I fully owned organic social media for our newly-launched DTC ecommerce brand across Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Through a multi-phased approach, I created an end-to-end content system including strategy, ideation, content calendars, content creation, approval tracking, cross-channel distribution, and performance analytics.
Phase 1: Establish
I secured buy-in from our VP to move forward by presenting the need to nurture a relationship with our online customers by establishing our presence on social. Since we were a new brand, the main goal was to build trust and awareness with customers by creating an emotional connection through quality content that entertains, inspires, and educates.
The next step was to study our market research including target audiences and competitor audits. Our primary audience was homeowners; secondary was landlords, developers, designers, and contractors.
Brand Identity
I defined and refined our brand personality and voice to appeal to DIY-loving users who valued quality and value on social. Values. Look and feel. DIY. Cool younger brother. Go off presentation I made. Some brand identity guidelines:
Guided by our brand values of affordability, quality, and sustainability.
The cooler younger sibling in the Masco family of brands
Trendy, Agile, Dynamic
Looking for kitchen and bath hardware at the intersection of quality, value, and sustainability.
With established presence on eBay we could use that customer goodwill for content (reviews turned into user insights, love the fast shipping, love the like-new quality).
Low-Hanging Fruit
To start, I created callout messaging for user generated content that would start working in the background for us. I collaborated with our legal teams to develop a submission and agreement process.
Marketing Email CTA Mockup
Box Insert CTA Mockup
Employee Engagement Incentive
Content
I owned the hands-on creation of native content using a roster of creative tools.
Brand Mascot: Minty the Frog
I created and hand-animated our brand mascot used in various pieces of content to further expand our brand's playful personality.
Community Engagement
I handled engagement with similar accounts in the home improvement space to increase our brand presence and discovery for users.
Phase 2: Grow
We successfully laid a foundation and after going from 0 to 300 followers, but we were hitting stagnation with our engagement, so I realized it was time to shift our strategy and enter the next phase. to increase our presence and discovery for cross audience on similar accounts. But if you’re trying to build trust, reach a niche subculture or build your brand, influencer relations is a powerful way to do it. Boosted posts, giveaways, UGC, influencer marketing, video advertising/marketing. Podcast ads. With the right influencer you get your exact target audience, and it's as effective as their best friend suggesting your product.
Reflection
The biggest challenge was overcoming the various limitations at play. I was a team of one, and because Mintera sells recertified products from Delta and Kraus, we were held accountable to each brand’s legal and marketing teams (as well as our own). Furthermore, kitchen and bath hardware isn’t inherently the deepest well of opportunity for creative and exciting content.
But restrictions force you to be creative, and I’m proud of what I was able to accomplish. I used our marketing agency and internal brand managers as resources, and I found a unique angle in our brand identity. Through out-of-the box ideas, we laid a foundation on social media as a brand through quality content that established our voice and personality. This prepped us for phase two, which focused on growing engagement and followers with boosted posts, giveaways, UGC content, and influencer partnerships. shaping the voice and positioning