We all know Jamie Oliver. Partly because he debuted his career as the “Naked Chef”, which is controversial enough but, mostly we know him because he is everywhere – well at least in the social media world.
As a designer it is my job to know social media. I keep up with the world of Facebook, and I am addicted to Instagram, and let’s not get started on how many inspiration boards I have on Pinterest. As part of my online presence I make it my business to follow certain people. Quite frankly there are a lot of big name brands and celebrities who just don’t get their social media image and interaction right. Let’s just say though, in Jamie’s social media world, he’s all over it.
Let’s take a closer look at three things Jamie achieves through his social media platforms and how this can help your small business design and marketing strategy!
1. Inspire Visually
I have never known a celebrity to inspire and move people the way this guy does. Jamie cooks beautiful food simply, which is what people love about him. So it makes sense that he would convey this raw and natural style of cooking through beautifull food photography to get people inspired via his social media platforms. There are thousands of food lovers on Pinterest that are driven to “pin” beautiful looking food. Jamie has capitalised on this market by ensuring that all of his food “products” on Pinterest and other social media sites are professionally photographed.
In much the same way, this can apply to any small business looking to capitalise on photography based marketing. It is of the utmost importance that your products be photographed in a professional manner. If you feature your product on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or Google+, it will pay off to have quality images. Remember that as humans we are visual creatures, so if online images of your product aren’t visually appealing, you probably won’t motivate your target audience to interact with or purchase your product.
2. Brand, Brand, Brand!
Jamie’s approach to marketing is diverse and complex. He has a thousand projects going at once – from Food Revolution Day to live streaming of his “FoodTube” channel on YouTube to all his other TV appearances and book publishings. This guy is a pocket rocket! Normally from a marketing and design perspective, this can get a little overwhelming, but where Jamie has succeeded is in his “micro-branding”.
Each project of Jamie’s seems to take on a brand of it’s own.Take for instance his “FoodTube” Channel. As I write about it I can quite distinctly call to mind a bright yellow logo and yellow marketing paraphernalia all throughout his YouTube channel. Another example is his Food Revolution Day project. Again, I can instantly call to mind red bold typographic branding for this too. Jaimie’s marketing and branding lets you know which project of his you’re subscribing to and works through basic branding and design to firmly imprint this on your mind.
Even though many small business won’t take on projects to the extent that Jaimie Oliver does, we can still take a leaf from his book. Jaimie keeps his branding consistent and simple for each project. So make sure you do the same for your small business! For example within Facebook and Google+, make use of your profile picture to display your logo. This is prime real estate that will be seen all over Facebook and Google+. For your cover photo make sure you use your business branding colours and display any marketing information in a manner that is consistent with your branding style guide. Keep in mind that you want your customers and social media followers to distinctly remember your brand.
If you want further information on designing a Facebook cover photo read my previous blog, Facebook Timeline Design 101.
3. Involve & Engage
One of Jamie Oliver’s most powerful tools is his ability to involve his online audiences. Jamie has become very good at using social media as an online conversation platform and does this primarily through Twitter and Instagram – boasting 1.2 million followers on Instagram and nearly 3.4 million Twitter followers.
As an Instagram and Twitter follower of Jamie’s I love keeping track of his posts. Almost every day he posts a fantastic food image with a link to a recipe. He also posts pictures of projects he’s working on and even posts the odd personal thing about his wife and kids and has uploaded stacks of videos since the introduction of Instagram Video. Jamie has personalised his “brand” or name and has got people talking to and about him in real time. It’s interesting to note that most of his Instagram posts get around 2000 likes and around 150 comments. Additionally on Twitter, Jamie achieves around 60+ retweets. That’s an incredible amount of online “conversation” centred around his work, which ultimately leads to increased awareness of Jamie’s “brand”.
So what can small businesses learn from this? Well, put simply – engage your audience. If your product lends itself to Instagram start an account and get “gramming”. I know plenty of fine-artists who use Instagram as a means to feature their work and drive people to their online shops. Is this something you can do? What about travel agencies, photographers and online retailers? They can feature specials and behind the scenes shots. Tell a story through Instagram and get people involved. Get creative with Instagram Video. Where possible interact with your Twitter and Instagram followers and remember to drive people to your website. Don’t forget you can link your Instagram account to your Twitter account, so you can hit two birds (no pun intended) with the proverbial stone.
Remember it isn’t rocket science…
I love the way Jamie interacts with the world around him. He is everywhere, he is passionate and he motivates people to get passionate too. As a designer I love the way he has done this through social media. Try these suggestions for your business’s online design and marketing strategy. Remember Jamie has made these strategies work for him not because he has lots of resources at his fingertips but because it’s relatively easy and anyone can do it.
If you have any other design or social media tips or would like to share with us your social media marketing strategies please leave a comment.
