10Pearls Studio (fka. Likeable Media)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

GAF is the leading roofing and waterproofing manufacturer in North America. I manage the end-to-end operations of content production for GAF's social media channels.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Likeable?

GAF wanted to partner with an establish social media agency to help enhance our pages through content suggestions, engagement, page monitoring, social ad support, and reporting.

SOLUTION

How did you select Likeable and what were the deciding factors?

N/A- I was not part of the hiring process of this agency but if I had to guess it was their experience, fresh new ideas, and amazing team!

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Likeable and GAF have an ongoing relationship. The team works directly with us in support of our organic and paid social media strategy. This includes community management, reporting, paid ad development, and more.

In addition to being such an amazing asset to our social channels success, the team is truly amazing to work with! They are responsive and always ready to bring fresh new ideas to the table.

How many resources from the Likeable team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We work with an account managers, 2 social media managers, and 2 paid media specialists.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

One of the biggest wins we have seen after partnering with Likeable is growth in the community we have created online.

We have created a database of knowledge for the team to use to answer any inquires received online, or direct the team to an internal team member to work on getting questions answered timely which has improved our response time drastically. We also launched a proactive outreach program to positively engage with community members.

This is an ongoing project but the outcome improves month after month.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have a great working system and collaborate daily in our working documents. In addition to that, we have bi-weekly standing meetings, monthly paid ad calls, and quarterly performance reviews.

If any other additional meetings need to happen, the team is always more than happy to do so!

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their responsiveness. The team is great at getting back to us promptly. They always on top of everything that is happening in our industry and our pages which is always so important when it comes to social media management.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

n/a

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Great Wolf Lodge is a family water park resort. My role is the head of social so I oversee social media, community management, social media creative, and the website blog.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Likeable?

We hired likeable to manage all our organic social media channels(Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, TikTok, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube) Likeable helps us with content production, community management and some of our paid social efforts.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

The deciding factors were to find an agency that has strategies to really engage with our guests and build out a world-class social media program with disruptive creativity and the likable team has delivered on all fronts and ongoing

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

I can describe the current project they are working on. Currently, we are migrating from our social media tool Sprout Social into Social Studios a salesforce tool. The project entails migrating our social channels, create training materials to onboard the internal team, and create reporting so our reporting needs won’t be disrupted.

The team at Likeable has done a great job in analyzing the capabilities of the tool and developing a training syllabus both in the deck for art and real-life classes with the team to walk through the tool.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

CCC team is a team of 10 agents consists of a customer care manager, team lead, and agents that will be handling public and private social chatter. On the Likeable side, a team of 3 handled the project Senior account manager, Senior Community Manager, and a community manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The project is still going on and it will be ending at the end of August and it is really going smoothly thus far. We had a lot of meetings with the likable team to prep before the big day, the big day came and they delivered on all fronts

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow is seamless. I have their cell phone numbers so we communicate through text, email and we meet Tuesdays from 2-3 pm for our weekly meetings. It’s very collaborative

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They have a hunger to grow, and equally possess the eagerness to stay relevant on all things socially trending. Also the accessibility of their CEO we literally text when I need things that’s something that doesn’t exist post agency pitch.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Improvement for me will be for the team to anticipate what I need before I ask for it but we are all learning each other’s work styles so the relationship definitely works. We are open and honest with each other and that’s what makes for a good relationship. They know how I feel cause I am direct and I know how they feel. Also, improvement will be in cost as someone of the project tend to carry a high price which makes it hard to sell internally

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a global social media strategist that supports a global medical website designed to improve communication between physicians and patients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Likeable?

We hired Likeable to begin creating content derivative of the health and medical information found on MerckManuals.com and MSDManuals.com specifically for social media.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Likeable's expertise in the social media space has been unmatched by other vendors or agencies we have previously worked. Their content development is based on current and evolving data of our targeted demographics and existing fan base. They are also flexible and can pivot with projects at the drop of a dime.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Over the years, Likeable has created a ton of content for the Merck Manuals social media program. One of the projects that has seen the biggest success this year is launching canvas quizzes on trending mental health topics on Facebook in a variety of markets. We have previously seen impressive results in impressions and clicks back to website with canvas quizzes in the United States.

When we worked with Likeable to translate and launch canvas quizzes in Latin America, we saw even larger numbers that more than justified the cost. We will continue to leverage canvas quizzes and begin expanding into other ex-US markets.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Over the years, I have worked with many of Likeable's team members. Our primary contacts are our project manager and account director. Both team members are incredibly responsive, helpful, and organized. Together they have set the standard for the other agencies we work with to submit content to our CMS. While I have had less contact with other team members, I've been impressed with the other's expertise (i.e. Facebook live events and general video development).

Another unique and refreshing approach Likeable has is the "open door" policy their CEO, Carrie Kerpen, has with all the agency's clients. Early in the pandemic, she reached out to schedule one on ones with my team to check in on our mental health and chat about general business with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

While I am not able to share certain metrics, I can share that since Likeable has been developing our content and adding in strategic guidance, our general fan base has grown from 800K to over 5 million across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest. Our communities on Facebook are engaged beyond industry bench marks and we can directly see that on the specific content Likeable has created for us.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between Likeable and my team is seamless. Likeable is well versed in our brand voice and aesthetic. They have made an artform out of establishing efficient workflows for us in our CMS...so much so we use them as an example for our other agencies to follow.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

It is honestly hard to pin point one characteristic that makes Likeable stand out. Between the team they have assembled to work on our account and how they work with us...Likeable is my favorite agency to work with because they are so knowledgeable, flexible, and pleasant.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

I currently have no recommendations for this.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Social Media Marketing Manager for Hannaford Supermarkets, a New England grocer based in Scarborough, Maine. We have a total of 184 stores in the Northeast located in Maine, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Likeable?

Originally we hired Likeable to help us re-define our social media strategy. That relationship continued to grow throughout our first year of partnership, with them taking over most of our content production as well as helping with community management, and advising on paid strategy. At the end of our first year, we were confident we had chosen the right partner to help us bring our social media strategy to life and increased our scope of work to include additional responsibilities.

Today, they help us with our day-to-day management including creative services, community management, paid strategy and execution, influencer campaigns and more. As a "team" of one, our internal resources are incredibly limited and Likeable truly feels like an extension of our team. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We first started discussing our project with Likeable based on the work they had done for some of our sister brands. We were really impressed with their creative strategy and the more we discussed our goals with them, the more we realized we had found the right fit. 

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Our scope has grown over the years, and we've tackled many projects together, but looking back to our original strategy document, the team spent months analyzing our business and discussing priorities before presenting us with our first draft of our new strategy. From the start, our relationship has been collaborative and it's the part I appreciate most about working with Likeable. As we look forward to planning for the year ahead, we'll start with that same process of going back to the drawing board and outlining how business priorities may have shifted and readjust our strategy accordingly.

Those thoughtful adjustments YOY help keep our social media program on track as we plan out campaigns and content each month. By analyzing them monthly, and through quarterly business reviews, we continue to optimize everything from creative to paid strategies to workflow processes and community management practices in order to continue to make our social media channels the best they can be. 

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I've worked with a large variety of individuals within Likeable's team, which I think is unique and makes our relationship that much more successful. I work closely with my account manager and project manager to keep our projects and strategies moving forward, as well as our paid specialist and community management team to ensure our paid campaigns, inbound messages and outbound content are all performing well.

I've appreciated the opportunity to work closely with the creative teams to help bring my creative dreams to life, as well as the leadership teams at Likeable who help advise on new opportunities and strategies as they come up. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

After our first year of working together, we made the biggest impact in our paid strategy results. With our newly launched social media strategy that focused on strategic targeting and social-first creative, we were able to more than doubled the 2019 budget, and in most metrics managed to gain efficiencies despite that. Our costs per lift, clicks and page views were all down between 44-59%.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow has been very effective. We have great, open communication, and I'm never left hanging even when something comes up at the last minute that we need to discuss. 

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I think the level of collaboration across functional teams is most impressive and unique. While I don't have a lot of experience with other agencies, I feel like this hands-on approach from all functional areas that support our business (from creative to paid) really helps drive results. I also really appreciate the flexibility that comes with working with Likeable. Things aren't necessarily "cookie-cutter" and they're very open to figuring out an approach that works for everyone instead of offering a one-size-fits-all service. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

As we continue to grow and require more support, I think there are opportunities to review resources and allocate accordingly. Really the only pain point we've run into is needing to plan so far ahead that our internal teams have a hard time keeping up with providing content ideas/details for us to execute.

This leads to tight production schedules that make everything a little challenging for both the agency and brand. But, it's something we're both very aware of, and are actively working towards resolution, which is a testament for how much Likeable cares about their clients and making sure they're the most "likeable" social-first agency around.