides the usual company-based information that is found on most brand pages (contests, jobs, store locator), Starbucks creates content that focuses on the personal rather than the business so that their page is friendly and engaging.
LinkedIn
Starbucks has a strong presence on LinkedIn that features more than job postings and selling coffee—they highlight their company culture and post interesting articles.
They also emphasize building community and with that, increase loyalty. The company aligns with other non-profits that serve local communities like Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
Instagram
The brand’s posts and customer’s posts alike feature seasonal content—warm and cosy in the winter, and bright, cheery, and refreshing in the summer—with friendly captions. Starbucks fans also show brand loyalty through their posts.
The platform is also used by the company advertise promotions which increases engagement and brand loyalty. And they love to regram, especially celebrities drinking Starbucks.
Twitter
Starbucks’ Twitter communications strategy includes original and retweeted content: information-sharing, emotion-evoking, and action-inducing. Their replies consist of information, apology/support, and comments which including showing gratitude.
Campaigns
Year-after-year, they creates successful media campaigns—think Pumpkin Spice Latte and their famous red cups. Of late, one of their more successful campaigns had customers submit their red cup designs through social media. Thirteen different designs were selected and used that year. With personalization influencing customers like never before, this campaign was on point.
Where They Miss the Mark
Starbucks is definitely a successful B2C model however, where they succeed in engagement, they fall down in transparency with their rewards program—the parameters for the program change frequently and communication is not great. Here’s an example of poor communication: did you know that you now have to claim your birthday drink on your actual birthday? You used to have four days to do so (down from the original seven days).
I recently decided to get healthier and wanted to be accountable in some way, so I hired MS Fitness. I was very impressed that what I needed was available so easily over the web. I had to fill out some online paperwork and submit it back in order to get my fitness/nutrient plan. Within 48 hours I was all set up and ready to begin.
My meals were laid out for the week ahead complete with a shopping list so I couldn’t miss anything, an exercise plan for the week that had me excited and an app for me to keep a journal of everything I eat and everything I do. Immediately I started to receive emails with post from Facebook with lots of yummy recipes and its a private group so you can ask questions and talk to others doing the program as well. Lots of tweets and Instagram post to keep you motivated.
So Friday I had surgery and after 3 days of not using the journal I was contacted by MS Fitness to see if everything was going okay, I was very impressed to know that someone was actually making sure that I was being accountable.
MS Fitness is a new business that has started in my community so keeping it local appealed to me. They are off to a good start with using social media and I absolutely loved the fact that rather than send out an email/text they picked up the phone.
How about you do you like to hear that friendly voice on the phone asking how you are or would you rather a simple email/text saying “How r u?”?
Photo owned by Kraft Foods – OREO (found on Pinterest)
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 