Peer Review 2: Chelsea-Lee Bastable & Emma Jenkins

Project: Chàe Media

I really loved keeping up with Chae Media on Instagram, where they post day in the life reels and tips for editorial design. Their projects utility is two-fold, benefiting the girls and their careers as well as guiding their audiences in their visual content and branding journeys. Their brand is aesthetically pleasing and they utilise this in so many methods, from Instagram stories to reels; all media that is presented to their audience is succinct and beautifully crafted. Their new iteration of utilising Instagram reels is a perfect addition to the promotion of the brand as it gives the brand a personal twist, giving their audience a chance to know who they are engaging with and connecting them to the brand. Also, Instagram’s algorithm is favouring accounts that are regularly publishing and engaging with Reels as it is still considered a new feature. 

For Chàe Media, “day in the life” reels have been a fantastic idea, utilising their mission by “continually keeping our audiences best interest in mind” and being able to “create helpful content that will produce healthy habits for our student-based audience.” I believe day in the life videos are actually vital for this. Reiterating simple but motivational day in the life content that is visually appealing will help those that have been struggling to move during this lockdown period and I admire the girls perseverance to continue creating this type of content regularly.

I do know that a mission for their brand is to advocate for passionate small businesses, and I think that they should utilise their “day in the life” videos to promote their favourite businesses. For example, pouring coffee from a local coffee company they admire or putting on an outfit that was purchased from a small business. Instagram reels not only should be used to promote your brand, but also for education, showing personality and your ethos (Social Media Today). This content will not only be located on your feed, but will be shared by the businesses you collaborate with and expanding your audience.

Secondly, I think that adding a call to action after every Instagram reel could be a positive development to the project and persuading others to like, follow, share and partake in the brands journey. Adding a call to action is important to promote your page before the release day of your editorial magazine. An article by Sister Act Media explores ways to promote your page before the launch which can be located here. Whether it be a call to invite people to view the Instagram page or the magazine itself, having both platforms will allow for easy accessibility and not only be a space for education, but also be a community for like-minded individuals who are in need of their own safe space online. I love their page and will continue following it after this semester is over!

Peer Review 2: Laura Wilson

Project: Soul Socials

Laura’s moderation of her digital artefact was a smart choice in response to the F.I.S.T method, and allowing herself to fail early encouraged the development of her new project Soul Socials. Soul Socials was created in response to the need for personal marketing tips as a one-stop source for information. Choosing Instagram was a great idea as its multiple features can be utilised to expand her audience; including stories, live videos, and ads. Social platforms help you connect with your customers, increase awareness about your brand, and boost your leads and sales (Marketing Insider Group). Her project is also twofold as she hopes to gain future full-time employment in social media management and social media marketing.

In her beta she talks about collaborating with other brands and agencies on future campaigns which is an exciting development. Upon reflection on her Instagram, there appears to be a lack of content which may affect her ability to collaborate with others who do not know who Soul Socials is yet. I believe that creating consistent content aligning with your brands aesthetics and ethos is vital towards a successful brand. Business 2 Community talks about curating your Instagram aesthetic and creating a brand identity. They touch on first impressions, trust, recognisability, differentiation and identity. Focusing on curated content and including a consistent call to action (as she mentioned she does in her beta), as well as incorporating hashtags and engaging with similar pages will get Soul Socials out into the community as a strong established brand despite being a fresh face. Secondly, spending one day a week focusing on accumulating this content will help align her project with the F.I.S.T method. This article by Canva shares how to create 50+ pieces of content weekly. Additionally, consistently adding a call to action on your posts, reels and stories will regulate customer engagement. Laura mentioned that she already utilised a call to action to market her brand on her Instagram posts. I found this article by the Social Media Examiner which will help create strong, impressionable call to actions which will drive new clients towards her page.

In another response to failing early and failing often, Laura explored other social media platforms to market herself on and considered using Facebook as a secondary platform to Instagram. According to this article by SEJ, Facebook can help reach a wider audience, create B2B and B2C campaigns, use full-funnel targeting and create audience transparency. I believe that once Soul Socials has created enough curated content, then Facebook would become the immediate next step to having a successful marketing brand and portfolio. I would suggest creating content that is set out into four methods: educational, personal, inspiring and call to action. This will help gain a passionate audience as well as create a reach to valuable new clients and collaborative opportunities. Ask yourself, what has never been done before? How can I connect with my audience? What do THEY need from me and what can I do for THEM. I’m excited to see where this project leads!