System

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director for a garden décor manufacturer.

What challenge were you trying to address with System Social?

We were looking for help with social media, especially regarding the management of influencers.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave them rough guidelines and introduced our company policy and story. They developed an entire social media strategy and calendar, which they presented to us. They continue to handle all aspects of our social media on Facebook and Instagram, including influencer management and posts.

What is the team composition?

The account manager is our primary contact.

How did you come to work with System Social?

We asked companies to come up with a proposal of target audiences and liked what System Social presented best.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in October 2020, and it’s an ongoing relationship

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We now have a social media strategy that requires little from me. We run a weekly sales report and compare it to their reporting. We’re satisfied with the work they’re doing.

How did System Social perform from a project management standpoint?

We get a weekly email with the generated content and upcoming campaigns, as well as any other important information. We also have calls to bounce ideas off one another. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're self-guided and know how social media marketing should work. I quite like that I don’t need to take a lot of time managing and directing them, which allows me to focus on the things I need to do. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the moment, I’m not missing anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and make sure they’re a good match for you. They can build a strategy and profile from zero if needed.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior policy officer for a government administration that manages local government at the London level. We deliver various projects and programs but also manage the policy and make critical changes to benefit businesses or residents.

What challenge were you trying to address with System Social?

We have a program that aims to support London’s small businesses to help them start sustaining growth. We have a website that we’re redeveloping to make it much more user-friendly, to make it look nicer and more consistent, and to allow better interaction.

Part of this work we were doing with another agency and we realized we didn’t really have a consistent tone of voice or identity coming through. It was very mish-mash because a number of different people were editing the content on the site.

So, we brought on System Social to help us develop a tone of voice document. It’s the language that we use as a program. It shows whether we’re casual or formal or come across as silly or friendly.

What was the scope of their involvement?

System Social helped us establish the tone of voice for our program. It’s a specific niche piece of work that fits within marketing and web development. In terms of solutions, they helped us work out how we wanted to sound. 

We had various ideas but we weren’t so sure if they were correct, if we were being too cold and professional or not cold and professional enough. They really helped us look at other competitors within the same sector that we work in, and they guided us. 

They gave us quite a few of their own directions of what they thought would be the best. It also helped draw out what we already knew we wanted but weren’t in the best place to explain it. The team did quite a few content pieces as well. Across our website, they updated and created quite a lot of the content that is on there now. 

We’d send them Word docs of what we already had and they updated it within Word and we then embedded it onto the website. The project is complete but we have an open dialogue going on with them at the moment for other stuff.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with two people.

How did you come to work with System Social?

Our development agency did some research to see what agencies were out there that could potentially replace our current contractors. System Social was one of the companies that they put forward. They gave us a presentation and we really liked them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June–September 2020.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The key output was we got a tone of voice document out of it. We were really impressed with their delivery. Now have a strong tone of voice guide that has been shared with the whole team and with our external delivery partners. 

We all know who we are as a brand, how we need to sound, and how we want to portray ourselves and come across. They handheld us without being pushy or overpowering. They were clearly experts in their field and it came across in their work. 

They also did a couple of additional offers for us. At the end of the project, they very kindly put on a bit of a working group session with the rest of our team members who hadn’t been involved in the project directly to ensure that everyone understood what the new tone of voice was and how to implement it. 

System Social was on hand to help us along the way. Many people from my team came to me afterward saying they were really great and knew their stuff. We’ve had lots of positive feedback from people outside of the direct project as well.

How did System Social perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very good at communicating with us, which they mainly did via email. We had a couple of face-to-face meetings to kick off the project. They set up a few more along the way to get feedback from the team and some of our key delivery partners to get a holistic view of what the tone of voice should be. 

The team was very timely. We gave them quite a tight deadline. They worked against the clock and managed to get everything done within the timeframe they promised.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their expertise was most impressive. They really understood the language that different brands use and why they use certain words instead of others.

Small changes around the use of punctuation can make your message come across in a completely different way. So many things that we hadn’t considered previously became so apparent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there are no areas for improvement. We were really happy with them. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go for it. System Social is a really good company, and we’re very happy we stumbled across them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am one of the co-founders and the current CEO of a startup that we began in March 2020. We are basically curating an app and website that allow personal trainers to find clients in their area. They can set up group classes and one-to-one personal training, as well as fit in any empty slots they have. We’re hoping to launch at the end of next month.

What challenge were you trying to address with System Social?

We had hired another company to do all of our branding, and we were super happy with it. Since we’re an online business, and especially because we’re operating through COVID-19, we emphasized from the start of our engagement with System Social that we wanted to have a really strong, powerful, and refined presence online, especially on our social media accounts. They took on the challenge.

What was the scope of their involvement?

System Social presented us with a portfolio of social media marketing (SMM) and advertising strategies. They walked us through the routes we could pursue on different social media platforms. They did their market research as well, and they explained to us which areas would yield the most customers and where our customer demographics sat. We had done our own research, but it was nice to get secondary research and affirm that we had a business model on our hands that could run a profit someday. Having this documentation gave the other co-founder and me really good impressions of them from the start. We thought they would just run our social media accounts, but they took it a step further. They basically took this on as their own project, rather than just someone we hired for the job. That instilled a lot of trust in us.

From there, we decided to predominantly use Instagram because it suited our business model, and they were absolutely brilliant. To date, we have a big Excel spreadsheet that is constantly being updated with captions and what our feed is going to look like. My team can access the document and either accept or decline their suggestions. We can review everything before it gets posted; that’s a really important factor for us, because we want to have control over what is being posted at all times.

System Social project manages everything having to do with our social media. A month ago, we ran a promo shoot, and they did everything for us. Although they aren’t specialists in videography and that stuff, they gave us a list of different companies that explained why they were really good for the job. They managed to get the pricing down, which was good for us as a startup, and they presented the different options. Three members of the System Social crew joined us on the day of the shoot, project managing and making sure that everything ran smoothly.

We have just started up Facebook. As of October 24th, we are probably going to get started with our first Facebook Ads campaign. It was our decision to start purely on Instagram; as a startup, we needed to choose whether to do both Instagram and Facebook half-heartedly or to really throw ourselves at one of them. We decided to throw ourselves at Instagram because of the demographic and other things, and that was purely taken off of the advice from System.

What is the team composition?

Keith (Founder) is the person we spoke to directly from the start. He was super welcoming and very, very kind toward us. This was unchartered waters for us, but he definitely understood our position. He really wanted to help us, and he did so very well.

How did you come to work with System Social?

We were looking around and had a couple of suggestions from other people. We were told about System Social, so we got in contact with them and let them know what we wanted to achieve.

How much have you invested in them?

Over four months, we paid £2,400 (approximately $3,100 USD). Now, we pay £3,000 (approximately $3,900 USD) a month, which includes all of our social media and advertisement management.

What is the status of this engagement?

We got in contact with them in May 2020. We are still working with them, and we plan to keep on going for a very long time.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We have had lots of friends, family, and Instagram users reach out to say that our feed looks really good. We’re received a couple of comments on our social posts saying it was super helpful. Above anything else, the feedback has been that we look like a very serious and put-together company. That was one of our biggest wants from System Social. We needed to come across as put together and proper, all while not being too formal and boring. System Social struck a perfect balance. 

They have also helped us recruit personal trainers. Even though we haven’t launched yet, they have been direct messaging trainers nonstop in Southeast England and London. I check every now and then from my phone, and I can see hundreds of direct messages going out. They are super busy doing that research for us. Out of the 100 people that they send a DM to, 5–7 might reply saying they want more information. On that big Excel document, System Social compiles all of the email lists that we can use to send automated emails. It is a really slick process with them.

How did System Social perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management point of view, aside from one moment when we brought someone else in, they have been outstanding with communication. Every Monday morning, we have meetings on Google Meets to strategize our SMM and all of that stuff. We discuss our progress from the previous week and how many direct messages we got back. We do about three posts a week, so we run through how successful the posts have been. We also discuss upcoming things, such as a photoshoot that we need to start planning. They reply faster to emails than I can send them.

As we were planning our launch, they said they needed five months to wind up and grow a bit of momentum on the social media following before we actually launched, and that is why we decided to engage with them when we did. We have loads of plans with them in the future, and they basically just make sure that myself and the other co-founder aren’t going off of the rails. They keep everything on track for us. We have lots of funky ideas and whatnot, but we have to be realistic, and that is where System Social jumps in with their experience and knowledge in the sector. They let us know whether or not our ideas can achieve the type of results that we want, which is helpful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are very much on it, and not once have I felt like I am in the dark with them. That is always really, really good to have from a company you are working with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This is a very small thing because I am struggling to think of something here, but when it came to the project management of the video shoot, myself and the co-founder thought they were slightly too lenient with the company we worked with. This wasn’t in terms of pricing, but we thought they could’ve had a more assertive role, rather than to just be a messenger. 

Obviously, it took a lot of strain away from us, and that was what we wanted. We never asked for them to run the whole project, but it would have been nice to maybe have a little more communication on that front rather than having to chase certain things every now and then. A lot of the delays and whatnot were not their fault, and I am not trying to blame them for it at all, but it would have been nice to have clearer communication when there were slight delays. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If someone is considering working with them, go for it. Just try and have your mind set as early as possible in regard to what you want to achieve with social media. Over the first couple weeks of speaking with them, it was our role to basically set out what we wanted to achieve.

I’d never considered social media in this way; I’d purely seen it as a way to put our company out there and show that we are actively involved within our community. System Social said they could achieve so many things from social, and they asked what else we would like to achieve. If anyone is considering partnering up with System Social, have a little bit in mind of what your goals are in engaging more with your clients, and how you would like to profit from it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Sin Gusano Project. It is an agave spirits business.

What challenge were you trying to address with System Social?

I was looking for a boost on social media as we launched our subscription club.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They assisted with social media campaigns. Instagram was the primary target, but they tweaked and reposted on Facebook as well. They cleaned up our feed.

What is the team composition?

Keith (Founder) is my main contact. He has a few people that work under him on my project.

How did you come to work with System Social?

They contacted us to do a podcast about our project. Keith offered their services, and we discussed it. He put my mind at ease that the marketing would be authentic and a proper reflection of our brand.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent about €1,000 per month (approximately $2,000 USD per month).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in May 2020, and the project is ongoing.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

A key metric we wanted to achieve was to have more than 2,000 followers on Instagram, without compromising our engagement rate. We were around 1,200 when they started, and now we’re almost at 2,000. They were also successful at tidying up our feed and organizing posts so that you can know what type of post to expect next; product, subscription, etc. 

How did System Social perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a dashboard that we use, with shared access to Google Sheets. We approve posts before they go live. Communication is good –– they are available and responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was hesitant in the beginning because this project is very personal to me. They’ve done a good job of making me feel confident in them. They get our brand and its complexity. They have a good grasp of how to best represent our brand. 

In addition, they did a small photoshoot of some of our products, which was above and beyond my expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

A couple of times they had the wrong tone of voice in the posts, and I needed to correct it. I’m being very picky, though, and they know more of what I want the longer we work together.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more hands-on you are in developing a relationship with them, the better they can mirror your brand for you.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the strategy director at Wildish & Co.

What challenge were you trying to address with System Social?

System Social was hired for their social strategy services.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve been instrumental in supporting our clients and us through search strategy, organic traffic, page management, and content creation. Their team has also advised us on how to optimize for our audience. One of their primary tools was Sprout Social. They also used Facebook and Instagram for audience testing. They went into those insights to work with my team to inform the creative by using audience data.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two key members. There was a project lead.

How did you come to work with System Social?

I found them through my network. I’ve worked with the project lead in the past. We thought they were the best fit because we deal with a very niche brand. System Social is also a young emerging agency. We wanted to work with a group that would be nimble and had a flexible way of working. Their team was up for trying new things and tools. They were the perfect match for a creative agency looking for a social agency.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about £8,000–£9,000 (approximately $9,800–$11,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with System Social five or six months ago.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

System Social looked below the surface to ensure that our audience was engaging our brand effectively. We’re still in touch with them, discussing other projects that we can work on together in the future. It’s a testament to their skills that we’ve been able to bring them to a client, and that they’ve taken ownership of the relationship themselves.

Everyone has been happy with their work. System Social has hit a lot of key metrics around reach and engagement. They anchored strategy around that. We don’t have the ultimate sales data yet, but we’re confident that with such great awareness metrics in place that we’ll hit our conversion and KPI goals in no time.

How did System Social perform from a project management standpoint?

They met deadlines. They’re also very organized. We had biweekly emails, standup calls once a week and sprint reviews. They used Google Slides to manage all of the presentations. All of the documents are entirely collaborative. It was a combined effort from the team. Their project management was a driving force behind the engagement. They made sure everyone was up to speed and on the same page.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Strategy was one of their more definite areas. One of the reasons we went to them is that they excel in that area. Their team truly understands how the social landscape works. They look beyond the production lens to understand what a long term strategy should actually be like. They know how strategy can inform and improve over time. Their creative content strategy is top-notch. They’re also able to understand data and implement it in a user-friendly way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I think they were very good overall. I’m happy with everything. They performed well and built a great rapport with us. As things stand, I think they’re a fantastic partner.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO & Founder of a food supplements brand

For what projects/services did your company hire System Social?

Full management of our Instagram channel

What were your goals for this project?

To improve brand awareness and bring the visual side of the brand in line with its core values. Improve engagement through influencer outreach.

How did you select System Social?

Conducted a beauty parade and put them up against a number of small agencies and freelancers.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Manage instagram page; create visual style; create posting schedule; create reporting tool; manage all aspects of day to day management; build influencer list; execute outreach and gifting strategy; select images in keeping with brand guidelines; draft captions and advise on overall strategy.

What was the team composition?

Initially high level advisory (account director) and creative style (art director) plus day to day manager dealing with posting. Within 2 months brand manager was appointed; brand manager oversees outreach activity and postings.

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

KPIs were set at the outset and save for some blips these have been met month on month with some exceptional months in terms of success. The Key seems to be the organizational skills from the top down, so they actually have what they say on the tin...They have a system that works.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The teams are small but whenever we have plugged in different team members it has worked well.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their organization skills and quality of the end product impress us. i.e the instagram page.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Always but that is in the communication between us and them which is good.