The Client

Over 30 years ago, SmileMakers was started with one simple idea–to be the absolute best supplier of fun products used to incent, reward and entertain both children and adults. A wholly owned subsidiary of Staples, Inc., SmileMakers' quality products bring smiles to both the young and the young at heart.

The Challenge

SmileMakers had been a Oneupweb client since 2006. Targeting teachers, dentists, optometrists, churches and parents, SmileMakers originally came to Oneupweb to turn their website into a sales tool. Through an aggressive paid search marketing campaign, Oneupweb did just that–recording remarkable sales for SmileMakers' stickers, toys, prizes and other products.

But in the late 2000's the economy hit a low point. Businesses and teachers were making cuts in their budgets, eliminating spending on customer incentives and other extras. Competition was fierce, and SmileMakers knew they needed to do something to stand out from the pack and turn customers into brand advocates.

Around the same time, consumers began using social media channels to conduct research and seek advice for their impending purchases. SmileMakers' target audience was among those using these social channels to establish an open dialogue with their favorite stores and suppliers. So SmileMakers jumped in, setting up their own Twitter and Facebook profiles and creating a blog for teachers. But after a few months, numbers on these social profiles were low. So just as they had come to Oneupweb to turn their website into an efficient sales tool, they again turned to the digital marketing leader to increase business through the use of their social channels.

The Tactics

SmileMakers had already established a Facebook and Twitter account and setup a blog specifically designed for teachers. Oneupweb's task was to make these efforts a success. The digital marketing leader got right to work, developing a strategic plan to not only increase the number of fans and followers on SmileMakers' social channels, but to ultimately increase the amount of interaction with the brand as well.

Providing advice and manpower, Oneupweb helped their client update their new social media channels with information that their target audience would find useful. They also designed and developed special discounts and giveaways for SmileMakers to help keep their audience involved with the brand. At the same time Oneupweb began authoring at least 20 blog posts per month for their client. Most importantly, Oneupweb made sure to integrate all of SmileMakers' digital channels, maintaining brand consistency and helping each reinforce the other.

The Results

• In just three months the number of people requesting to receive news and updates from SmileMakers by becoming their fan on Facebook increased 147%. In six months, that number was up nearly 250%.
• During those first three months, interactions with the company's Facebook page rose 586%. This includes consumers posting comments to SmileMakers' Facebook page and taking the time to give a thumbs-up to an update or comment that was posted by the company—both showcasing the type of interaction that never would have been possible without the use of social media.
• The total number of people actively visiting SmileMakers Facebook page to look at and read information about the brand increased 102% in three months.
• The number of people who followed a link provided by SmileMakers on their Facebook page—showing the rise in the level of trust and interest in the brand as a result of this social media channel—increased 186%.
• Just three months after Oneupweb took over the SmileMakers Twitter account, the number of followers increased 139%. These followers view posts daily from SmileMakers and retweet SmileMakers' news and messages to all of their connections just as often. And after six months, that number was up 200%.
• During the first three months, the number of people actively interacting with the brand and getting involved in discussions with SmileMakers via Twitter increased 114%.
• By authoring over 20 blog posts per month and effectively marketing the blog in SmileMakers social channels, Oneupweb exponentially increased the amount of traffic to the teacher's blog. In fact, the amount of blog visitors originating from Twitter increased 167% while the amount of traffic to the blog originating from Facebook increased 1400%.
• The social media campaign also had a significant positive effect on SmileMakers' other marketing efforts. Within the first three months that Oneupweb was involved with the social media campaign, traffic from the paid search campaign rose 20%.

The Takeaway

Your customers and prospects are looking for your products and services online. They're conversing with friends on Facebook, scouring blogs, consulting iPhone apps, using search engines and more. Are you there to greet them?

At Oneupweb, we'll ensure they find you—no matter where or when they're looking. We're relentless when it comes to connecting brands to consumers with digital marketing. Because everybody's looking for something special, and there's nothing better than finding it.