Friendemic

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m head of marketing for a freightliner dealer in Salt Lake City, Utah. We offer parts, sales, and service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Friendemic?

We were looking to widen our audience and find a new way to gather sales leads.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Friendemic runs our Facebook ads, lead forms, and all of our social networking. They respond to comments, messages, and create all of our content, imagery, campaigns, etc. We found that over 90% of our audience resides on Facebook, but Friendemic helps us with all the major channels. We have a presence, thanks to Friendemic, on Instagram, Google Plus, Yelp, Twitter, and a few others. The only content that goes through an approval process is leads and posts regarding specific products. I choose which product will be featured, but they create the post and then I verify it. They’ve gotten to know our company voice very well and most of the posts exemplify our company identity.

How did you come to work with Friendemic?

They came as a recommendation from a friend who had gone to one of their staff events. I was interested in working with the type of people that he described. When they presented us with what they could achieve for us, how flexible the budget was, and how affordable they are, we decided to try them out. We stay with them because of the consistent products they produce as well as the relationship we have.

How much have you invested with Friendemic?

Over the course of a year, we’ve spent between $10,000 and $50,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

The work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

People who see our content and follow our pages like how it varies. They find content that’s relevant and has a lot of variety. Since we started with them, we organically added over 2,000 new followers. We have also achieved over 8,500 website link clicks at only 21 cents per click, which is incredible. We have 1.8 million impressions across all the networks. One of the biggest metrics is our lead generation, with over 1,000 leads. Our average cost for this is around $3.25, which is incredible in the transportation industry.

How did Friendemic perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive while also being independent. I value that I can give them the reins and they can run with it. There’s a 3-person team that works with us and I’ve never waited longer than an hour or 2 for a response from them. They’re clear about the responsibilities of each team member. The entire group is included in every communication so that we all know what’s going on. Rob Grange is our team lead and he’s awesome. He’s consistent, reliable, and goes out of his way to provide the information I need. He goes above and beyond to give me reporting and ROIs that I need to provide in order to continue my spending.

What did you find most impressive about Friendemic?

My favorite part of our working relationship is the fact that while they’re independent, we always have an open line of communication when there are questions. They have a fun culture and they’re very personable. At the same time, I feel like I’m being treated in a businesslike manner. When we’re in meetings, we’re hanging out but also accomplishing the task we need to.

Are there any areas Friendemic could improve?

There are a few things that have come up. Fixing that was a matter of continuing to teach and refine what our brand was and the voice we wanted to carry. It was more about teaching them things about our industry than anything else. They were willing to learn and adapt.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Shrine is a lifestyle luggage brand based in San Francisco. We make duffels, backpacks, and travel goods with a specific kind of shoe protection. There are dedicated compartments for shoes. We're mostly an online retailer, but we’re also sold in a few wholesale stores.

I’m the founder. I design and develop all the products for the brand as well as creative components for the website, graphics, marketing, etc.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Friendemic?

We were looking for help with social media to be able to take on various platforms like Facebook and Twitter in order to increase sales.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Friendemic is the voice to our customers through Facebook and Twitter. We create content that will be appealing to our customers and Friendemic formats, organizes and schedules the posts. Some of the content comes from our customers who share about the product on social media, and we share their work. They also manage some promotional efforts including giveaways and pop-up shops.

How did you come to work with Friendemic?

Our business development manager is the one who found them. He’s based in Denver and Friendemic is in Salt Lake City. I think he was recommended to them by a connection he had.

How much have you invested with Friendemic?

We’ve spent under $10,000 monthly for them to manage the platforms.

What is the status of this engagement?

The work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Right now, we’re going through the data to determine what results have come from their work. Every quarter Friendemic provide data on how the accounts have grown, and we’re still looking at those since the engagement is fairly new. We’ve had positive growth, but I don’t have specific numbers. 

How did Friendemic perform from a project management standpoint?

Rachel [Junior Writer, Friendemic] has been assigned to our account, and I speak with her during the week via email. Twice a month we include Eugene [Account Manager, Friendemic] to go over any new promos and review the effectiveness of the accounts. They’ve always been able to meet deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about Friendemic?

Eugene has a great personality and is easy to work with. They’ve been flexible to work within our budget, and they understand that we can only grow with them and provide them more work if our sales increase.

Are there any areas Friendemic could improve?

Our industry is niche and specific, so my expectations that they would have connections with bloggers or other media outlets in the industry is probably not realistic. Friendemic could try to improve in that area to make themselves more valuable.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of marketing for North Star Homes. It is a security products and connected homes company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Friendemic?

When I came to the company, we had no active social media manager. Our Facebook page had around 4,000 likes out of more than 50,000 customers, which I found to be low. I was running a small department and had inherited a newly-graduated PR intern. No one was maintaining the social media profile of the company and posts were few and far between. If I was to take that on, it would have turned into a full-time job, so we hired Friendemic for the task.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Friendemic was mainly tasked with content creation. We were only publishing posts once every 2 weeks and they weren't content-rich. There was nothing that would engage an audience or determine someone to share or like. We first worked on increasing our number of likes, which is something that many people will take into consideration when kicking the tires of a new company. Only having a few thousand likes suggested that we had a small customer base, which was not the truth. Having someone to post on a daily basis on our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google+ accounts was the second goal.

How did you come to work with Friendemic?

Our CEO met an old acquaintance who recommended Friendemic for social media work. They came to me after I'd already started a relationship with a social media person who proved to be a one-man-band. I didn't think that his offer could sustain a company of our size, so finding out about Friendemic came at a perfect time. I met with their team, found out what they could do through a demonstration, looked at statistics for Friendemic's key vendors, mostly from the automotive industry, and had a second meeting with our account manager. I was impressed with the savviness and excitement of Friendemic's team, and the rest was history.

How much have you invested with Friendemic?

Our original agreement with Friendemic was for $4,875 per month for maintaining our social media outlets, as well as for ad spend. Our 2016 sales didn't do as well as expected, so we renegotiated our contract with Friendemic. They were very amenable to our situation, trimming our monthly cost to around $2,000 with no ad spend.

What is the status of this engagement?

We are still working together. We're currently only doing enough work to sustain ourselves, so the goal is to launch again in April 2017. That’s when we plan to put Friendemic on 100% capacity.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Our likes are an easy way to measure metrics. We also receive a monthly engagement report, but I don't have any specific figures at the moment. We work in an industry that doesn't typically create excitement. At the end of the day, we sell an alarm panel that sits in people's hallways and is engaged at night, when they go to bed. Our bigger industry competitors have the same results; one of them actually has 1 million likes but still doesn't get more than 30 likes for a status update. We have around 16,000 likes and receive 4 to 5 likes for a status update. If we were in the fashion industry or mommy blogging, we would have more exciting things to share and talk about, but we've had to trim things down in terms of engagement. We only notify people that we're still out there.

I don't always have the opportunity to check our page, but I do it once in a while. I've seen posts that are relevant to the products we're promoting. Friendemic's team will research things, coming up with statistics like "80% of burglars will ring a doorbell in order to see if someone's home," in relation to our door alarm. If someone rings our doorbell camera, it will record a video feed, so Friendemic has tied in the need for our product by employing a marketing mix into the content.

How did Friendemic perform from a project management standpoint?

Friendemic is incredible in this respect. I feel that the team can work on autopilot, which means that I don't have to worry about anything. I'm an admin on our Facebook page, so I can review the preloaded posts. There are always posts scheduled 3 to 4 days in advance. If I identify any issues with that content, I can contact Friendemic and have it resolved instantly.

What did you find most impressive about Friendemic?

We've gotten what we paid for. Our previous vendor was charging us almost $6,000 per month without offering reporting and only posting every 2 to 3 days. Some of the content I saw was a waste of money. With only $4,000 per month, which is nothing for social media work, Friendemic is giving us our money's worth and more.

Are there any areas Friendemic could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. Even though we have reduced our contract, Friendemic hasn't forgotten about us. This speaks volumes to me.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a family-owned car dealership based in New York.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Friendemic?

My company engaged Friendemic for reputation engagement work. It involves monitoring and tracking all reviews for us, and helping us respond to them.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

They provide online reputation management and social media marketing services for us.

How did you come to work with Friendemic?

They came on board at the same time as me. A different manager was involved in selecting them.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Their reputation engagement services and social media work cost a total $400 per month at full price. Also, our Facebook ad spend is $1,000 per month at this moment.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Friendemic in May of 2014. We contracted them for reputation management in the first year. After that period, we signed up for a full-blown media package in May 2015. I believe they offer us their Platinum package. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Looking at a graph for our Facebook page likes from 2014 to present, you will see a constant line until the day they took over our account, at which point it spiked up. This is a simplistic way of looking at social media, but it does show an effect. That type of growth is exponential. Depending on privacy settings, anything liked by a person will be seen by their friends.

Before Friendemic took over our social media, we did pay one person for the task. He wasn't engaging, and I never felt that it was a collaborative effort. Overall, he wasn't an enjoyable person to work with.

The other significant change has been the engagement on our page.

How did Friendemic perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s great working with them. They are on top of things and they are fun. I never feel like an idea is too stupid to mention.

What distinguishes Friendemic from other providers?

Friendemic hires smart and fun people. They are polite and lovely to work with. I've never talked to anyone there who wasn't a pleasure to be around. They don't take themselves too seriously. You can tell that the company is a nice place to work in, which is an attitude that comes from the top. They're also very sharp, with good insights.

Is there anything Friendemic could have improved or done differently?

The reputation engagement has improved, not so much because they're helping me with it, but because I and our department managers are engaged in the process. We constantly own up to our mistakes and try to fix them. People can see my contact information on Yelp, so they will typically call me directly. We've been able to avoid 30 negative reviews by doing so.

If Friendemic would come in and do a training session on this subject with the people in our company that don't interact with them on a day-to-day basis, it would be great. Most of our employees do watch over reviews, but aren't as engaged as they could be.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Willow Creek Pet Center is a veterinary clinic. We started out as just a veterinary hospital but grew to offer boarding, grooming, dog training and, finally, daycare. We started with two employees and now have nearly one hundred.

What is your position?

My name is Dr. Rick Campbell, and I founded the clinic 33 years ago.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Friendemic?

One of the things I have always had problems with is social media. I belong to a national organization called The Veterinary Management Group, and we’ve had lectures and talks about this topic for the last eight years. In their view, I should hire a young person who is knowledgeable about social media to run this aspect of my business. Every time we did that, our social media presence would go up until that person had a bad day or decided to quit, and our stats would go down. Our problem has always been keeping an eye on reviews, promotions and things of that nature and ensuring that they are continually working in our favor.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of your work with Friendemic in greater detail.

Every month, they send me a detailed report, comparing the current month with the previous one. This makes things much more understandable. Rather than trusting a vital aspect of our business to someone we hired off the street, we have the people at Friendemic take care of those issues.

As a veterinarian, my focus is saving pets. Because of this focus, it’s easy to not pay attention to our reviews, Internet activity and things of this nature. In today’s online world it’s very easy for a business to get a one-star review. All you have to do is one bad job. Consistently getting four and five-star reviews is hard. Friendemic has improved our reviews, and, if there is a negative review, they’ll get on top of it, let our managers know about it and how they should respond. In no time at all, the client who made the negative comment is apologizing and giving us five stars.

We work on a busy street corner in Salt Lake City. One day, a client got out of her car, and her dog got loose. All of our staff rushed out to help her catch the dog, right in the middle of a busy intersection. In spite of all our help, this woman, who’d never even stepped foot into our business, placed a bad review on the Internet about how we’d let her pet get loose in traffic. This was a one-star review. Friendemic jumped in and told our manager how to respond. He did and showed how we didn’t lose the dog but actually saved it. The reviewer changed her review, said that we were actually a very good business, and, if a pet ever gets loose, we’ll go the extra mile and try to save it.

How did you come to work with Friendemic?

Six months ago, one of our clients told us that this is what he did for a living—helping people with social media. At first, he did part-time freelance work for us. After he joined Friendemic, the owner met with us and proposed doing even more work for our business.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We pay them $3,500 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We signed with them on the 1st of September. Our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics, metrics or other feedback from your work with Friendemic?

Since we started our collaboration with Friendemic, our social media presence has skyrocketed. I’ve never seen anything quite like this.  We’re getting thousands of clicks and lots of new friends. Conversions and promotions are going really well.

The holiday season is usually slow for us, but right now we are 20% above last year’s numbers. We just hired our ninth doctor and are searching for a tenth. The business is going amazingly well, and I attribute much of this to the campaign we’ve run for the last several months with Friendemic. For six to eight years we tried to be involved with social media marketing and saw only fluctuating results. We never had the continual improvement that we’re seeing now.

I’m excited to continue our relationship and believe that the sky is the limit for us. In just the last six months, we’ve hired three additional doctors, which is remarkable given the fact that we were stuck at six doctors since the recession. This year, we’ve seen a 10 to 15% improvement over last year’s figures.

What distinguishes Friendemic from other providers?

Our relationship is ongoing and developing. They have visited our business in order to get an accurate experience of who we are and how all our employees are happy working here. As a result, when our inside team wants to develop a marketing campaign, Friendemic will be right on top of it. We’ve had good responses, and I can’t say enough nice things about them.

We’ve worked together for three months. As time goes on, I’m confident that we’ll see even better results. They’re great people to work with. They are a new company that strives to do new things right.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

The company is a BMW [dealership in Colorado].

What is your role and responsibilities, please?

I'm the director of business development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Friendemic?

We're looking to create an environment of customer engagement. We're really trying to push our level of customer service to the next level, and also bring in new customers. One of the ways that we're looking to do that is through original content and engagement, and Friendemic is our strategic partner to help us with that.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

The main thing we're doing is producing original content. We are doing some targeted marketing through Facebook. So, we'll take some strategic posts, events, or things that we want to feature, and then we'll run with those. They're helping us determine target markets and how we want to approach that.

What was your process for selecting Friendemic with which to work?

I went through a pretty in-depth process. I'm pretty new in the automotive field, and I interviewed and spoke with many different companies. I wanted to learn what different people are providing, what services are available out there, and to try to figure out what services really matched with what we were doing and what was going to align with our goal. So, my criteria is basically I'm looking for partners who are going to align with our goals and are going to create value for our organization.

Through interviewing multiple companies, Friendemic really stood out for us. What I liked about Friendemic was its original content, and I felt like I was hiring a team that was an extension of our team. So, it helped leverage my work here, through their team, and we have a real combination where they're kind of a foundational piece to make sure our engagement is on track. Then, what we do is, we roll in organic content from the store and mix those two together to create a successful strategy.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they've done for you?

It was from $10,000 to $50,000.

Is this all ongoing work with no plans to stop?

Absolutely. We're looking to upgrade what we're doing with them. We've been working with them for about six months now. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any stats, metrics, or general feedback to show the success of the project?

I'm really satisfied. What really stood out with Friendemic for me, what I really liked, was the connection that I had with their team. What I'm able to do is, put together a strategy or campaigns I want to focus on. So I'm aligning with what BMW corporate is doing, I'm aligning with what our goals are in the store. I work with the Friendemic team, let them know what our goals are, and then they bring their expertise in on the content and the social side to match and align with that, so that they are reinforcing and leveraging our message. 

BMW has a tool called Pulse. When we started, we were below market, below region, below national on an engagement perspective. Now, we have pushed our engagement to where we are above each of these categories. So, we are stronger than our market and our region, and stronger than BMW national.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

We're a very small dealership, and I have to be really selective about who I partner with because I have to make sure I get it right. I want to be engaged and be an active part, I consider myself to be an active partner. I want to really set the tone, and those guys go out and execute on the mission. We have a very active relationship, and the active relationship is how we're creating all this great value.

They're just a lot of fun to work with, they're very engaging and very responsive. I highly recommend them.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

We're constantly doing feedback and doing reviews. So, in the social, in the beginning we were working on growing our fan base and, while we were doing that, there were kinds of people that they would follow who I wasn't as keen on. So, we really started talking about what kinds of people we wanted to engage with. So, my goal was quality rather than just pure quantity, and what I really liked was they were able to take that feedback and roll that into what they were doing, to bring overall quality of the program up.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

I think the way to get the biggest bang for the buck is to be a participating partner. I know some of the companies that they work with just say "Deal with it, take care of it, I don't want to know or do anything with it." Usually they get a certain level of results but, for us, we wanted to go to the next level. So, I think to be an active partner is a key point. That's how you're going to get your biggest bang for your buck.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We're a hospital located in Stayton, Oregon. Established in 1953, we are a nonprofit organization that specializes in primary care.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I'm a marketing and public relations coordinator.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with Friendemic?

I wanted the hospital to have a Facebook and Twitter account, but some of the higher administrators were reluctant. They're not used to social media and were a little scared of what could happen. I started on the path by creating a business plan to reach out to more of the community, targeting primarily women because they make more of the business choices and then young families, who would obviously be engaged in the social media world.

One of our goals was to rebrand the hospital. People would confuse us with a hospital to the north of us. It was nice to have a way, other than a newspaper or word of mouth, to let the community know about our facilities and services.

Please describe the scope of their work.

Friendemic does social media marketing, connecting us with our patients in the community, and informing people about the hospital.

SOLUTION

What was your process in selecting Friendemic with which to work?

Friendemic was recommended by a colleague.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they've done for you?

We've spent a little more than $20,000 working with Friendemic.

When did you start working with them, and is the relationship ongoing?

We started working together in November 2014, and we are still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics, metrics, or general feedback to show the success of their work?

Overall, the relationship has been amazing. Whenever I talk to them, I feel like I'm talking to a friend. We are very happy with the outcomes they've produced. They're very efficient, and they're great with customer service. I've already recommended them to people with smaller businesses. Friendemic has been wonderful.

Is there anything unique about Friendemic that really makes them stand out compared to other companies?

They take the time to understand your organization, what you want to do as their business partner and what you stand for. I feel like Frendemic is talking to you on your level, helping you achieve your goals. The one-on-one personal connection is great. You don't get lost in the mix.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

In the beginning, we had to make sure we were both on the same page. We both had to learn about each other's businesses when we first started but, from there, it's been smooth sailing.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

Be sure to let Friendemic know about your company, what you stand for, what you produce, and who you would like to target within a community. Clients need to present their business goals and their budget. Friendemic is great at taking things from there.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We’re an auto dealership headquartered in Texas. We have other locations across the state, and we carry all different brands of cars.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I’m the marketing coordinator.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Friendemic?

We weren’t doing very well with our social media. We needed somebody to keep our social media presence up to date and give us relevant content as well as Facebook advertising.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

In addition to our social media concerns, they helped with our reputation management. They follow up with our reviews and make sure they’re being monitored. They send us any negative feedback and help us follow up with that customer. They also provide artwork and other things we use for events.

What was your process for selecting Friendemic with which to work?

We selected them for one of our stores, and then got them onboard for our other stores.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

We’re spending about $1,000 a month with Friendemic.

When did you start working with them, and is the relationship ongoing?

Our relationship started in early 2013, and we are still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics, metrics, or general feedback about their work?

They’re very good. Our stores enjoy being able to contact them directly. They’re flexible, and we can email or text them. They’ve helped grow the number of our Twitter followers quite a bit. We have a lot of impromptu events, so I can always email them, and they’re quick to jump on it and give me three or four different ideas we can do that will fit into our budget.

Is there anything unique about Friendemic that really makes them stand out compared to other companies?

The thing that really makes them special is their understanding of social media and their ability to build awareness and engagement. They’re not a cookie-cutter outfit, but instead they create custom content expressly for us. They create specialized content versus doing the same things they’ve done with other clients.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

No. Overall, they do a very good job. I’m quite satisfied with their work.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

Stay in regular contact with them and allow them to guide you because they’re very good at making recommendations. If you don’t know what you’re doing, let them guide you, but stay involved in the process.

BACKGROUND

I’m the co-founder of a company that provides consulting and contracts to brands in the home improvement industry, with particular emphasis on content and online marketing/merchandising.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We started out trying to do social media on our own, but the results were pitiful at best. We constantly wondered what was the right voice to use, whether to boost posts or do page-like ads, how to target an older audience, etc. We needed assistance.

SOLUTION

Friendemic came as a recommendation from a friend in the industry. We appointed 1 client to them at first, but they are now working with 4 separate ones. They're very good at what they do which includes taking care of posting, monitoring feedback and direct messages, and managing ad spend.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

The results are solid. As an example, one of our clients launched their brand in March 2016 and as of early January 2017—10 months later—they have 6,500 likes on Facebook with a handful of 5-star reviews, all on a low budget. 

Beyond knowing how to get traction, it's nice to have them there to monitor things.  About once a week, we get an email from them asking for help with a particular customer, otherwise, they take care of the rest. They really make it easy for us.