Retail & CPG

How a Social Media Makeover Helped a Small Business Drive a 108% Increase in Sales

Apricotton worked closely with Hootsuite to increase its social media presence through comprehensive social media strategy consulting, advertising, and content creation. To get the brand started, Hootsuite provided Apricotton free lifetime access to Hootsuite’s Team plan and an all-access pass to Hootsuite Academy, the brand’s industry-leading online learning platform.

Customizing content for different platforms and goals

Beaudoin and Miao learned how different social media platforms serve different purposes to their users through Hootsuite Academy— Hootsuite's online learning platform that empowers education and growth through a wide range of certifications.To engage their Gen Z audience, the duo started experimenting with tailored content on TikTok, which recently reached more than 1 billion monthly active users around the world, and Pinterest. They also added reviews to the brand’s LinkedIn bio and increased the volume of Instagram Reels on their channel to boost audience engagement.Through Hootsuite Academy, Beaudoin and Miao also learned that a third of content should be geared towards driving sales while two thirds should be focused on engagement. As a result, Apricotton curated niche content tailored to its audience, such as puberty advice, relatable blog posts, and interactive polls on Instagram.

In the past, Beaudoin and Miao tracked their social media metrics and created their own reports through Google Docs—a time consuming and laborious process. After being introduced to Hootsuite Analytics, the duo was excited to run ads directly through the platform and track insights and metrics from their organic and paid content. Now, Apricotton leverages Analytics for audience engagement, determining target audiences, and optimizing the best times to publish content.

Hootsuite Academy provided the Apricotton founders with hands-on training, helping them to master social listening—the process by which companies can monitor their social media channels for mentions pertaining to their brand, competitors, products, and more—through the Hootsuite dashboard. Beaudoin and Miao began to leverage the tool to track mentions of Apricotton, monitor relevant hashtags, and stay up to date on conversations pertaining to their competitors and the fashion industry. Most importantly, they were able to learn about what it was that their audience needed and wanted the most.

Apricotton was given the opportunity to set up a display at their alma mater, Western University, and decided to use a brand asset from its Hootsuite Social Makeover prize package as a full size banner. It held a premium position in Western University’s bookstore that garnered high visibility from students. Taking inspiration from the branded assets, Miao and Beaudoin created a new banner that has made appearances at Toronto’s Summer Market at Toronto Premium Outlets and Stackt Pop Up Market.

Apricotton also ran a paid advertising campaign from August 29 to September 12, 2021 using the Social Makeover prize budget of $5,00 CAD. Over those two weeks, they garnered 66,000 impressions across Instagram and Facebook, which resulted in an increase of 108% in sales.

Looking ahead, Apricotton aims to increase its Instagram and Facebook following by 10% every month, and increase engagement by 20% for likes and 10% for comments month-over-month.

Apricotton’s founders launched its product line in a local London, Ontario store this past summer and are looking to continue expanding its product line. As the business grows, it continues to look for new ways to use its training and insights to inspire more authentic conversations with teen girls around the globe. Check out their full video case study HERE.