S o c i a l M e d i a A n a l y s i s

Honey Bridal

Amara Markov i c // amara .markov i c@loop.co lum.edu // (815)351-9038 // amaramarkov i c . com

Table of ContentsProject Background

Subject Analysis

Recommendations

About Honey Bridal 4

Instagram 6

Facebook 7

Audience 8

Narrative Analysis 9

Overall 11

Project Background

Honey Bridal is a modern wedding boutique located in Chicago, IL where brides are free to be exactly who they are. Honey stocks dresses and separates that range from understated and untraditional to full-on ball gown.

The sisters who brought this idea to life are Dana Karlov and Hallie Borden. They wanted to bring a fresh take on bridal to Chicago. In Honey, they have created a space that embodies the spirit of its Andersonville neighborhood — relaxed, inclusive, and a little bit irreverent. Honey supplies handcrafted dresses from independent designers and specializes in styles for the modern bride.

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About Honey Bridal

Subject Analysis

Instagram @ h o n e y _ b r i d a l

Honey Bridal’s page is the embodiment of what you think when you hear “bridal.” Their feed has an apparent theme with two types of photos; those focusing on individual models wearing wedding gowns and those expressing the characteristics of light, airy, and whimsical themes.

They have 1,250 followers, as of October 30, 2017, which is a 91 percent increase within the last month. Additionally, they have 231 photos and the last 20 photos average 95 likes and 4 comments with an engagement rate of 157 percent. They usually post a photo once a day, if not multiple times per week which includes reposting photos from other boutiques or photographers.

Honey Bridal has seen improvement in the past couple of months on their Instagram. They have a set theme that is cohesive with their brand, and they interact with their followers effectively. By continuing to post photos everyday, they can steadily grow their following.

Evaluation of Channel Performance\Honey Bridal does very well in terms of engagement and following. When evaluating the conversation within their posts, it is positive, casual, and feels like Honey Bridal’s followers are the owner’s close friends. They have cultivated a tone that future engagers can now adopt. When fans/customers/loyalists see that they too can interact with Honey Bridal like they would a friend; it becomes easier for them to viscerally connect with Honey Bridal as a brand.

p Example of Honey Bridal’s followers participating in positive and casual-toned comments

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Facebook @ h o n e y b r i d a l c h i c a g o

Unfortunately, Honey Bridal’s page is lacking as it is just a mirrored feed of their Instagram, which means they aren’t posting any different or unique content there. They have 489 followers and receives only a couple of likes on each post and zero comments on the last 20 posts.

There is an opportunity to reevaluate the content they post to Facebook which will completely change how they use the site.

Evaluation of Channel Performance\The only difference between Honey Bridal’s Facebook and Instagram is the engagement they receive; Facebook receives little to no engagement. What works for them on Instagram obviously does not translate well to their Facebook.

uExample of a photo

that was posted to both Instagram and Facebook,

but received far less engagement. Compare

photo on previous page: 156 likes vs 9 reactions // 6 comments vs 0 comments

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The majority of people engaging with Honey Bridal’s posts are locally owned bridal boutiques or photographers who are in the wedding industry. There is very little engagement from what seems like “prospective buyers” or brand loyalists.

This account is an example of a person that engages with Honey Bridal fairly often. They are a wedding photographer and often post positive comments on Honey’s photos. They are most likely engaging with the brand in hopes that Honey will also like and comment on their Instagram posts. This account typically generates their own unique content and their main goal is finding a loyal following.

@ g e r b e r s c a r p e l l i w e d d i n g s / / c r e a t o r

“JMS” is an example of an account who engages with Honey Bridal by posting positive comments. The casual tone and personable nature of JMS’ comments suggest that this user knows the owners or an employee at Honey Bridal. If she doesn’t personally know anyone at Honey Bridal, it would seem that she likes to support local businesses or may purchase some of her nicer dresses from Honey.

@ m i s s j x x / / c o n v e r s a t i o n a l i s t

Audience8

Narative AnalysisHoney Bridal is succeeding on Instagram in terms of posting performance, followers, and engagement from a quantitative perspective. Improvement can be made along the lines of who engages with their account. Honey Bridal should be targeting prospective buyers and current clients with their photos. Currently, other bridal boutiques and photographers post comments which can be seen as self-promotion. and those accounts may expect comments from Honey Bridal on their own posts. This translates as spam to customers which Honey should want to distance themselves from. They currently repost photos from their designers that promotes engagement from the designer’s accounts themselves which is a great way to highlight the dresses Honey sells while creating a positive relationship with designers.

Honey Bridal’s less than amazing Facebook account looks unprofessional to prospective buyers and by their Facebook mirroring their Instagram, this lack of effort will be noticed by customers. The lack of reviews, check-ins, and comments will make brides who are researching boutiques dismiss Honey Bridal for another shop that is more established in terms of engagement and posts.

p Example of Honey Bridal reposting a designer and the designer engaging with the post

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Recommendations

In order to energize their audience, Honey Bridal should post photos to Instagram that allows them to connect to their clients so that prospective buyers can witness successful instances where they have given a bride a great dress. This can be accomplished by posting photos of a client’s “big day” (with permission) and by tagging the bride and groom. This ensures that Honey Bridal will be engaging with their target market. They can also do this with brides coming in for fittings and alterations or when posting engagement photos. This will effectively energize their customers; both current and previous.

Instagram

Honey Bridal needs to focus on participating in and stimulating conversations amongst their customers. This can be done by encouraging customers to post reviews to their page and from there, Honey can interact with them whether it be a positive or negative review. This way prospective customers can learn from the experiences others have had at the Honey boutique.

By posting industry news and updates from the boutique, Honey can differentiate their Facebook feed from their Instagram. They can continue to post the photos that they’ve already posted to Instagram, but they need to change the caption, tags, and hashtags to suit the channel it’s being posted to.

Facebook

Social Media Policy To be sure Honey Bridal has a concise guidebook to social media, implement this policy to all of Honey Bridal’s social media managers:

Rule 1: Reply to inquiries and negative feedback within 30 minutes:• Keep a friendly and positive tone at all times• Identify yourself by offering your name and position• If the situation must be handled further, direct the individual to contact Honey’s email

Rule 2: When Honey Bridal’s image is reposted and we are properly credited, comment on the post:

• Post the comment the same day that the photo was reposted• Like the photo the same day that the photo was reposted• Comment “Thanks for reposting!” with the honey pot emoji to represent Honey Bridal

Rule 3: Request that we be properly credited when you find a reposted photo without credit:• Let a manager know when you’ve found the uncredited post• Comment with your name and position• Include: “Hi! Glad you liked our photo, can you please credit us a mention?”

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Amara Markov i c // amara .markov i c@loop.co lum.edu // (815)351-9038 // amaramarkov i c . com