We all know Jamie Oliver. The “Naked Chef” is everywhere, especially in the social media world.
As a designer it is my job to understand social media. I keep up to date with Facebook, I am addicted to Instagram, and I have countless inspiration boards on Pinterest. I make it my business to follow certain people online, and frankly, there are a lot of big name brands and celebrities who struggle with their social media image and interaction.
Jamie Oliver, however, is 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 seen a celebrity inspire and move people the way this guy does. Jamie cooks beautiful food simply, which is what people love about him. It makes sense then, to convey his natural cooking style through beautiful photographs uploaded to his social media platforms. Thousands of food lovers on Pinterest “pin” beautiful looking food every day. Jamie has capitalised on this market by ensuring that all of his food on Pinterest and other social media sites are professionally photographed.
Any small business looking to capitalise on photography based marketing should keep this in mind; it is of the utmost importance that your products are 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, to his many TV appearances and book publishing. This guy is a pocket rocket! From a marketing and design perspective, this can be a little overwhelming, but where Jamie has succeeded is in his micro-branding.
Each project of Jamie’s has a brand of its own. His FoodTube channel with its distinct yellow logo is easy to recall. His Food Revolution Day project is instantly recognisable with bold red typography. Simple, basic yet highly effective branding designed to make a lasting impression with viewers.
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 by other Facebook and Google+ users. For your cover photo, 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 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 engage with his online audience. Jamie is an expert at using social media as an online conversation platform, mainly 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. He posts a fantastic food image with a link to a recipe most days. He also posts pictures of projects he’s working on and even the odd personal thing about his wife and kids. He has uploaded stacks of videos since the introduction of Instagram Video. Jamie has personalised his brand and has people talking to and about him in real time. It’s interesting to note that most of his Instagram posts receive approximately 2000 likes and 150 comments. On Twitter, Jamie achieves 60+ retweets. That’s an incredible amount of online conversation centred on his work, which ultimately leads to increased awareness of the Jamie Oliver 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 platform for their work, driving 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 other people to get passionate. 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 your social media marketing strategies, please leave a comment.