The Global Voice of Retail, Chris Igwe

Chris returns once again in our final segment of this three part series.

In this issue of IRG Magazine, we wrap up our conversation with Chris Igwe – Global Voice of Retail, with a focus on using social media to build brand.

For those who don’t know him, Linda JohansonJames, Shannon Quilty and Anita Blackford, are thrilled to introduce you to the multi-talented and esteemed Mr. Chris Igwe of Chris Igwe International, an advisory for retailers and brands, and host of the podcast Global Voice of Retail – CEO’s Talk to Chris Igwe.

For Part 1 of our interview, click here: https://irg-retail.com/ir-magazine-latest-edition/

For Part 2 of our interview, click here: https://online.flippingbook.com/view/468713240/

LJJ (Linda Johansen-James): Retailers are engaging with all generations on social media, from Facebook to Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and LinkedIn. You know, I find it very curious, if I post on LinkedIn something with me in the field at a store, I get 2500 to 3000 people looking at that post, which is fascinating to me. I mean, that’s a lot of people, right?

However, if I post something about what's happening in retail, like an article or something, I get maybe a thousand.

CI (Chris Igwe): People respond to visuals. That for me - a photo is a photo is a photo. It’s interesting and exciting but what is the underlying message you want to communicate in your post? That’s the key.

There are various other people in the industry who I see just want the visual - they don't care about the story. Like you, I believe there's balance between the story that you tell or an article that you've written that shows some thought leadership.

What you say is interesting. For example, on the podcast on average, I get about the same number of likes and views on LinkedIn on a general basis, as I do with my posts in general. I think, on the one hand, people are kind enough to encourage me and are openly supportive, if you like. However, there are those who are more visual and are only interested in the store or image being presented, especially new store openings.

LJJ: Or something new and exciting…

CI: But there are not that many who do that. It's an interesting transition that social media is having around engagement.There's one guy in particular, Ian Scott, in the UK, who I follow, and he follows me. He's very thorough in his posts.

He does a whole critique on a visit that he's made. I like what he does. He posts very, very regularly as well. I love him doing that, but that's not me because I don’t operate specifically in the store environment. I don’t aim to copy but to learn and to share what I believe to be part of my own brand.

I wrote a post earlier about Wally’s, a Santa Monica restaurant I visited. I didn't put everything in the post because I don't want to be a kind of critic as such.What it did spark was off-line interest from people who asked me directly about it. I found that interesting.

LJJ: When I started IRG, I understood I needed help driving social media from a business perspective. Luckily, I’m a quick learner. I know someone who has a lot of followers and I tag them in my posts to get greater exposure.

SQ (Shannon Quilty): I often wonder do some people get annoyed because you’re tagging them or otherwise attaching their name to something?

CI: I don't think it's an issue if you know them. I mean if you tag Barack Obama or whoever you fancy then that's a different thing.You don't get the same impact because there's kind of disrespect, as it were. Does that person really know Barack Obama or whoever? So, you can kind of deviate the conversation onto something else as opposed to keeping them on track.

A guy I know in Portugal working at Sonae Sierra - He posted something in Portuguese and then did it in English and tagged me. He said you might want to read this. I said it is smart that he put my name on it. He replied with a smiley emoji, saying that you just have to tag the right people. It flew off the charts for him.

SQ: It’s been suggested to tag whole organizations. For example, use @CBRE to expose your post to everyone following that company. What do you think of that?

CI: It depends on the objective. Do you want them to move into the product or service you’re offering or to follow what you’re doing?

That’s where it gets a bit nebulous. There’s not a lot of immediate engagement that comes up even through Direct Messages. It does, however, give you increased visibility. My focus is more on the visibility and engagement I create, but business does come from the posts themselves, and not on which companies you tag. If I do a market or store visit, and tag great global retail brands like @H&M or @Adidas, my views are off the charts. Not necessarily in terms of new connections, but certainly followers.

Many thanks again to Chris for sharing his thoughts with IRG Magazine. We hope our readers have found the insights valuable!