It's a Marathon, not a Sprint: creating content with Brainsport

​Brainsport is one of the clients we have the most history working together. Brian and I had worked together running his stores for years before I opened T Squared and began focusing on their social media exclusively.

​It's been an incredible journey watching the culture grow and being a part of the success team. Like every client, the more we know about the business the better the content is, and Brainsport is no exception.

Building a series.

​One of the tactics that have worked incredibly well and is something I suggest to many of our clients are creating a series. This can be done very literally, like making a weekly/monthly show. Or it can be done just in the planning stage and never be explicitly communicated to your audience.

When establishing a series for your content, it must satisfy your goals without being so specific that it restricts you. One of the series we created was a video shoe review. We invited people into the back stockroom with a shoe expert to hear about the latest updates and new shoe releases from their favourite brands. This behind-the-scenes format helped to make the audience feel more connected to the team. 

Running virtual events.

​This past year many events went online, and that was the same story for the super popular Gingerbread run. The big challenge with online events is making them feel alive. We created a bunch of pre-event videos to help build the hype. We made sure to be very clear and straightforward with how we wanted people to engage during the event without overcomplicating it. By sharing participant's posts, baking gingerbread cookies together and hosting IG live interviews during the event, we could capture the spirit of the run.

Selling local online.

​By far, one of the biggest challenges we faced with Brainsport was during the lockdowns last March that required many businesses to close their doors

​The move to online stores was swift and urgent. We collaborated with the team to secure their new e-commerce website by creating campaigns that drove traffic to the website through their established social channels. These campaigns included original product photography in recognizable environments to develop familiarity.

​This new way of doing business required a lot of education and awareness. Now a year later, the pickup and delivery process seems second nature to most of us. 

​Moving towards the future, we are working closely with the team to stay flexible as things change and to create goal-focused plans for success. As someone super passionate about retail, working with Brainsport on their social media continues to be a joy. We are looking forward to a great summer of content and sweet running shoes.

Author

Tyler Babiy is the owner and creative director of T Squared Social where he works with multiple local businesses to create social media content.  With a formal education in fine arts and fashion design, he is also the driving force behind Social Made Local, a socially responsible apparel brand.  When he is not working he can be found at the dog park, binge watching Netflix or enjoying a craft beer with friends at a local brewery.