A presentation by Owner + Artist – Adriane Duckworth
OUTLINE
01 02
A B O U T ME My background, education, career etc.
ABOUT THE WILD How the idea began / Getting help beginning my business / Creating my brand
03 04 05
REWARDS Amazing things we’ve experienced / Highlights / Success Stories
STRUGGLES Challenges we have faced / Drawbacks of being a business owner
SOCIAL MEDIA Various types of social media / What to post and where / Tips and tricks
ABOUT ME • Growing up, I was always drawing, painting, reading and writing • After high school, I went to Mohawk College for Business Marketing - and spent my off time creating • Various marketing roles between 2001 and 2011 • Gave me a good foundation in terms of marketing strategies, developing customer relationships, and brand identity • In 2011 I had my first son, Benjamin, and at that point made the decision to stay home with him, but still needed my own project
ABOUT THE WILD INITIAL IDEA • The idea began as I was planning my son’s nursery
• My love of modern, minimalist design wouldn’t allow me to purchase the typical pink and blue baby items • Wanted to create something modern, unique, that also encourages a love of animals and nature • Original artistic inspiration – animal mug shots • Started with canvas paintings for his room; which soon led to custom requests and an etsy shop • Quick success made me realize that this could be something much more - had to be more accessible
ABOUT THE WILD GETTING STARTED • Spent some time selling the paintings, creating new characters, and working on the idea more - product ideas, branding, marketing plans, teaching myself to screen print. Etc. • In the fall of 2014 I applied and was accepted to Biz Smartz – a community program designed to support and encourage people who want to start small businesses – Created a detailed business plan – Met with experts in various fields (accounting, business law, marketing, etc.) – Met other amazing entrepreneurs • Registered my business in Nov 2014 but spent months solidifying my brand story, marketing and implementation plans
ABOUT THE WILD BUILDING A BRAND • Started with a list of key words that represent the vibe that we wanted The Wild to have, and we review it regularly to see that everything is in keeping with that list • Everything was created in a cohesive way – from fonts, to our social media ‘tone’, to the packaging of our items • We wanted our designs to have a unique look so that they could be recognized even without knowing they were ours • We stayed very true to our target market niche, we don’t try to be all things to all people (eg. we do not offer colour, ever) • We are consistent in what we share, and what we do not share • Everything we do, we do with our customers in mind and their perception of us
ABOUT THE WILD IMPLEMENTATION • Once everything was ready, all social media platforms, products, website, etc. we launched and began contacting people, starting with family and friends
• We approached a friend who had a large IG following and asked if she would hold a launch contest for us, which really got the ball rolling, and landed us our first wholesale request in week one of being open
• From there, with our modest list of followers, our social media strategy took over and things began to snowball (more on that later)
ABOUT THE WILD WHERE WE ARE TODAY • Currently carried in over 60 boutiques across North America with a few overseas • Social media following is growing daily: – Instagram – 28.2K followers – Pinterest – 85K followers – Facebook – 2.1K • We’ve been featured in Today’s Parent Magazine and the Hamilton Spectator, and have appeared at several curated markets including Makeology, The Post Market, Hello Happy Market, and soon we will be at The Baby Show in Toronto • Several amazing collaborations including Muchybooks, Minimioche, Otherware • Several celebrity clients including Hilary Duff, Rachel Bilson, Tori Spelling and Jaime King
ADVANTAGES +REWARDS • Following your passion • Being home with your family (though it’s tough) • Pride in what you’re spending your life doing • Total decision-making power • Completely flexible schedule • Meeting like-minded people • Having a creative outlet • Endless possibility of where you can take your business • Feeling ‘the thrill’ at all times, it never gets old (well not yet anyway!)
CHALLENGES + STRUGGLES • Stress. Stress. STRESS. • Feeling like you can’t turn things ‘off’ • Pressure to earn enough money • Pressure to always keep things fresh and new • Copycats • Finding the courage to ask for help • Managing your time – wearing all the hats • Work life balance (which doesn’t exist at all)
HOW IT ALL BALANCES Good days and bad days are all worth it if you’re doing what you love. It’s easy to power through the hard stuff if you focus on your vision. Make the decision to never give up.
OUR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY • Began sharing before our launch, showing a bit of how we were pulling things together • We focused on Instagram and Pinterest, as we felt it was the best fit (but we have a presence everywhere) • Each photo was edited to reflect our brand – we post very mindfully, even more ‘raw’ photos • We have several categories that we post about on a cycle (not usually planned, just randomly) • In the beginning, we reached out to IG ‘tastemakers’ to see if they would help us spread the word • We spent a LOT of time directly connecting with moms – no quick fix for this, takes tons of time but is so worth it
OUR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY • Our process of interacting with Moms • Look for common ‘mom’ hashtags (eg. #momlife, #pregnancy, #newbaby, etc) • Visit the Mom’s IG page, like a handful of images and leave at least one comment (don’t follow though) • Spent some time each day doing this – this is how you build REAL followers who become REAL customers • We also build relationships with other brands • Our wholesale side of the business came directly from shops finding us on IG • Now with a loyal following, we continue to update and share our story as we grow and change
SOCIAL MEDIA TYPES INSTAGRAM
- Photography-focused
- Great for sharing updates, sales, photos
- Community building
- Huge number of users
- Great for interacting with customers
- Posts are very filtered, reach is limited
- Quick, short updates
- Very visual
- Great way to communicate with customers
- Can easily mix your own content/product with
- Updates can be easily missed
other content that your customer will like - Can generate lots of traffic if used well
SNAPCHAT
- Raw, real footage shared
- Networking tool
- Show behind the scenes shots
- Share your brand story
- Build interest in new releases
- Build interest in new releases
SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS • Choose your social media platforms wisely – focus on where your customers are spending their time • Don’t underestimate your profile photo, description, etc. – how your IG/FB/Pinterest page looks is how people will choose if they want to follow you • Make sure your profiles are branded similarly on each platform • Don’t post just any photo – edit edit edit! • If you don’t know how to edit photos well – LEARN! • Just say no to filters • Use your REAL voice • Come up with your own hashtag (research it first!) • Mix up your content (eg. Product photo, behind the scenes photo, customer photo, coming soon photo/event/update, repeat)
SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS (CONTINUED) • Consider creating a editorial calendar if posting doesn’t come naturally • Be mindful of who you are following, how you are interacting, etc. • Get personal (sometimes) – but don’t use your business accounts as personal • Have a posting ‘habit’ – eg. When you launch a new product - share on IG, then on FB, Twitter, then Pin it on Pinterest • Build up interest when you’re working on new projects • Contests can be great when used wisely and when they gain you meaningful followers • Share other brands that are complementary to yours – only share brands you have researched, make sure you want to direct your customers to them • Consider creating a social media challenge for yourself (and invite others!) • Always stay positive, but don’t be afraid to be a little honest about struggles
SOCIAL MEDIA WHICH PLATFORM IS RIGHT FOR YOU INSTAGRAM
- Photographers, creative products, design
- Because of the sheer number of users,
- Fashion, beauty, art, food
everyone should be using this
- Businesses who want to communicate their brand story TWITTER
- Local services (good local connection)
- E-commerce websites
- Marketing, PR firms, Real Estate Agents
- Fashion, beauty
- Graphic/web designers, consultants
- Wedding, event planners
SNAPCHAT
- Young users, especially popular with teens
- Professionals, free-lancers
- Coincides with IG users at the moment
- Local services
(still early)
- Business-to-business services
TIP: Research your top five to ten competitors and look at each of their social media platforms. See where their largest followings are – start by focusing your efforts there too.
SOCIAL MEDIA HOW OFTEN TO POST
1-2 times a day is ideal
1-3 posts
5-10 tweets daily
10-20 pins daily
SNAPCHAT
1-3 snaps daily
1 update daily
SOCIAL MEDIA A NOTE ON HASHTAGS • Hashtags are useful, and using them helps drive traffic your way • Do not count on them to grow your following immensely, your content and brand story is what will grow your audience • Use specific hashtags, general tags are oversaturated • Hide your tags, it’s a little less obnoxious – Create a note on your phone with your list of tags you usually use, and put 5 periods above them, so that it looks like this: . . . . . #hashtag1 #hashtag2 #hashtag3 … –after you post on IG, comment on your own post by copying and pasting the whole thing
INSTAGRAM WHAT TO SHARE • • • • • • • • • •
Tell your brand story New products/services Photos of your products or service project in use title Your day-to-day routines Your workspace Build interest in new or upcoming products/services Events you will be participating in Your team Your creative process Use Instagram Stories – • Show the real day to day of running your business • Sneak peaks • Show yourself and your personality
project title
FACEBOOK WHAT TO SHARE • New products, sales, and always include a link directly to your website each time • Ask questions – get a dialogue going with your followers to encourage interaction and comments project title project title • Facebook users seems to love funny photos, memes, etc. so post away and people will probably share them • Links to anywhere that you may be mentioned (like features, blogger reviews, newspaper/magazine articles, etc.) • Links to things you see online that your users may be interested in • Customer testimonials • Direct your fans to your email list • Consider boosting your posts (Facebooks ads) now and then (or always if your budget allows) but be VERY specific when selecting your demographic
TWITTER WHAT TO SHARE • • • • • • • •
News related to your products or services Customer photos Local interest links/stories project title project title Funny anecdotes Links to any events that are related to you or your target market Cross promote your other platforms Retweet customer raves Retweet things your target market will care about
PINTEREST WHAT TO SHARE • Link directly to new products or services as you offer them (and any time!) • Pin photos from your Instagram feed that represent your brand well (which should be all of them) project title project title • Things that your customers will want to see, not just your items (blend your items in amongst these) • Eg. Moms like easy recipes, kids rooms, new baby helpful articles, baby shower and kid’s birthday ideas, and cute outfits for themselves • Use Pinterest for YOURSELF too – small business articles, branding inspiration, packaging ideas, social media tips, etc. • Don’t forget to make use of private boards for new ideas, changes you want to make that you’re not ready yet to share with your customers • NOTE: Make sure all images on your website have good ALT codes – this is the text that Pinterest will use when you or someone else Pins if they don’t edit it (and people rarely do)
SNAPCHAT WHAT TO SHARE • You making your products or working on the service you provide • Your workspace • Small daily tasks (packing orders, sending aretitle nosey project out title invoices, etc. – people project and like to see behind the scenes stuff!) • Take a video of your website and tell your customers to come check out something new • Show your kids or pets, because people can’t resist cute kids and pets • Events you are participating in • How you spend your weekend – show your customers that you’re also a real person
LINKEDIN WHAT TO SHARE • • • • • • •
Professional successes, milestones Career updates Business events and updates project title Blog posts Press releases Company changes Relevant articles
project title
SOCIAL MEDIA CONCLUSION • Make a solid social media plan before you’ve launched, or create one now if you don’t already have one • Decide where to focus your efforts – be on many of them, but focus on one or two to start (until you have a huge social media team anyway) • Be authentic • SHARE, don’t sell • Be consistent in what you share • Make sure each platform accurately reflects the brand you have created • Engage with the connections you make • Be proactive, take the initiative to connect with customers (don’t just hope they find you) • Tell your story
THANK YOU Email me at thewildkidsapparel@gmail.com for a copy of this presentation. I N S T A G R A M / @thewildkidsapparel F A C E B O O K / facebook.com/thewildkidsapparel T W I T T E R / @thewildkidsapp P I N T E R E S T / pinterest.com/thewildkids/