Social Media Case Study: Part 1

Earlier this week we introduced you to a new client of ours, Master Silk artist Jamie Kirkell. You can find the case study Introduction here.

Today is the first post documenting our step-by-step progress. We invite you to follow along in the coming weeks as we discuss our strategy and implement  the ‘action plans’ to market Jamie’s business online.

Master silk artist Jamie Kirkell contacted us because he was looking for a way to market his silk scarves online. He had a website,  Kirkell Silk Studios, but felt it was more like a brochure and didn’t accurately convey his personality or his interest in connecting with people. In addition, he wanted to be able to sell his hand painted silk scarves from his website but it wasn’t set up to do that. He was also interested in using social media to market his business.

Our services are not ‘one size fits all’ so before developing a strategy and action plan for our clients, we like to find out more about them, their business and their marketing goals. To do this, we utilize a comprehensive questionnaire/checklist that we developed and have refined over the past few years.  After reviewing the responses, we’re able to create a customized internet and social media marketing plan that’s tailored to meet the specific needs of each client.

Our questionnaire is divided into 5 main content areas:

1. General Information
2. Business Specifics
3. Marketing
4. Resources
5. Goals

General information is an overview of the business – its history, how it started, what item(s) are sold or services are provided, what our client’s role in the business is, etc.

Business Specifics goes more into depth about the business – describing the target market(s), doing a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats), defining the UVP (unique value proposition),  identifying the competition, etc.

Marketing covers all current and past marketing efforts focusing on what worked, what didn’t and why. It defines which products or services are the best sellers, which bring in the most profit (not always the best sellers), what problem(s) these products or services solve for their customers, how the business maintains contact with previous, existing and future customers and more.

Resources refers to monetary resources (the budget), people resources (staff) and time (# of hours) available to devote to an internet/social media marketing program.

Goals are how each specific business defines success. When we prepare our report, we create SMART objectives to help our clients reach their goals. SMART objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-framed.

We met with Jamie last week and after processing all his information, we developed a Strategy Report and Action Plan to market his business online. Details in the next installment!

BTW – as our case study progresses, we welcome your input, thoughts, ideas and suggestions!