Using a social media expert: is it worth the expense?
Social media can be time consuming. With several social platforms: Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin, I seemed to be spending a lot of time creating posts and content but not sure I was seeing any results.
What I needed help with
An audit of my social platforms.
Growing an audience that interacted with me and my brand.
The best ways of engaging with my audience.
Pushing the boundaries of my brand identity.
What to post on what platform, when and how often.
Working smart and using my time effectively.
Presenting my clothes in photographs and on video.
Getting comfortable with video and creating interesting reels and stories.
Promoting my pop-up events to a wider community.
Eventually selling more through my website.
Why I chose Chloe of Creative Strides
I initially came across Chloe at a networking event. I then followed her online where her personality and authenticity really stood out, alongside her quirky style and obvious love of second-hand clothes. I wanted to work with someone who understood the joy I felt when finding a wonderful piece of clothing and passing that on to a new owner.
I was also looking for someone a lot younger than me as I wanted a different perspective on my business. My main market was women aged 35 and over, primarily because I was selling to friends and acquaintances and that age group was the one that I moved in. I knew that my clothes would appeal to younger women but needed to find a way to reach them.
We met up a couple of times to talk through my requirements and there was an instant chemistry. I knew I could trust Chloe completely to meet my objectives and was very happy to give her free rein. As a creative myself I know how restricting it can be to be micro-managed and I wanted Chloe to feel unfettered.
What we achieved together
Chloe was fully invested in the project during our 3 months of working together, coming up with a workable and practical strategy with fantastic new ideas of how to promote Trash Chic and ME.
I’m not a ‘limelight’ kind of person but I came to realise that I am my brand and that my followers wanted to see me. I adore meeting my customers at my pop-up events and have no problems chatting away face to face, but Chloe’s encouragement has certainly increased my online confidence.
When you’re passionate about something, you often don’t realise how much you know and how keen others are to hear your tips and ideas. For example, I took for granted that people knew how to put different patterns together to create an impactful outfit as this is what I do every day. This was one of my most popular videos.
I have never been comfortable in front of the camera and avoid being photographed, let alone caught in a video. There was definitely resistance from me at the outset but Chloe, bless her, persisted and gently nudged … then pushed … me out of my comfort zone.
This morning, I got up early, set up my camera on the tripod and have been modelling and photographing summer tops. Yes, ME modelling. And I was delighted with the result. Three months ago, this would not have happened.
Working with my branding and love of colour, Chloe has set the tone for my posts with engaging graphics that have made a world of difference to the look and feel of my socials and increased my followers substantially. The figures speak for themselves.
Throughout the process, Chloe has been monitoring the results so that we can see what sort of posts work best. This information will inform my ongoing social media strategy.
So, was it worth it?
There is a temptation to struggle on, learning through your mistakes but a small investment can cut to the chase and set you on the road to social success.
I have learned so much during the past three months and feel confident going forward.
I chose the right expert. She was worth every penny and a vintage bomber jacket.
Find out more about Chloe Ambrose.
