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The Story of Social Made Local

11/12/2018

Evolution

The invention of the lens changed our ability to record history. The evolution of social media opened a gateway to sharing our human experience in a way that is still unimaginable. The manifesto of socialmadelocal is our promise to explore this new world with wide eyes in a relentless search for beauty.

T Squared Social

Three years ago Tyler and I started a company called T Squared Social. With this company we manage social media for a handful of local companies here in Saskatoon. We provide them with original content, photo, videos, copywriting and lots of creative strategy. The focus we put on storytelling is something that our clients have grown to love.

About a year into our business we started to see another group of people take interest in T Squared. This was a group of content creators, photographers and videographers. It was amazing to see people connecting with the brand, but we didn't really have a way to engage with them since they would likely never be a client.

So I looked to this new community and decided to create Social Made Local. At the core of the brand there would be apparel for sale, but the goal was to create community. I wanted to create physical spaces for people to learn, online challenges for people to grow and opportunities to inspire social responsibility.

Fashion, eh?

Some people have asked, why fashion? I have my formal education and a degree in Fashion Design + Marketing from my time in Montreal. It was something I felt passionate about pursuing especially since fashion is a critical form of self representation, especially with such a highly visual platform. The brand is about those people who find their personal expression through social media and find joy in the process.

On our first photo shoot it was really important to me that we had a reflection of the inclusive values of the brand. I had explained to the young models on the set,

You are aliens from another planet. On your planet there is no racism, homophobia, transphobia, violence or hate. Your existence is dedicated to art, beauty and celebration. So in this scene you find yourself crash landed on Earth (in a diner of all places) and you have just discovered the tool of social media.

It was incredible to see how easily they understood the concept. It was a great shoot and so the Social Made Local brand was born. We were also lucky to have Logan from Eleven03 design our Connection Hoodie + Tee and continue to support local artists with collaborations.

Micro Influencers

We launched the brand with a 5 Day Photo Challenge where we talked all about the importance of micro influencers or customers. This topic was important to explore since it validated the self-expression of content creators when they post about their favourite local businesses. It was also great to expand the awareness for business owners to realize the potential they have to encourage social media moments with their followers. Read more about this photo challenge.

The winner of the challenge was a young man named Jaxon. It was really fun to have him win the challenge, then move on to help judge another competition and finally get hired by us to create a summer campaign. The idea of helping each others grow and providing opportunities to do so is huge for us. If you want to see more of what Jaxon is doing you can follow him at @jaxons.photos

City of Rainbows

The spring of 2018 we launched our City of Rainbows Campaign in support of Pride Home and OUT Saskatoon. This new design was intended to create awareness around coming out stories and stories of ally support. It was an incredible response that landed me on CBC radio twice talking about how businesses can connect to the LGBTQ community in an authentic way. We featured Amy and Connor who are the co-chairs of Saskatoon Pride in the campaign.

The community response was really heart warming and we saw many people share their stories about coming out. The campaign focused on the LGTBQ community, but was also in alignment with the core values of the brand supporting the idea that,

Everyone has a story and the power to tell it.

Real Life Community

During the summer I looked for a way to bring people together, do something fun and challenge their skills. I decided to host a Photo Scavenger Hunt. The promotion for the event drew from my high school experience,

I remember before cell phones if people wanted to send messages, you did it with these little origami style notes that would get passed around the classroom.

This old school idea became the only marketing we did for the event. 20 notes were left at both Joyne and Uno Printing Co. for people to collect. For the two weeks leading up to the event is was pretty cool to hear buzz about the secret note.

This event has held during the Fringe and was the first physical event we hosted for Social Made Local. It was a total success, but I also felt it might have been a bit complicated. Some people said the idea of a challenge or a contest was only meant for people who were already good at their craft. Yes, competition is good, but we all start at the beginning. It's so key that people know all levels are welcome.

Insta Meetups

The next event we hosted was a super friendly Insta Meetup. We met up and wandered the Nuit Blanche YXE nighttime arts festival. It was incredible. People engaged, got creative and shared ideas. On top of meeting a tonne of new people I was also able to showcase everyone's work from the night on our social media. Our next Insta Meetup was pretty amped up. I invited @the_curvy_canuck to join us as a model. We wandered downtown Saskatoon and grabbed some really amazing shots.

Since Social Made Local started we have been able to meet so many incredible people, work on some very cool projects, teach in the public schools, speak about the project professionally and sell a few tee shirts. Thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey. We invite anyone to join in who has a desire to grow, learn from each other, contribute and make this crazy world of social media a friendlier universe.

The Manifesto

We believe that everyone has a story and the power to tell it.
We know if we feel something that others have felt it too.
We want to create content that connects more people.

Author

Created by T Squared Social. We love making great content and helping people with their social media. Enjoy!

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Social Hour | Content Calendars, Automation and Scheduling

9/7/2018

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Stop posting from the toilet...

Join us for the next Social Hour event where we will learn how to create amazing content calendars, automate posts and schedule your way to happiness.

Bring your mobile device, a notebook and lots of questions. Meet the Tylers and up your social media game. This event is FREE to attend, but space is limited, please make sure to REGISTER.

September 26th 2pm-4pm
Congress Beer House (215 2 Ave S)

Author

Created by T Squared Social. We love making great content and helping people with their social media. Enjoy!

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9 Basics of a Social Post

7/25/2018

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The struggle is real.

When we talk about social media it's always about the long game. Loads of people aren't always prepared for the time commitment and personal involvement that social media takes, especially when it's month after month. There can often be a sense that you are repeating yourself or feeling like you have talked about something already. For your sake hopefully you have! The trick is reinventing the key principals of your business in a way that is relevant to how customers consume social media. So here is a run down of the 9 basics of a social post.

Never assume people know where you are, what you do or even the vocabulary you use. We live and breathe our brand 24 hours a day and often we become blind to things that may be a barrier to a new client. Always find creative ways to include hours of operation, addresses, contact info, names of staff, explanation of common terms and ways to showcase best practices.

There are mechanics to how social media works. Tags is a very core concept to grasp when we talk about connectivity. The 3 major types of tags are: @ mentions, hashtags, geotags. Using @ mentions is very important when you want to let other businesses know you are talking about them. Hashtags are used to either start or join a conversation. Geotags are especially critical for location specific events.

One thing we always have to remind ourselves of is how people are taking in the medium. When in doubt look at your habits, what do you enjoy and what excites you the most on social media. People are not specifically online to be served ads, but they are consumers, so make it entertaining for them. Social media has created an incredible space to really explore your brand in a way that's human. Have fun with it.

Know what you want to say (before you say it).

Is there anything more exciting than strategy? Not on my planet. Having a plan is so essential to success on social media. It prevents emotional posting, creates focus for teams and ensures that content is being rolled out in a meaningful way. Of course no plan will work if you don't have the resources to execute it. Make something realistic, recruit people internally or hire someone to help. Remember the simplest consistently executed plan is way better than a huge plan that never gets completed. Start small, you have until the end of time to get it right.

Humans. We all know them and we all love them. Social media loves people. Faces especially in photos and videos perform much better. It's a good idea to assess your team and see who wants to develop the skill of being on camera. Just a warning, lots of people won't be into it. That's OK because they might be the perfect hand model or the best over the shoulder model ever. Always respect your people.

If you have a physical location or places you regularly do business, it's important to show them off. Give your audience context to where you are, especially if you are a proud local company. Many people build trust by knowing where they are going and what to expect once they arrive. It's a good idea to include your physical space in photo / video content frequently so your audience can build familiarity.

The things that make up our brand are important to include in your content. It's going to sound basic AF, but if you have brand specific items, put them in your photos and videos. Any opportunity to visually brand yourself with objects around you on camera should be taken. This is also good to be aware of when entering brand ambassador relationships. Social media is so visual, so be visual.

Social media is a long game.

You want one thing to focus on? Consistency. If you can manage this one thing you will be a rock star at social media. Dedicate time to creating a plan. Come up with three topics you want to tackle each month and create batch content. Schedule your high level messages and fill in the blanks in real time during the month. Find the cadence that works best for you, your team or whoever you hire to help you. If you really want to make an impact with social media, it's all about consistency.

Your logo is the visual mark that represents your company. If you do not have a logo that you love, consider getting one designed. This asset will be the centre piece of all your branding. Including this in your content is something you want to achieve with subtle placements. Do not watermark your images, your logo should be your profile pic and this will appear with every social post.

Brands are way bigger than your logo. It includes the tone of the language, colors you will use, sense of humor and so much more. Your brand tells the story of the core ideas of your business in a designed and thoughtful way. Confused? Maybe we can talk about it over a double double or would you prefer a skinny grande latte? Branding matters in every aspect of business, including social media.

Everyone loves a good story. With social media we have this amazing opportunity to tell the story of our brand in a way we couldn't before. When I think of content it's more about being a journalist than a marketer. Find the story, find what people care about and connect with those topics. There is likely many stories you have to share about your business that your customers would love to hear. Find them.