Social media was not a focus for Populous Dir of Marketing and Principal Gina Stingley (@Populous) when she started with the K.C.-based architectural firm 13 years ago, but as the medium grew, so did her work in the space. In particular, Stingley has used social media to promote the company name since rebranding from HOK Sport in '09. But she wishes social was as big now as it was for the effort in '09. Stingley: "It wasn’t as nearly sophisticated as it is today. If we had the sophisticated social channels that we have now, we could have amplified the brand so much more.” Stingley also feels that brands knowing their voice and having one voice across social media is a difference-maker. Stingley: “It sounds trite and everyone talks about it, but I truly believe it is the secret sauce of those who are doing great things.” She added, “How do you transfer the voice of a company across multiple people who are handling your social channels? That’s so important to us, because we feel there is such value in our brand.”
SOCIAL SNAPSHOT
Must-follows: I like following #sportsbiz for a wide variety of topics and people.
Favorite apps: Flipboard.
Average time per day on social media: I try to limit my social time to 15 to 30 minutes.
How Populous differs on social media from other architectural firms:
Populous means full of people and we want that spirit to come through -- whether we are talking to a client or posting something on social. Another thing that you can see come through really strong on our social channels is helping our clients understand not only the breadth of fantastic design expertise, but also the technical know-how to deliver these projects. That’s something we believe we deliver above and beyond anyone else.
Social media drumming up business:
What social media does is it becomes the justifier. When people are looking to be employed by Populous or when they are researching firms, they come to social and already know about us. When they come to our social pages, especially Instagram and LinkedIn, they want to see beautiful projects. We found architectural photography resonates more than graphics, imagery or people photos.
Using social media to recruit talent:
One of my favorite words in the dictionary is momentum and that’s what social media can do for anyone. For as much time as we spend putting a social strategy together, we spend just as much time investing in training our staff on how to be brand ambassadors and how to use social media. We all have relationships in the world and we need our staff to be brand ambassadors. We need them to amplify that message. Our reach is significantly less if our employees are not helping us push out messaging.
Effectiveness of brand ambassadors compared to renderings, photos:
We work with a content firm, and when we first set sail on our social strategy three years ago, we really dug our heels in and started to look at paid opportunities and a more sophisticated approach. One of the ah-ha moments noticing what resonates with the general population -- and they like inside peeks at things they otherwise wouldn’t get to see. Not everyone will get to step into an NBA locker room, but through social, we can give them that opportunity. We use phrases like “sneak peak,” “first look” or “behind the scenes.” Those kinds of words that make fans feel like they are getting something special.
Using sports venue images to help with non-sports business:
I am sure they help. If I am a city manager and see Populous just designed a new stadium, it can become “these people know how to do complex buildings" or "they know how to create something that resonates inside our community" or "they know how to tell our community’s story.” We are very sports focused, but at the heart of what we do, we are creating icons for communities. When you get to the underlining current of that, it doesn’t matter if it’s a sports venue or a convention center or an airport.
Approach to promoting new builds:
First and foremost, we tell every client we are here to support them. That’s so important. We never want to get out in front of a client. We want to be additive and supportive to them. A lot of times we will work hand-in-hand with a client to create a strategy over the course of the design and construction project. Throughout the milestones, we can help them with different videos and graphics that highlight where they are in the process. For our clients, a lot of times, this is the only time in their careers they will do something like this where they look to us for the expertise on the best way to promote it.
If you know anyone who should be featured for their use of social media, send their name to us at jperez@sportsbusinessdaily.com.
