Show Me the Money...I Mean Products!

March 03, 2018

Show Me the Money...I Mean Products!

Discovery is the means of survival in business. Being discovered, continued to be discovered, or a lack of discovery drives the bottom line up or down. As this relates to my client, Heartstrings, the primary means of discovery is ultimately their word of mouth reputation. In truth, this is supplemented by ads in magazines and local newspapers and their online following from their social media handles. However, the management will relate their brand identity is so noticeable and so devoutly followed due to the reputation established by the company from its inception. Though they have a website, it’s not the first “hit” when the business is googled, and actually was out of commission as of recent. We decided for the scope of this project to focus solely on social media. Considering Heartstrings does not take part in online commerce, it seems most optimal to focus on the forums which can get sales, product, and customer interaction to the forefront.

When thinking about the creative process for my client, I decided to base my thinking off one singular quote I happened upon a few weeks ago.

With that in mind, I again trolled my client online to see if I could find things indicative of bad social media habits for business. Did I find a plethora of issues? No not necessarily. Luckily enough each handle across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are all identical. Were customer questions responded to? Not always, and not always from the Facebook profile or handle of the company. On this end, I will be forgiving. However, what I did find reinforced one clear thing to me: if plateauing is the worst thing you can do in life (take it back to the biological “use it or lose it” principle) then my oh my we have a problem.

Monotony. Pure monotony at its finest is currently on display. My client, Heartstrings of Bowling Green, does indeed have social media, but it is merely existing and not being utilized to its highest function. A quote by Liana Evans reads, “Content doesn’t win, optimized content wins.” In this, Heartstrings falls short of the public demand. The posts are not optimized in content or publishing, nor is there a rhyme or reason to the frequency.

My plan includes a re-facing of the main three social media platforms to mirror each other in logos, information in the “about me” sections, and post content. Presently, each account does not have completed information about store hours, location, or links to other accounts. By linking the accounts, we can make one timed post which will sync across the systems, creating a singular and clear line of communication. The post content is also incredibly dull. We plan to use twitter as a customer service support option and vary the tweets to not always be a direct link to Instagram. For Instagram and Facebook, we plan to alter posts from products, to real-time product specials, and info-graphics designed on free sites, such as Canva. This altering of posts has the option to be scheduled (client discretion on this decision) and will include themed postings, such as #WeddingWednesday as to showcase some of the specialties that Heartstrings is well known for.

Additionally, my client and I have discussed ways to use the social media accounts to better engage potential customers consistently. In this, we mean responding to customers from the company handles and finding a way to include pricing on products in the photos shared. The communication style of commerce has shifted drastically since the birth of Heartstrings. So, to keep current, they must adjust their ability to pull in customers off of social media to inspire them to make a store visit. Using these accounts to optimize the customer interaction with their brand is going to be the next major move for Heartstrings if they hope to expand their existing customer base without joining the e-commerce world.