social media breakfast: michelina's case study
DESCRIPTION
Michelina’s is a nationally-distributed frozen food brand based out of Minneapolis. However, the company had no social media presence before coming to Spyder Trap in late 2012. Through a combination of new website design, paid advertising and organic engagement we were able to not only establish the brand on Facebook and Twitter, but were able to make the brand relevant in a crowded digital space. We combined product-focused posts with an extensive listening strategy allowing us to find users tweeting about Michelina’s and initiate conversations with potential brand advocates. At the same time, we were increasing referral traffic to their website leveraging a previous untapped audience. This holistic approach took Michelina’s from the bottom of the freezer to top of mind with consumers.TRANSCRIPT
FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE FREEZER TO TOP OF MINDMICHELINA’S: HOW TO TAKE A BRAND ONLINE IN 2013
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Mobile Websites & Apps
Social Media Marketing
Search Marketing
Email Marketing
Analytics & Reporting
Responsive Websites & Design
STEVE RETKA: SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
ABOUT ME ABOUT SPYDER TRAPMINNEAPOLIS-BASED DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY
Selected as one of the “100 Best Companies To Work For” two years in a row, here are few of the reasons our clients have said they’ve chosen to work with us year after year:
Involved with all aspects of social media marketing, from digital strategy and ideation to campaign execution and reporting. I have coordinated the launch of multiple profiles across different social media channels, as well as organized promotions, contests, and engagement events.
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THE CHALLENGE WE FACED
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ABOUT MICHELINA’S
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FROZEN FOOD BRAND THAT HADN’T WARMED TO DIGITAL
Michelina’s is a nationally-distributed frozen food company based in Minneapolis.
The brand had little to no online presence before 2013
• Limited traditional marketing
• No social media presence
Underwent a complete rebranding before coming to Spyder Trap
• Refocused the brand on positivity, sentiment, and appealing to life enthusiasts
• Branding re-defined by CBX
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RESEARCH & GOALSMEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE APPROACH STILL APPLIES
Before developing a digital strategy, we had to assess 3 things:
• Where the brand was at digitally
• How they stacked up against competitors
• What they wanted to get out of social
What we found:
• A lot of conversation was already happening
• Polarizing sentiment among users
• Social media was a highly competitive space
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THE PATH WE TOOK
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HOLISTIC APPROACHSOCIAL MEDIA IS JUST ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE
Once we had a strategy determined, we utilized all aspects of digital to strengthen each other
Strategy components:
Established Facebook and Twitter profiles
Launched paid advertising effort
Revamped email marketing strategy
Designed and launched the new Michelinas.com
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HOLISTIC APPROACH
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FINDING THE VOICE OF MAMA MICHELINA WAS KEY
Tone was a major part of the new branding we were given, and had to be incorporated
Prewritten content tone matched the new branding and reflect the language on the website
• Positivity and life enthusiasm
• Warm and wholesome
Tone on Twitter was adjusted to better fit the channel
• Users talking about the brand didn’t fit with the new branding’s demographic
• Kept the overall positivity in tone
• Introduced more humor for broader appeal
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REAL RESULTS
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STRONG DIGITAL GROWTH SO FAR
Apr May Jun Jul Aug0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
Social Media GrowthMichelina’s has seen remarkable growth in the first 5 months on social media
• Over 20K Facebook fans
• 4K Twitter followers
• Thousands of new social media traffic referrals, a
previously untapped resource
• Increased coupon downloads
• Stronger and more streamlined customer service
protocol
• Improved sentiment in the social media space
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THE LESSONS WE LEARNED
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BE AGILE AND TAKE RISKS
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MAKE PLANS FOR THE LONG TERM, BUT BE READY TO CHANGE THEM
We knew the brand was slow getting into social, but we were determined to make them fast once they arrived
Social media was completely new ground for the brand, and user reaction was unknown at launch
Initial ad spend was influenced and adjusted based on popularity of posts
• “Mama’s Words of Wisdom” post was promoted after initial traction, wound up getting 19K likes
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BE AGILE AND TAKE RISKS
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SPEED IS MORE IMPORTANT TODAY THAN EVER
We wanted to capitalize on Game 7 of the NBA Finals with a 2-hour microburst Twitter ad campaign
• Targeted promoted tweets to followers of each teams Twitter account
• Each team’s fan base was shown a specific tweet
The entire process went from ideation to completion in 6 hours
The results justified the approach:
• 187K impressions
• Over 2K clicks• 37 mentions
• 5% increase in followers
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DON’T HEAR, LISTEN
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CAN PAY DIVIDENDS LATER
We set up a listening campaign to find existing conversations about Michelina’s that were already taking place
• Taking advantage of low hanging fruit
• Grassroots effort to build rapport with users
One on one engagement was important
• Low risk, high reward
Variety of conversation allowed for more creative responses
• Humor and customer service became our distinguishing factor from competitors
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RISE ABOVE THE NOISE
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CAMPAIGN-LEVEL THINKING HELPS YOU STAND OUT
Organic content alone makes it difficult for brands to stand out from the millions of other accounts
• User attention is now a commodity
“Make It Your Michelina’s” campaign
• The first campaign for Michelina’s
• Encourages users to share how they make their Michelina’s recipe ideas through user-submitted entries
Offers a variety of media opportunities:
• Owned: Brand-created content in August
• Paid: Paid advertising efforts and influencer outreach
• Earned: Blogger content and user submissions
THANK YOU