Social media has transformed the way businesses interact with their audience, bridging the divide between local brands and society. For most local retail brands though, social media engagement can seem like climbing up a steep mountain. This blog examines a case study of a local retail brand that overcame such odds with a well-crafted social media strategy, demonstrating that the right technique will bring quantifiable outcomes.
The Local Brand and Engagement Role
BrightThreads Boutique, the case study’s retail brand, provides sustainable, handmade fashion products thoughtfully curated for eco-conscious consumers. The small-town boutique originally relied on walk-in business and word of mouth. But as competition mounted and the need arose to locate digitally oriented consumers, the brand leveraged social media to interact with its individuals.
Social media engagement is greater than comments and likes. Social media connects, builds trust, and engages people into a brand’s world, encouraging them to learn, give feedback, and become a customer. For BrightThreads, it was not a question of whether they were on social media but how best to use it to spur engagement and brand presence.
Early Challenges BrightThreads Experienced
Before it came up with a strategy, BrightThreads struggled with common social media challenges facing local businesses:
- Low Visibility: Despite having social media handles, their updates barely extended beyond their existing audiences.
- Limited Engagement: Updates received few likes, comments, and shares, reflecting minimal engagement from their audiences.
- Unclear Content Direction: Their content was without cohesion, varying in theme, tone, and posts frequency.
- No Strategic Plan: Posts were one-off and had no planning in terms of campaigning or aligning their content with their brand story.
- These issues definitely stalled their ability to engage their local population, and their social media campaigns lay dormant for the most part.
Plan to Spur Social Media Engagement
Realizing they needed to have a systematic approach, BrightThreads employed a social media consultant who helped them devise an effective plan. Here’s how they got things back on track:
- Themes of Content Clearly Defined
BrightThreads began developing content based on prevailing themes that were most significant to their audience:
- Sustainability Education: Material presenting eco-friendly practices, sustainable fashion advice, and behind-the-scenes photos of their production line in their boutique.
- Customer Spotlights: Blog posts presenting photos and stories of customers sporting BrightThreads apparel.
- Product Promotions: High-quality images representing new products, promotions, and giveaways.
- Local Community Focus: Blog posts presenting market events from their community, collaborations with local artists, and causes they donate to.
This consistent focus helped create a persona their audience could identify with while maintaining the feed well-organized and on-message.
- Content Types and Scheduling
To maintain frequency and variety, BrightThreads had a consistent posting routine:
- Daily Story Updates: Capturing experiences like getting a new shipment or having an employee style an outfit between business hours.
- 5 Posts per Week: With a mix of photos, videos, and carousel posts.
- 1 Weekly Live Session: Live sessions in which the team featured styling tips or responded to questions about their sustainable practices.
- User-Generated Content (UGC): Leveraging customer-shared content to feature real users loving their products.
The dynamic calendar allowed them to stay top-of-mind without over-exposing their audience.
- Hashtag Strategy
BrightThreads conducted hashtag research, discovering a mix of niche hashtags like #SustainableStyle and geotags like #ShopLocal[CityName]. This optimized their posts for discoverability while targeting both eco-conscious consumers and their neighborhood.
- Community Engagement
Their strategy also placed great emphasis on real engagement:
- Commenting on every message and comment, making their audience feel heard.
- Engaging with other similar local businesses by commenting and liking their posts, building partnerships and cross-promotion.
Hosting Q&A and poll sessions in Instagram Stories to drive user interaction and create feedback.
- Paid Social Media Campaigns
BrightThreads supplemented their organic strategies with small but targeted ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram. Those campaigns drove awareness for their giveaways and product launches to sustainability, fashion, and local business audiences within 30 miles of where they were based.
Results Achieved
BrightThreads’ thoughtful approach resulted in significant, measurable outcomes after six months:
- Follower Growth: Their Instagram followers increased 45%, from 2,500 to 3,625. Similarly, Facebook page likes increased by 30%.
Engagement Metrics:
- Average post likes increased threefold, from 50 to 150 per post.
- Comments increased fivefold, indicating increased audience interaction.
- Instagram Story views increased by 80%, indicating increased interest in their day-to-day updates.
Website Traffic:
- Social media became their second-highest source of traffic, with 35% of total visitors.
- Bounce rates decreased by 20%, which meant individuals were reaching pertinent content and sticking around to browse.
Customer Feedback:
- Consumers embraced the brand’s dedication to sustainability learning and interacted with polls and live Q&A sessions as a response.
Community Connection:
- Collaborations with local artists and event promotion increased visibility and garnered publicity in local publications.
- The new strategy not only placed Bright Threads back into the digital limelight but also played a major role in increased traffic to their bricks-and-mortar store.
What Local Brands Can Learn
BrightThreads’ success demonstrates the importance of a well-thought-out and value-driven social media strategy. Below are some practical takeaways for other local retail brands:
Know Your Audience
Know your audience’s interests, habits, and likes, and create content that speaks directly to them.
Define a Content Strategy
Create a mix of content (instructional, promotional, and interactive) that suits your brand message and captures your audience’s attention.
Hold Consistency
A regular schedule keeps you in the spotlight and builds your brand’s credibility and reliability.
Engage Authentically
Don’t just post; engage. Reply to comments and messages, and talk to other local businesses and customers authentically.
Use Paid Ads Wisely
Even a modest advertising budget can be lucrative if campaigns are well-targeted and coordinated with specific objectives.
Use Local Affiliations
Emphasize your local affiliations through partnerships, events, and causes.
Taking the First Step
Social media engagement is multifaceted, particularly when faced with challenges like competition or invisibility. However, through a clear plan, sustained effort, and focus on authenticity, local retail brands can turn adversity into advantage.
Need to revamp your social media plan? Reach out to us today for professional guidance crafted to suit your business requirements. We’ll assist you to start on the path to connect with your audience and create actionable results.
