Social Media Marketing Project : Part 2
#BEANOUTSIDER Campaigns
It's success has been followed by their branch off campaign, "Be An Outsider at Work". This movement was inspired by research that concluded that spending more time in the outdoors, getting fresh air and sunshine, increased productivity, creativity, and overall happiness in the work place. Through this campaign, the company is reaching out to more than just the typical nature enthusiast but to the majority of the nation; the 9-5 office worker.
GOOGLE TRENDS
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| Data Source: GoogleTrends 30 Day Data Collected 10/15 and 10/30 |
In the past week since we've looked at these analyses, we can see that the brand has remained pretty consistent throughout the past month. However, when comparing these graphs, saved two weeks apart, I notice a trend that I hadn't recognized before!
Both month long sets of data ebb and flow, but they seem to peak in the same three places, which all happen to land on the weekends. I associated this with people being off of work and more free to both shop and explore the outdoors; two reasons why people may be searching for the outdoor recreational company. After some research, I did find that they have free fishing demonstrations and sometimes free guided hikes on weekends!
Another possible explanation to this unique pattern: football! L.L.Bean has recently produced these "Flag Football" commercials which are played during the Sunday Night football games. It's good to see that some of their marketing efforts are proving to be effective, especially because this one is actually related to the #BeAnOutsider campaign while also emphasizing their line of flannels. Even for people who don't watch football, the weekends are a time when people are more free to watch television and will be more likely to come across an L.L.Bean commercial which would inspire them to search for the company online.
Both month long sets of data ebb and flow, but they seem to peak in the same three places, which all happen to land on the weekends. I associated this with people being off of work and more free to both shop and explore the outdoors; two reasons why people may be searching for the outdoor recreational company. After some research, I did find that they have free fishing demonstrations and sometimes free guided hikes on weekends!
Another possible explanation to this unique pattern: football! L.L.Bean has recently produced these "Flag Football" commercials which are played during the Sunday Night football games. It's good to see that some of their marketing efforts are proving to be effective, especially because this one is actually related to the #BeAnOutsider campaign while also emphasizing their line of flannels. Even for people who don't watch football, the weekends are a time when people are more free to watch television and will be more likely to come across an L.L.Bean commercial which would inspire them to search for the company online.
SOCIAL MENTION
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| Data Source: SocialMention Collected on 10/15, 10/23, and 10/30 |
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| "The Cause of Negative Sentiment" |
Within the past two weeks, we can see that their passion has remained relatively consistent which means they have quite a few loyal customers who frequently engage with L.L.Bean within the Groundswell. The reach and strength of the #BeAnOutsider hashtag have been on the decline. I am assuming that this is because L.L.Bean Enthusiasts have been focused more on the new #BeanBootandBrews aka the introduction of L.L.Bean collaborating with 5 local Maine breweries to create small batch "out-door inspired" beers. Sentiment has taken a hard hit but that is pretty easily explainable by looking at the negative mentions of the hashtag on line. When you do so, you will find that all of the photos are retweets of L.L.Beans recent post captioned "Don't feel bad - he's laughing with us," featuring a rather adorable golden lab who is sprawled in the fall leaves with a massive smile. The term "bad" associated the posts as being negative towards the company, so if you ignore these engagements, the sentiment for the century old company has remained consistently positive!
GOALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- Examine the social technographics of their followers on each platform The company has a ton of people watching it online which is amazing! Their longevity as a company proves that they are doing something right. They have kept customers coming back, time and time again, for their long lasting, durable products. This has also gained them a decently large social media following in the process. They post frequently on their 3 main social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) to show off consumers photos and keep their consumers informed about new campaigns and products to purchase. A major strength here is the following that they have.
But besides on Instagram, people aren't really reacting to their shared content. They need to get those people engaged by providing media that the viewers see and want to interact with by liking, retweeting, or commenting on the posts. Rather than posting all of the same content on all the platforms, my recommendation would be that they take the opportunity to tailor posts to the kinds of people who are looking. Instagram tends to have a younger user age, so they could gear their marketing more towards being fun and adventurous. On the other hand, a typical Facebook user is more likely to be older and may prefer more calming photos of nature while also being more likely to provide feedback if a question were posed in a post. Understanding your audience is the key to attracting the social media traffic
- Create an active conversation to build relationships!
Although the brand does seem as though they genuinely care for their customers and have supported this movement for the betterment of people, there is some desire to increase brand recognition by slapping their brand name onto the movement. By engaging with the people on campaign related posts, they can make customers feel good and continue to reassure that the intentions of the brand are genuine.
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| Example of "Engagement only on Non-Campaign related posts" |
- Use social media to keep people interested in their products year round! / Take some inspiration from their competitors!
L.L.Bean's biggest threats are their competitors. In a market filled with companies that create similar products, you need to be able to differentiate yourself. To some degree, they achieve this
by pushing that 'nature is attainable for all', which comes in contrast to outdoor recreation competitors who focus on the outdoors being something that 'needs to be conquered' rather than just enjoyed. But this stance only can't keep them afloat above the rivals.
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| Data Source: GoogleTrends |
Above, you can see the comparison of L.L.Bean with companies that sell other outdoor recreational products, as well as clothing. Although L.L.Bean has been on the top, popularity in companies such as Patagonia have been steadily increasing over the past decade to the point where they have almost matched the century old brand. Similarly, REI surpasses L.L.Bean during Bean's lulls in popularity (typically seen between the months of January and July). If L.L.Bean were to create some kind of deal during the summers or produce outdoor equipment for the summer months, they could keep there customer base occupied in months other than the holidays and winter season.
A more tangible suggestion is taking the L.L.Bean Boot Mobile out for a summer road trip. Summer is the time of year that people should be out exploring and enjoying the outdoors! This is a huge missed opportunity for the company that I feel as though their competitors are engaging in.
In Conclusion...
I think this century-old brand known for durability is putting a renewed focus on the fun of being outside as it tries to invigorate sales in a fast-changing marketplace. My advice to them is to stay focused on reaching out to people, keeping those loyal customers by building more solid relationships with them through the groundswell and making themselves a known presence within the social media community, eventually shifting their popularity regionally further than it's always been.
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