Rawxies Social Media Plan

SOCIAL MEDIA PLAN Prepared by: Kaitlin DeJong, Shelby Lemon, Colin Rosenthal, Kayla Finks & Will Webber

TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary.................................................................1 Organization & Purpose.................................................2 Situation Analysis............................................................................4 Current Social Media..................................................4 Competition...............................................................................7 Goals & Objectives............................................................8 Key Audiences..................................................................................9 Goal 1...............................................................................10 Goal 2............................................................................................15 Goal 3....................................................................................17 Influencers.........................................................................................20 Measurement................................................................21 Timeline/Budget.......................................................................22 Conclusion.........................................................................23

executive summary The following report is a comprehensive marketing plan focused primarily on social media for Rawxies that aims to build a national presence in health food, drive conversion and increase engagement among followers.

Rawxies is a newer company in the health food industry, originating around 2012. Based on our situation analysis and research over the past semester, we have found areas to improve Rawxies’ already strong social media foundation. Rawxies needs to push consistent messages while varying content to best meet every channel.

Social media is the best way for Rawxies to connect with its target audience, the Urban Millennial. This sphere provides a level field for corporations and individual users alike to interact and communicate directly. While many young companies are still figuring out the best ways to utilize this tool, Rawxies can be on the cutting edge of engaging its target audience and fostering a sense of community and loyalty for its brand and products.

Our campaign addresses three goals: increase engagement, build national presence and drive conversion. To reach these goals we developed the following objectives.

1. Increase following on all platforms by 10 percent over the next six months.

2. Incorporate new topics into Rawxies Blog.

3. Increase engagement with followers on all platforms by 15 percent over the next six months.

4. Utilize paid advertising on Instagram, Facebook and Google.

5. Build partnerships with key influencers and bloggers.

6. Post curated content at least twice daily over the next six months.

To reach the above objectives, this marketing plan incorporates monthly social media contests, revamping the Rawxies Blog, holding conversations with followers, sponsored ads for different contests and events and more.

This social media plan will have a six month timeline where all objectives are evaluated on their success. It also includes a budget for $6,000.

1

organization & purpose Rawxies is an up and coming nutritional brand that started in Kansas City and was founded and created by local Callie England. England first started the brand by creating the Rawxies blog in 2010 as an attempt to redefine the way people view foods that are considered: vegan, gluten free or even raw foods. After lending skills and knowledge to other wellknown foodie websites and blogs, England began to take her vision of Rawxies to the next level. In 2012, England set out to create a healthy treat that was actually nutritious, but was not a bar. Since then, the company has flourished.

Rawxies can be described as a lifestyle brand. The brand consists of loud and bright colors, modern and trendy designs, a heart shaped logo and the popular slogan: “Stop Eating Crap.�

Rawxies focuses on the importance of its lifestyle brand by placing the brand in a trendier settings such as music festivals like Lollapalooza and as well as associating with celebrities and pop culture.

Ultimately, England created Rawxies so there would be a healthy alternative for health conscious individuals. Rawxies was not created to be a nutrition bar like Luna Bars or Clif Bars or to be a high calorie cookie snack. Rawxies’ products are somewhere in between.

The product differentiators are that each product is raw, vegan, gluten-free, soy free and low calorie. Current flavors of Rawxies cookie products are: banana nut bread, lemon poppy seed, mint chocolate chip and mocha almond. Currently there are two additional flavors in the works. Rawxies has also recently created the new Crunch line, which is almost like pieces of brittle put in a snack bag. Current flavors on the Crunch line are: cheezy smoked paprika, cheezy chili lime and cheezy chipotle curry.

The target customers for these products are health conscious moms, cold pressed juice consumers, urban millennials and baby boomers. The Rawxies brand connects primarily to women because of the bright, loud and trendy designs and its health conscious mission. Rawxies cookies are a great alternative for people with allergies and dietary issues (especially those who are gluten intolerant or vegan). These products are sold in places like health food stores, local grocery stores, juice bars, markets and coffee shops. They are available to order direct from rawxies.com as well.

Along with the products, Rawxies works to connect with its customers and has created a community of its own. The brand is big on social media, especially Facebook and Instagram and there is a direct link to the Rawxies blog on its website. Through social media, Rawxies often posts pictures of customers finding its products in stores and also promotes other health related posts such as recipes, quotes and pictures of different meals and healthy foods.

2

Looking at only 2015, it appears that Rawxies has developed and implemented only one social media campaign. On January 24, 2015 Rawxies posted on Facebook that starting in February it would be launching a 30-day raw food cleanse with recipes and “daily” inspiration. The campaign seemed clearly presented given the constraints of February only being 28 days long, however, Rawxies’ posts did not line up. Between January 26 and January 30, Rawxies posted a total of seven times with content geared towards the campaign like simple recipes and raw foods and there was a major increase in post activity and engagement. Although, it is not clear why these posts were created and distributed in January in clusters rather than spread across February like the campaign was originally suggesting. After this spurt of postings, Rawxies only posted two more recipes, the last of which occurred on February 3. Throughout the month of the campaign, Rawxies did sprinkle in products throughout the month, but the products were often unnamed and it was unclear whether the products were in accordance with the cleanse. There were also a few images with messages, which could certainly constitute inspiration, but rarely any of the images were branded as Rawxies content.

This is the sole social media campaign in 2015 and it did not meet the goals Rawxies set out for itself. Aside from this effort, Rawxies has had its fair share of positive media attention, in large part due to the prominence of England. England has always been ingrained in the brand and her personal story of treating herself through diet change rather than medication is certainly attractive to customers. England was recently featured as the keynote speaker for Go Big Social 2015. Additionally, England has been featured as a Pipeline fellow. The Rawxies brand has won several awards including: • “Top 6 Vegan Products” Expo West, California • “Best of Raw, Best Cookie” Raw Living Expo, New York • “Dean and Deluca Top Pick” New York These awards give Rawxies significant credibility and publicity. It has a product that stands for itself, but if the company wants to expand and have a more national presence, it will need to be more consistent and well defined on social media.

3

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS Rawxies’ Current Social Media Channels Facebook - 6,999 Likes Twitter - 2,973 Followers Instagram - 7,130 Followers Pinterest - 41 Boards | 611 Followers Rawxies is currently active on several social media platforms including: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. Rawxies utilizes its social media platforms to show products, connect to customers and share information on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Rawxies is the most active on Facebook and Twitter with 90% of its Facebook following as women and majority of these women are from the United States. In terms of types of posts, from February 24, 2014 to March 2, 2015, Rawxies posts a lot of photos promoting its own products and living a health conscious lifestyle, but through research it was found that posts on Facebook are receiving more likes compared to shares or comments. If it can get more shares the reach of its content would be greater.

Rawxies’ Instagram currently has 33 new posts and each post averages 64.6 likes. This is based on an analysis done by Simply Measured between the months of January to March.

All the postings so far have been only photos with no video piece developed. The photos include inspiring quotes, healthy recipes and Rawxies promotions. Through research analytics on Rawxies’ social media channels it was found that Tuesday between 10 am – 11 am is when the Instagram account receives the most engagement. The posts on Instagram are consistent and engaging.

Rawxies uses Pinterest to share healthy recipes for appetizers, drinks and even sweet treats to its 611 followers. Within the 41 boards on its Pinterest, there is a board that has inspiring health quotes and a board that promotes Rawxies’ “Stop Eating Crap” products.

Rawxies is consistent on Twitter with posts that have a call to action or include engaging photos. With over 2,000 followers it is not receiving as much interaction as it should.

Favorites and retweets are in the single digits for most tweets.

Overall, Rawxies’ social media channels have a lot of decent content but it is not reaching enough people. Rawxies is a newer company and brand, and as far as social media is concerned is showing multiple strengths that can be further developed.

4

One of these strengths is the fact that Rawxies currently has a solid Twitter following of both individual accounts and various other health/wellness company accounts. This is important because Rawxies has already found a way to connect with these consumers and can utilize Twitter to grow and develop its relationship with them through social media.

Having these nearly 2,000 followers can provide Rawxies with a major opportunity for growth as well. Rawxies currently only follows about 1,000 accounts on Twitter and can develop its presence by initiating contact with additional consumers by following more accounts and continuing to interact with its current base. Because a majority of its follower accounts are health related, Rawxies can rely on them to learn about industry trends and events that they can become a part of.

Another strength that Rawxies has the opportunity of continuing to develop is its unique and personable voice on social media. Compared to other brands in the industry, Rawxies’ voice in social media use is very different and sometimes in your face. This is an opportunity for Rawxies to break away from the other similar brands in the industry as well as a way to hone in on the fact that its brand and products are different. Although Rawxies’ unique and different voice has the opportunity to be a strength, right now its voice and social media presence can be somewhat all over the place. It’s difficult to pin down Rawxies as a brand with its own personality and voice, as its social media posts seem to convey the sense of one person running the account as a Rawxies cheerleader. Some of this may be due to the frequent use of emojis, exclamation points and other casual language that feels more like an individual user than a business. Businesses often try to stay current with lingo and trends, but it tends to be more calculated and purposeful. Rawxies will need to be consistent in the way it is posting on its social media channels to fully develop its unique voice and truly stand out against the competition.

Rawxies also seems at times to have an identity crisis, largely between appealing to moms and maintain a somewhat edgy/trendy image. Its Facebook cover image is currently a young girl and through Facebook, Rawxies features kids enjoying Rawxies from timeto-time, while also promoting events like the Healthy Kids Workshop. However, a post featuring a child enjoying one of Rawxies’ products is just a scroll away from another post that says, “Whenever you see the words ‘fat-free’ or ‘low fat’ think of the words ‘chemical shit storm.’” This seems to stray away from the family friendly image that pops up on the different channels and Rawxies needs to decide now which direction is best for the brand and stick with it.

On Twitter, Rawxies has recently been cycling through a few weekly hashtags that, while they do appear to be simple and relatable to the different posts, are actually slightly weak because they do not specifically connect to the brand itself. Current hashtags include: #mondaymotivation, #tuesdaytip and #wellnesswednesday. These hashtags can be easily lost among tweets that aren’t representative of Rawxies’ products. Although using these hashtags and participating in the social media conversations being had in conjunction with them, Rawxies would benefit from implementing either the hashtag #rawxies in these tweets, which has been done occasionally in the past, or by creating a new hashtag that consumers can easily recognize as being associated with the brand.

An additional aspect of Rawxies’ current social media is that it currently places much emphasis on its Twitter presence and not nearly the same amount of post frequency or interaction is visible on Facebook. Although Twitter has found itself as the forefront of casual and quick connections between brands and consumers, Facebook is still a reliable

5

platform for the sharing of more information, interesting links and multiple pictures that Rawxies’ consumers can be exposed to. Capitalizing on multiple platforms can help provide consistent top of mind awareness for Rawxies when it comes to healthy food choices. While Rawxies should utilize Facebook more than its current usage, it’s important to still practice posting constraint to avoid over posting.

The Rawxies blog helped create the company and currently is being under-utilized. The last blog posting is from October 23, 2014 about Mindful Eating. This is a missed opportunity for Rawxies as utilizing the blog to create more content related to its brand and values could help drive traffic to its website as well as act as another source of content for posting on the different social media channels. Rawxies should be writing new blogs at least once a week and could bring in its different Pinterest boards as well. Rawxies has the opportunity to really develop the blog into something that could help establish the brand even more.

As mentioned earlier, Rawxies has a unique voice and is a trendy, loud and colorful brand that sometimes isn’t afraid to let its voice be heard. There is an opportunity to use Rawxies’ voice and beliefs to be a driver for women empowerment and really dive into conversations across the nation. Rawxies appeals to a wide age range of women, ages 24 to 55 and a common way to reach any woman in this age frame is to appeal to their emotions.

Currently there are a lot of issues relating to women’s rights and the feminist movement is at an all-time high. Rawxies could be a part of the conversation by posting different articles in its blog or featuring different women from is current customer base and how these women are making changes for our generations.

A lot of competitors in the industry have a donation program where anyone can fill out a donation request to have products at different events. Rawxies could maximize on this opportunity by offering a similar program. By donating products to be used at different events, Rawxies name is getting out to more places than it is originally able to reach. Having Rawxies’ name out at different events increases visibility and brand awareness.

Another opportunity for Rawxies would be to develop a type of brand ambassador program.

This could either be ambassadors on college campuses or mommy bloggers, or just the average woman. Other competitors have a way for customers who really love the brand to apply to be a brand ambassador and then are required to post about the Rawxies brand on their own social media channels and act as sort of a testimonial to different customers and encourage product buying.

6

Competition LaraBar Facebook – 152,256 Likes Twitter – 31,000 Followers Instagram – 18,200 Followers Pinterest – 13 Boards | 1,803 Followers Lara Merriken founded LaraBar in 2000. Merriken believed that natural foods should be fun and enjoyable as well as good for you. LaraBar is a line of natural and pure fruit bars focused on nutrition. The company has expanded from its original fruit and nut bar line to bars including protein, soy free bars, granola inspired bars and even chocolate bars. Each bar has its own unique flavors and ingredients and depending on the bar can also be gluten free, dairy free, vegan and/or kosher.

LaraBar’s website is very clean and modern; doesn’t look like it has its very own character.

However, LaraBar does a great job at listing its brands of products as well as each flavor. The customer can click on a specific bar, and then a specific flavor and it takes them to a picture of the bar, a list with pictures of the actual ingredients and the nutritional information for each bar.

In terms of social media usage, LaraBar is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Over the past 15 years, LaraBar has done a great job at figuring out its brand and voice and how to utilize social media. From the content generated on each social media channel, you can see that LaraBar strives to be that little voice of encouragement to all of its followers. LaraBar wants its customers and followers to strive to live a healthy and carefree life and through social media anyone can see that, which shows that LaraBar is using social media in a positive way to increase brand awareness.

On Facebook, LaraBar posts multiple times per day and most content includes pictures or a link. LaraBar is trying to increase engagement and interaction in its posts. A lot of content is actually generated from its own blog, the Nutshell. LaraBar has a blog on its website that includes recipes, feel good and inspirational quotes, and general ideas and articles about nutrition. By connecting content from the blog to social media, LaraBar is increasing its reach and driving traffic to its website.

A common theme across all social media channels was that all the content was the same.

Regardless of what feed you check, each one has the same post, with the same message

7

and content. LaraBar does engage in conversations on each channel, but other than that all messaging is the same, which is a missed opportunity.

Overall LaraBar is an expert in the field of nutritional bars. It has been in the business for the past 15 years and is at a point where they feel comfortable in its brand. While Rawxies isn’t as established as LaraBar, it still has its own unique voice and while only being in the field for a short time has an active following. Things to take away from LaraBar would be that content is key. LaraBar has a variety of different content ideas that brings a variety of posting to each site

Goal & objectives Goal 1: Increase customer engagement Objective 1: Increase following on all platforms by 10

percent over the next 6 months.

Objective 2: Incorporate new topics into Rawxies Blog Objective 3: Increase engagement with followers on

all platforms by 15 percent over the next 6 months.

Goal 2: Drive conversion Objective 1: Utilize paid advertising on Instagram,

Facebook and Google.

Goal 3: Increase national presence Objective 1: Build partnerships with key influencers and bloggers.

Objective 2: Post curated content at least twice a day

over the next 6 months.

8

key audience As of May 4, Rawxies had 6,999 likes on Facebook, 7,130 followers on Instagram and 2,973 followers on Twitter. According to Facebook insights as of March 2, 90 percent of Rawxies likes come from women. While we don’t have the data for the other platforms, we can assume that there is a similarly strong leaning. Facebook is the most popular platform for all age demographics with similar usage, while Instagram and Twitter are far more popular with the 18-29 range than any other. This would seem to imply that moms are the most engaged with Rawxies social media, which is reflected in some of the post statistics. For instance, Rawxies most clicked and liked Facebook post in February was a picture of a child with Rawxies products. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, women listed viewing photos and videos as their top attraction to Facebook and were 15 percent more likely to do so than men. Given the heavy presence of women on Rawxies Facebook page, they should utilize this information by posting as many photos and videos as possible.

Moms may not be the most populous demographic on social media, but they are one of the best for conversion. However, Rawxies needs the support of urban millennials to popularize the brand and give it some staying power. Millennials, particularly teens, have habits in how they engage with social media. Oddly enough, a study by iProspect shows that teens are most loyal to the content, rather than the platform itself. They mostly use social media for entertainment news and are attracted to humorous content, which Rawxies is lacking.

Obviously the focus has to remain on the product itself, but Rawxies can capitalize on current events, memes and trends to garner greater engagement. While these tactics can seem forced and desperate from some companies, health food is very trendy and already ingrained in pop culture. Particularly on Twitter, a humorous post can rapidly increase spread through retweets. Brands like Denny’s have been succeeding with this model for years, and Rawxies can too.

9

GOAL 1: INCREASE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT Objective 1: Increase following on all platforms by 10%.

Channels: All social media platforms matter for this objective because Rawxies should have a strong social media presence across all channels as they connect with the target audience. This includes: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr. This will help Rawxies maintain good relationships with its followers and get its message out to a larger audience.

Strategies: The following of a business is indicative of more than just a number; it has to do with the impact of the company’s message. For being a newer brand, Rawxies already has a good following base on all social media platforms. Over the next six months Rawxies can increase its number of followers by having monthly contests, using engaging posts and interacting with followers on a day-to-day basis.

If Rawxies surrounds itself with a network of people that value its brand, it will help increase its following on all social media platforms as well. It is better to cross-promote instead of self-promote sometimes and by utilizing its network of similar companies in the industry, cross-promotion will help boost Rawxies credibility and reach a wider range of people.

Rawxies should work on engaging peer companies by sharing posts and information from them. If Rawxies shares some of their information the peer companies would do the same for Rawxies and expand the reach of the online postings.

Hashtags are big on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and can be utilized to gain more of a following as well. By creating content that follows hashtag trends, Rawxies becomes part of a national conversation and is able to try to reach new followers. An example of a good hashtag campaign on Twitter right now is, Oreo Cookie #PlaywithOreo.

Engagement Strategy: Rawxies will share frequently, be responsive and reach out to influencers. There should never be a lull in posting on any platform. By utilizing media planner applications like Hootesuite, Rawxies should plan out postings on each platform weekly with basic general postings and then create monthly or weekly themes to post more content about. These themes could be related to holidays, current issues or even just the values of the company.

All postings should incorporate a hashtag, link or image when necessary to keep followers engaged as well. By posting more frequently, and purposefully, it will help Rawxies and its followers stay engaged with each other.

10

Content Message: All content posted should have a purpose or a call-to-action to get and keep followers engaged. Everything Rawxies posts is in correlation with its brand, so make the most of each post and provide information about Rawxies’ website, products, values, beliefs, etc. in each one.

The content should vary between each platform and shouldn’t be a replica of postings.

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram should all be focused on sharing events, monthly contests and useful information, however, the postings about each topic should be different. All the content should be visually pleasing as posts that incorporate media receive more reach and are considered the most engaging type of content on social media.

Pinterest should be utilized as a way to incorporate topics into Rawxies Blog and a way for Rawxies to interact with its following on a more personal level. Pinterest is a way for Rawxies to expand on its company’s values and beliefs in different boards and can be used as added content to postings on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Rawxies can also utilize Pinterest to share recipes and encourage followers to post their own Rawxies recipes.

Risk Analysis: It is possible to over share on social media and post too much. Over sharing can turn away followers, so it’s important to stay active on all platforms, but not to the point that followers should feel overwhelmed or annoyed. All content should be planned out and reflect on times that each platform is the most popular throughout the day.

Objective 2: Incorporate new topics into Rawxies Blog Channels: Rawxies’ blog should be linked in postings on each platform, but should be connected with Pinterest the most. Each blog posting could relate to a board or pin on Rawxies’ Pinterest site. Once the post is written it should then be used as content for the other platforms.

Strategies: Rawxies’ Blog has been under-utilized with a couple of months gap between each post. By increasing the amount of Rawxies blog posts up to at least one unique post per week and by promoting it consistently on social media, it will get more people engaged. The one post for week should be unique Rawxies content showcasing new products, business initiatives, topics dealing with values and mission, etc. It is encouraged to post more than once a week however, and Rawxies can do this by inviting in guest writers or incorporating different types of blog posts.

If Rawxies finds a couple of distinct topics or blog themes, it can then post more about the specific topic or theme and plan postings accordingly. The Rawxies Blog is a way for the company to talk more than just its products. Rawxies can be a part of national conversations and weigh in on how the company feels on certain issues. This is a way for Rawxies to directly hit its target audience because it is appealing to the audience’s own beliefs and values.

To be consistent and establish more of a brand aroudnt the Rawxies Blog, Rawxies should publish its unique postings every Thursday. Other posts could be published on Mondays or Saturdays in order to create space between the postings and not to interrupt the consistency of unique blog postings.

11

By setting specific days that posts are released there is a sense of organization and expectations from readers. The blog posts should be sent out around 10:45 a.m. According to Kissmetrics, 11 a.m. is the biggest traffic time for people that read blogs. It also mentions that most comments happen on Saturdays, so that would be a good day to poll and gauge increased reading and engagement.

The blog could also be a way to share customer testimonials. By sharing certain followers’ or influencers’ stories, Rawxies is showing that it is listening to its customer base. Also it’s easier for customers to connect with another customer as opposed to the company.

Consumers thrive on other consumers’ opinions and by sharing customers’ great experience with the product, Rawxies can enhance the trust in its relationships with the rest of its following.

Content Message: Each blog posting should focus on one specific topic or idea as a way to generate more content. Some topics for postings could include: Recipes, Workouts/General Health, Motivation, Woman Empowerment, Beauty, Crafts, etc. Postings don’t have to be pages and pages long, but should vary in length depending on the topic. Recipe blogs could expand from being just the basic recipe to how to eat healthy on a budget, or on the run. The target audience may not have a lot of income to spend on healthier more organic foods, or may just not have the time.

Blogs relating to working out, general health and beauty can all relate to appearance, but also to how to treat your body right. Rawxies could incorporate workouts for in-home and in the gym as well as quick ones for the part of the target audience who are too busy. Beauty postings could relate to styling for certain occasions, best beauty buys that are organic and more.

Some blogs could also just relate to the Kansas City area and California area where Rawxies is based and emphasize on important community issues or events. Rawxies did a good job with this during the Big 12 tournament downtown and could expand on that throughout the year with more events.

The blog is really a way for Rawxies to get creative and not be bound by only speaking about health issues related to its’ products. It could also be utilized as a tool to create excitement about new movements in the company. Rawxies can give sneak peeks to blog followers on upcoming products and flavors.

Risks: While the blog is a way to branch out and talk about other topics that relate to the company beliefs, there needs to be a balance in postings about certain topics. Also there is risk to posting about too many topics to the point that Rawxies is deviating from showcasing its product on social media, so it would be good to have some press blog posts about the brand and what it is currently up to as well.

Objective 3: Interact with followers Channels: Each social media platform differs in its format, followers and opportunities, so while Rawxies should be interacting with followers on each platform, its approach will be

12

different. Rawxies understands that not only do peoples’ lifestyles differ, but so do their social media habits, likes and dislikes. By understanding this concept, Rawxies can capitalize on increasing interaction with individual followers.

Strategies: In order to increase customer engagement, it is recommended that Rawxies focus on interactions with followers. Social media provides Rawxies with the opportunity to integrate user-generated content into its own account by sharing or reposting followers’ content. By highlighting followers’ postings about Rawxies’ products it creates excitement within the consumer for having their information shared and also provides a direct review of Rawxies’ product for the rest of its following. Rawxies’ followers will enjoy seeing their opinions and own creations on a national platform and will likely increase interaction.

Rawxies can use Pinterest as a source for relationship building tool as bloggers are often active on the site to promote their own information. Rawxies can repin from followers, peers and influencers and share information. By interacting with these influencers and followers and sharing their information, a reliable and reciprocal relationship can likely be formed and can transfer over to other platforms as well.

Instagram is also a popular channel for the urban millennial. Rawxies already has an established social media presence on Instagram, but has the opportunity to improve in terms of the content being posted. Instagram is a great platform to share not only pictures of the products themselves, but also similar recipes, quotes, and GIFs or videos that relate to the brand as well. Rawxies should actively search for their brand on Instagram and like posts associated with it. It gives the consumer a sense of satisfaction when the company they are showcasing likes their post.

13

Facebook is a platform that Rawxies is already very active on, but still provides much room for improvement. This channel holds interest with the younger demographic that caused its fast growth in terms of social media, but Facebook now has a large number of older account holders. Rawxies should focus primarily on interacting with the urban millennial, but Facebook provides the opportunity to also interact with the health-conscious mom.

Twitter is known for its limited character count on posts and outlet for brand personalities.

Rawxies needs to take advantage of the casual atmosphere on this platform and develop strategies to connect with the urban millennial and be seen as an easily relatable name. This can be done through retweeting, favoriting or commenting on posts that consumers either directly mention Rawxies in or that include similar keywords that reflect the healthy lifestyle that Rawxies conveys.

Content Message: Visual imagery is a constant theme throughout all the platforms as it attracts and engages followers. Pinterest, more specifically, is primarily focused on images, like Instagram.

Pinterest is a way for brands to spark interest with images and incite the need for more information. Rawxies can pin images of its products, recipes and even tips and event information for its followers. Pinterest allows users to easily categorize their images and tag them with keywords that will show up under various searches on the site.

Instagram is more of a fun and interactive way to share visuals that people encounter on a daily basis. Because Rawxies is more than a healthy food brand, it too needs to showcase the lifestyle that it experiences. By posting pictures of events, interesting quotes or implementation of Rawxies’ products, consumers will likely view the brand as more personable and relatable. Hashtags are also very useful as they can help consumers relate the products to the lifestyle that Rawxies was created around.

Facebook has the ability to include pictures and tag people and key words in each posting. This abundance of interactive elements allows both users and Rawxies itself to contribute content on equal levels of involvement. Consumers can share their own Rawxies experiences, share ideas for upcoming events or recipes and tag the brand in photos showcasing the product. Facebook is the best channel for contests and giveaways that can potentially reach an incredibly wide audience.

14

Posts on Twitter should be simple, brand-focused and catch the attention of the consumer.

Pictures are an easy way to share ideas and spark conversation. Twitter is known for its limited character count on posts and outlet for brand personalities. Rawxies needs to take advantage of the casual atmosphere on this platform and develop strategies to connect with the urban millennial and be seen as an easily relatable name. This can be done through retweeting, favoriting or commenting on posts that consumers either directly mention Rawxies in or that include similar keywords that reflect the healthy lifestyle that Rawxies conveys.

Risks: With Pinterest, all users can pin images that lead to any landing page that are tagged with a specific keyword. Rawxies should monitor its name and hashtags on Pinterest to make sure no offensive pins are associated with its name.

Hashtags make it hard to respond to all related posts. Some hashtags get mistyped or misinterpreted as well and could cause some confusion among followers. Hashtags can be easily compromised and added to posts not relevant to the Rawxies’ brand or even offensive content.

GOAL 2:DRIVE CONVERSION Objective 1: Utilize paid advertising on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Channels: The target audience spends a majority of their time on social media. By utilizing the paid advertising options on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Rawxies has the opportunity to have its posts pop up on consumer’s feeds that don’t already follow Rawxies on social media. Sponsored ads work well on all mediums, but the most focus should be put into Facebook and Instagram advertising.

Strategies: Facebook has made it so easy for companies to advertise on the site. There are a variety of ways to advertise and target an ad to reach a specific audience. All companies should be spending at least $1 a day on Facebook advertising. Facebook analytics allow you to watch click rates, shares, likes and more to measure how well each ad is doing. With the ability to track the success of different ads, Rawxies should have ads target different age groups, demographics, psycographics to reach consumers that are more likely to stay engaged with the product.

15

Rawxies should utiilize Facebook advertising first and foremost for its fanpage. For the whole six month period there should be one ad that runs specifically to gain new likes for the fanpage. Rawxies can set the different factors for the ad like what age to target, race, gender, as well as specific interets. The more specific the target factors are will limit the amount of new people your ad can reach. For the ad promoting likes for the Rawxies fanpage, we would recommend leaving it broader as a chance to get a wider reach. Rawxies could create other ads promoting products, upcoming events, contests and its website and blog. These ads should have more of a specific target.

Instagram advertising is nice because like Facebook your ad has the opportunity to just pop into someone’s newsfeed. As the user is scrolling through the pictures between two of their friends is your ad with a picture, your handle and the message. This gives Rawxies the opportunity to get crafty with their food pictures and even create different GIFs of creating different Rawxies snacks or even promoting a contest.

Content Message: The advertisements should all be simple and concise to promote a specific thing. For Facebook it’s good to advertise to get new page likes and promote upcoming events. It’s also a good place to advertise the different merchandise and product with direct links to Rawxies’ website. All the advertisements should include pictures and the Rawxies logo as well.

For Instagram we recommend promoting upcoming contests where the followers can win Rawxies’ products or other gifts, as well as just promoting the different Rawxies snacks.

Instagram advertisements should have a clear picture of the specific Rawxies snack with a description of the flavors and ingredients and a link to Rawxies’ website.

Risks: Don’t pick too broad of an audience in hopes of generating more and more likes. Focus on getting the right likes to help promote engagement between followers and in hopes of maintaining your following. Replicating advertisements on all mediums may work, but it’s not beneficial. We recommend only cross-advertising on all platforms for big upcoming events or reveals within the company. Otherwise choose different things to advertise on each platform.

16

GOAL 3: BUILD NATIONAL PRESENCE Objective 1: Build partnerships with key influencers/bloggers.

Channels: Rawxies should utilize its website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to build partnerships.

Rawxies can tag specific people and companies in their posts on each platform to help build the relationships.

Strategies: Though Rawxies is slowly becoming a brand that spans multiple parts of the United States, it is time to start building partnerships with other influencers and bloggers. The benefit of blogging is that it can create conversation and further explain the brand of Rawxies and what it stands for. By increasing the amount of Rawxies blog posts to up to 3 posts per week and by promoting it consistently on social media it will get more people engaged.

A great example is Humans of New York. The consistent posting and sharing of posts and pictures allowed the Facebook page to get to over 12,000,000 likes in the past 5 years. Where the content is not the same, it is important to note that the use of real people, their lives, their testimonies and thoughts are what appealed to viewers and Facebook fans. In this way, Rawxies can showcase fans, supporters and buyers to promote their product. This can be done by having guest writers, writing about the health food stores and locations that Rawxies can be found and then in turn working out a deal for those companies, stores and people to share the blogs to the people they know.

It is also important that for as much as Rawxies shares their stories, recipes, lifestyle habits, advice and other various posts, to also in turn reach out and follow other blogs and bloggers both locally and nationally. That includes actively liking, sharing and commenting to create a sense of community with the new bloggers. This can be done by having guest bloggers or by attending blogging conventions to network and gain connections. Conventions would also allow the bloggers Rawxies connect with to taste their products in person.

Rawxies should reach out to vendors and partners to have guest writers on the blog as well.

By reaching out to companies, Rawxies can branch out of the local area by connecting with places such as the Whole Foods blog.

Content Message: Posts from guest writers and partners should talk about their own healthy lifestyle and what they do to stay healthy, or talk about different trends in the industry or about their own products. Guest writers can bring in different audiences and attract more of a following to the blog and Rawxies’ brand.

17

It’s also important to tag specific companies or people related to the post and create more buzz. Rawxies could even have the guest writer or partner cross promote on their own social media platforms. To create buzz about upcoming special blog posts with guest writers, Rawxies could Instagram a picture with the guest writer eating Rawxies to create interest in the upcoming blog post.

Risks: Rawxies should be careful to not highlight too many guest writers or partners, as it should make sure Rawxies is the main presence on all platforms.

Objective 2: Post curated content actively Channels: Curating may seem daunting and high-risk, but it is a perfect opportunity for a young company like Rawxies to establish itself as a brand. As mentioned in previous sections, Rawxies has struggled to settle on a single identity as evidenced by its social media activity and at times seems to reflect the sentiments of a single person rather than a cohesive, developed brand. By utilizing the tools of each platform, Rawxies can maximize its influence as both a content creator and a lifestyle curator.

Roughly the same number of 18-29 year olds use Facebook as 30-49 year olds, while more than double the younger population uses Instagram in comparison. With these gaps in mind, it may be tempting to pander and present differently on each platform, but this is ultimately detrimental to the brand identity. There is a reason each platform has its own user base, which has more to do with how the content is shared rather than the content itself. Rawxies can use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest without compromising their image. Facebook and Twitter are ideal for sharing articles and links, while Instagram and Pinterest are perfect for simple recipes and meals. There is some cross compatibility for each platform, especially Facebook, but these details will be outlined in the following sections.

18

Strategies: First and foremost, the brand needs to have a single, consistent voice. From our observations, Rawxies has struggled to appeal to urban millennials while staying palatable and family-friendly to moms. They will either need to settle on a single demographic or find some sort of happy medium. We would suggest the latter, as it is more inclusive and fits in well with the Rawxies product. Navigating the raw, vegan and gluten-free lifestyle can be intimidating with the excess of information, but Rawxies has branded itself as a more laid-back, lifestyle product. It is a tasty treat and a health food second, accessible to kids and adults. With this in mind, Rawxies is in the perfect position to introduce curious customers to a healthier, happier lifestyle by using curated content.

Additionally, Rawxies needs to establish a social media style guide. Newspapers and other publications have been using style guides for centuries to streamline publishing and reduce confusion and inconsistency for readers. In recent years, many companies have started following suit with style guides for social media. This would lay out specific language and terminology for Rawxies to use, which is very important when curating across multiple platforms. For instance, it would set a precedent for which words to capitalize, how to post links--i.e. with a link shortener and introducing with a blurb followed by a colon or some other device--and how to refer to the company itself and it’s products. Some things need to be identical for brand recognition on every platform, but the style guide can allow for some flexibility due to various constraints, such as Twitter’s character limit and Instagram’s lack of linking ability.

After accounting for these variables, Rawxies needs to decide what kind of content it wants to curate. There are virtually no limits to what a company can do--for instance, Pepsi has a strong music presence despite being an unrelated soft drink company. But in the best interests of creating a singular image, Rawxies needs to avoid overloading the customer with irrelevant information and instead needs to focus on a few relevant interests.

Content Message: In our meeting, CEO Callie England stated that Rawxies is not a bar, as the bar market is dominated by power lifters and other more niche consumers. With that in mind, Rawxies can curate information about exercise, but should stray away from niche interests like crossfit, climbing and cycling. However, they could share articles about quick, easy exercises for busy moms and fun activities for kids, staying consistent with the target market. Articles are optimal for sharing on Facebook and Twitter. Twitter is optimized for curation, given the ease of retweeting. Rawxies should also share articles from or about their selected influencers and any new studies that directly or indirectly support the benefits of Rawxies products. They can even capitalize off negative sentiment in some instances--if a new study reflects a rise in early onset Celiac’s, Rawxies has the perfect window to show how kids can get into tasty gluten-free treats from a young age.

This same approach could be applied to recipes, utilizing other platforms. Our recipe challenge was a good start in showing how Rawxies can be implemented in easy, on-thego snacks. The overnight oatmeal was great content for Rawxies consumers on Facebook or Pinterest, while our gif would be a perfect model for showing how easy it is to make certain recipes on Instagram without needing a link. And these tactics are not restricted to Rawxies products--curation is a great opportunity to build relationships with other brands, with an emphasis on goods that complement, rather than substitute the product. For instance, Rawxies should never promote Luna, but they could easily share which flavor of Chobani

19

yogurt goes best with Rawxies Crunch. These tactics send the message that Rawxies is a versatile product that can fit into any lifestyle.

Risks: Curation is inherently dangerous as it involves taking stances and supporting other companies and studies, which may not be controlled by Rawxies. Taking any stance is always a risk for a company, given that it can alienate the consumer. For instance, Rawxies could promote Nestle, another brand that boasts a family-friendly image. But Nestle has also been internationally boycotted for decades by mothers and concerned citizens alike that disagree with the company’s aggressive marketing of possibly dangerous baby formula to poor families in LEDCs. Any negative press that comes on Nestle, or a similar company, could fall on Rawxies by association.

Rawxies also runs the risk of being wrong. The company could post a study supporting gluten-free or vegan lifestyles, only to have it disproven in the near future. Rawxies would then face the tough decision of apologizing for misinformation or losing credibility.

INFLUENCERS An ambassador can be the key to getting new audiences on board with a product or great for exposing new people to upcoming brands. Picking someone well known or a celebrity that has the same values and lifestyle similarities to the product help make the brand reliable and creates credibility in the eye of that celebrity’s followers. People are more likely to latch on to a new brand if they have that role model speaking to the quality of the product.

For a company like Rawxies, it is important to identify who the target audience is in order to pick a celebrity that could represent this product well. Two of the most relatable and important aspects of Rawxies are the health benefits and trendy branding.

Many people today are being faced with food intolerances to ingredients such as dairy, gluten and soy, so Rawxies should have a celebrity that can speak to this as an issue and identify with buyers. Celebrities such as Emmy Rossum, Jessica Simpson, Zooey Deschanel and Kristen Bell are faced with varying allergies to food and could be a great spokeswoman for Rawxies.

Kristen Bell, an actress with two children, would be a great use of celebrity ambassadorship.

20

Rawxies markets to young millennials and trendy moms that want to lead that healthy lifestyle. Kristen Bell is hip, young, successful and could become a great role model for Mom’s feeding their children healthy treats, such as Rawxies.

Rawxies could also benefit from reaching out to other organizations such as The Color Run and (for staying local) The Middle of the Map Festival. By reaching out to the Color Run an organization that promotes a happy and healthy lifestyle, Rawxies can connect with people looking for healthy snacks. Both the Color Run and Rawxies have bright and trendy branding that could work well together and both bring in the young millennial crowd. By pairing, Rawxies would benefit by the amount of exposure the products would get from people that sign up for the Color Run and the Color Run would benefit by having a healthy snack alternative for runners.

The Middle of the Map Festival is in Kansas City and hosts bands for 4 days in venues downtown. This festival brings in a multitude of bands and young locals. The event is sponsored by places such as Bike Walk KC, Boulevard Brewing Company, the Kansas City Royals, Rainy Day Books and more. If Rawxies could get in connection with this festival for the following year the logo could be exposed to ticket buyers via programs, ticket stubs, t-shirts and samples throughout the weekend.

measurement Rawxies can measure goal 1 by the amount of followers it gains on each social media platform over the six-month campaign. Over the 6 months it sure check its following base three times (i.e., before the campaign starts, 3 months in, 6 months.) Goal 2 can be measured by increase in sales and traffic on the website. Rawxies should measure its baseline statistics before the launch of the campaign and compare them to the statistics after the campaign. Goal 3 will be measured by the content that is posted; the amount of influencers gained and the amount of relationships formed as a direct result of social media interactions between the brand and consumers.

21

timeline / budget Rawxies identified its budget as $6,000 to be used over the course of a six-month campaign.

The campaign will start April 1, 2016 and end Sept. 30, 2016. While the various social media platforms described in this analysis are all free, they each provide opportunities for paid advertisements that can specifically target urban millennials. We have divided the budget by month and have identified events that may be of interest to consumers of Rawxies in order to maximize social media attention. Rawxies has multiple options for social media advertisements and can invest in each as it sees fit. Each festival should have a Rawxies tent promoting the product and offering free samples. Social media platforms can run a campaign for the end/start of the school year, July fourth and National Yoga Awareness Month. The platforms to advertise on will consist of, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

22

conclusion Rawxies is an up and coming nutritional brand that started in Kansas City and was founded by creator and local resident, Callie England. England first started the brand by creating the Rawxies blog in 2010 in an attempt to redefine the way people view vegan, gluten free or even raw foods. After lending skills and knowledge to other well-known foodie websites and blogs, England began to take her vision of Rawxies to the next level. In 2012, England set out to create a healthy treat that was actually nutritious, but that was not a bar. Since then, the company has flourished.

A main goal of Rawxies is to connect with their customers, creating a community of their own online. Rawxies is big on social media, especially Facebook and Instagram and there is a direct link to the Rawxies blog on its website. Up until this point, Rawxies hasn’t created many campaigns to curate customer engagement, but rely on ‘likes,’ repostings and hashtags.

Rawxies has had its fair share of positive media attention. Rawxies have received awards such as “Top 6 Vegan Products” from Expo West, California, “Best of Raw, Best Cookie” from Raw Living Expo, New York and “Dean and Deluca Top Pick” from New York. They have gained enough notoriety in the Kansas City and California areas to begin making their mark in the market of health food.

In order to accelerate the increasing of customer engagement, it is recommended that Rawxies focus on interaction with its followers. Rawxies will share frequently, be responsive and reach out to influencers. There should never be a lull in posting on any platform. By utilizing media planner applications like Hootsuite, Rawxies can preplan posts for multiple platforms, creating weekly themes. Themes and posting patterns creates consistency for the readers.

Social media provides Rawxies with the opportunity to integrate user-generated content into its own account by sharing or reposting followers’ content. Rawxies should focus on creating image based posts on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, allowing users to quickly buy in to the message and give them something to repost on their own feeds. On platforms such as twitter, it is important that all usages of hashtags are relevant to the brand and the content should be very clear and concise.

Rawxies should also utilize built in advertising systems, especially via Facebook and Instagram, to allow themselves to pop up on other peoples feeds, thus broadening the number of people reached for each post. Facebook analytics makes it easy to watch your return on investment because it shows the overall new reach through paid advertising, new

23

likes, clicks and more. Creating more traffic on Instagram gives Rawxies the opportunity to get crafty with their food pictures and even create different GIFs of creating different Rawxies snacks or even promoting a contest.

Though Rawxies is easy to identify with for millennials and young moms, it is important that they begin to form other partnerships in order to reach more people within their market. Rawxies should utilize its website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to build these partnerships. They can tag specific people and companies in their posts on each platform to help build the relationships and create links back to Rawxies own posts.

Success here means not only posting online or on the Rawxies blog, but actively liking and participating in the blog culture locally and nationally to create a sense of community with the new bloggers. This can be done by having guest bloggers or by attending blogging conventions to network and gain connections. Conventions would also allow the bloggers Rawxies connect with to taste their products in person. Posts from guest writers and partners should talk about their own healthy lifestyles can bring in different audiences and attract more of a following to the blog and Rawxies’ brand.

Additionally, Rawxies needs to establish a social media style guide. Newspapers and other publications have been using style guides for centuries to streamline publishing and reduce confusion and inconsistency for readers. In recent years, many companies have started following suit with style guides for social media. This would lay out specific language and terminology for Rawxies to use, which is very important when curating across multiple platforms.

Overall, by following these suggestions, Rawxies will have a more consistent following and engagement and it will also allow them to connect with others nationally. By putting a personal touch on posts, i.e. showing the people that use Rawxies, testimonials or guest writers on the blog, Rawxies viewers will be able to better identify with this health food brand. Consistency and clarity are key.

24