What is it?

Facebook now provides the option to save replies – these are replies you frequently use which you may keep close at hand.
This way, if you get many messages asking you what’s found in the “Surprise chicken casserole” you can quickly hit the saved reply instead of typing it out each time!


 

Why do we love it?

You can create saved replies and insert automatic fields which will include information lifted from the page such as the person’s name, the admin’s name, and even your URL and address.
It makes life easier, and for those who receive many messages during the day, this will definitely be a mini life saver as it can really help boost productivity.
The second change is still related to Facebook messages but in a different aspect.
Welcome, to the new green icon.

Okay, so you might not have seen this anywhere yet because from what we’ve gathered, it’s still being rolled out.
However we did notice that one of the pages we manage had this:

What’s this?

Basically it looks as though Facebook will be adding the little green icon to pages that have high response rates to the messages they receive. And by high we mean high! To get the icon you’ve got to respond to 90% of all your messages and have a median response time of 5 minutes.

Why do we love it?

This means that brands who care about their customers will be rewarded by having the icon showing that they’re quick. This in turn will improve their customer/brand relationship and also improve customer loyalty.
So keep your eyes peeled and get ready to start answering those messages ASAP.

The post Facebook for business update. Have you spotted it? appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

I definitely don’t consider myself to be an authority on this subject, but I’ve been in the business for 20 years now and have experienced all sides of our industry’s spectrum. Having been through the worlds of Media, Agency, Client and then back to the exciting and creative life Agency side, I’ve garnered significant experience. Here is what I believe to be some factors that make a great “couple”.

A Love Affair

There is no myth to dispel here, but let me be honest: I don’t think there is such a thing as a naturally perfect Client/Agency relationship. Some research seems to suggest that this relationship is bound to be dysfunctional on a global scale. However there certainly are ways of creating a winning formula. It takes two to tango and there  are many examples of great relationships out there – just look at any beautiful campaign. Every time we see a great campaign, we cannot help but think “What a fantastic client”.
Finding a level of natural, effortless understanding between both sides is paramount to the relationship. After all, an extraordinary business relationship in our industry, coupled with the obvious need for exceptional teamwork and talent, can be the catalyst for perpetual creative and effective marketing. Whether you are a client or an agency, work for it together and you both will be rewarded with results you can be proud of.
Mutual respect and trust are two essential elements in this bond. When we work with clients who “get us”, who trust our capabilities and who respect the creative process, both in terms of time and (obviously) fees, the creative output simply hits another level. Harmony is a great state to be in, and is a state which every client and agency should seek for mutual benefit.
Once a creative team can meet to discuss and brainstorm a project without feeling the pressure of time, whilst being in good harmony with the client/brand, creative workrate hits top gear. I’ve seen some pretty amazing things happen in such conditions. I call it Exponential Creative – that moment in a creative session where every member is feeding off each other and building fantastic ideas that are quickly superseded by even better ones.
But there also is an important ingredient that amazingly, sometimes is actually missing from the pie.

What Brief?

I’ve learnt how to write a good brief when I first studied the subject of Marketing (at school!)… never mind how long ago that was. We’re in 2015 and yet, I keep experiencing and hearing from friends in other agencies, that the written brief is somewhat mysterious. It appears, every so often. Let me make this clear, and I’m pretty sure that my peers would agree: The best work ALWAYS came from a well-written brief. Yet it seems to be something that is far too often undervalued.

The written brief is not important. It is essential. Be it a creative brief or one of a tactical nature, it should be written by the client and should be done with obsessive attention to detail and thought. It should also be read by the agency with a passion towards the brand, to clearly understand the project and interpret it correctly. Any unclear brief should be clarified. I cannot stress this enough – it really is the Agency’s duty to make sure that nothing ambiguous is left that way. Read some tips here and here.

Pushing

Every agency should aspire to output the best work at all times and every client has the right to push its agency to its creative limits. We always aim to push our own limits, doing it religiously. But I’ve experienced situations before in my career, where clients push their agency for more and being received with disappointment from the agency’s end. Any pushing from the client’s end should always be met with a positive mindset. Many a time, I’ve seen remarkable results coming from this sort of client prodding.
Dear client, please be constructive, sensitive and polite, and make sure that any issues do not arise from a lack of information in the brief.
Dear creative, even your most prized work will get critiqued and may also be ditched, so do send it off with a touch of humility and zero expectation.

My Advice

– Treating each other with due respect and trust doesn’t just mean being nice most of the time. Yes, being polite at all times should be a given, but you should both obsessively seek that effortless understanding. If you know you are on the same page at all times, trust will simply be the bi-product.

– Communicate well. Write good briefs without fail. Read and interpret them properly and where unclear, ask.

– Truly treat each other as though you are one and the same team. An Agency/Client relationship is not one of a buyer/seller nature. You are one team. You win together. You lose together. Pointing fingers when things go wrong does nothing positive to the relationship. If you made a mistake, admit it to yourself and others on the team. You’re human. Everyone makes them.

– Make sure that you deliver what you promise. There is more to business than contractual obligations. There is your reputation and the relationship at stake. If you said you would deliver remarkable work, a brief, a payment, whatever that may be, by a certain date – deliver.

– Push yourself at all times and be ready to give and accept constructive criticism. It is an important element in transforming great into remarkable.

Your relationship MUST be mutually beneficial. You’ll quickly see that respect rewarded with trustworthy, timely, creative work, and a business relationship that is quickly becoming extraordinary, ultimately resulting in giving you a remarkable product.

The post Building the perfect client/agency relationship appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

Results

The site was ready to launch within a couple of months, and once the offices opened for business we received very positive feedback on both projects. All in all, a great project to work on – and thanks to everyone at GX4 Projects for being such great clients!

The post Client spotlight: The Hub appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

The Challenge

We had one job: Make the Facebook page work for the brand, while sticking to the Global Brand Guidelines.
Max Factor has an incredible history, excellent products and a reputation like none other.  The brand has been around for decades (100 years, to be precise) and is well known locally among women who have used them for years. Ask your mothers and grandmothers about their favourite make up brand and there’s a good chance that Max Factor will spring to mind. What the company needed to do next was work on making the brand relatable to teens and young adults while maintaining the interest of their current loyal customers.

Our work was cut out for us: build brand awareness among a younger audience, and generate engagement to boost the organic reach of the page. All without spending a penny on promotion.
A worthy digital challenge? Definitely — those are the best kind.

The Work

Strategy & Planning

First, we scanned every post that was published so far. We identified what worked and what didn’t, what fans loved and what turned them off. Next, we built strategy that would work in tandem with Facebook’s news feed and reach algorithms to slowly, but surely, increase the percentage of fans that would see the post organically.

Content Creation

We then set to work on building a content calendar for the job. It was vital that we included not only product information and special offers, as many brands do, but also throw in plenty of curated, relevant content from all over the web. Blogger content, product reviews, magazine features, catwalk news and updates from the world of make up artistry all made the list. Each post was accompanied with carefully crafted copy, designed to elicit a response.

Contest Development

The client regularly offered fans the chance to win products through the Facebook page, but none of the contests seemed to benefit the company in any way. So we tweaked the strategy behind the contests to match our original plan of action. By asking fans for their opinions, we encouraged thoughtful engagement (and also learned a lot about what makes them tick!) By choosing a winner by random draw, we set no limit to the number of participants who wanted to enter.

Blogger Management

Beauty bloggers who write posts about Max Factor products soon became fast friends of the page. It’s a simple system, really. They promote the brand, and we promote them! Local blogs and vlogs provide excellent material for Facebook pages, which is why we value these relationships with everyone on our blogger network.

Client Management

Last but not least, we took over every aspect of customer management on the Facebook page. Whether they’re asking about a product, looking for their nearest store or just want to share an opinion, we always do our best to respond within a few hours. The way we see it, if they wanted to wait, they would have sent it by post.

The Results

It was the end of Month 1. We held our breath as our analysts drew up the report. Did it work? Did we manage?
You tell us:

We’re now well into the second month of the job, and we’re determined to improve on those results with every report.
If you’re curious about what we’re up to, follow the page on Facebook!

The post Client spotlight: Max Factor Malta appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.