Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60SPRING//SUMMER 2017 51 THE DIGITAL landscape of social media might not seem a natural bedfellow for the analogue world of stationery, but this is one relationship that can make the difference between a brand’s success or failure. While stationery designers and suppliers live and breathe paper, ink and the handwritten word, social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram allow them to put their products in front of customers instantly, bypassing traditional marketing channels. A recent study by the Stationery Matters team into how UK stationery brands do (or don’t) use social media provided a fascinating insight into the industry’s love/hate relationship with social. There were unexpected heroes and notable absences from UK brands on all the most popular social platforms. Perhaps most exciting, young British brand Ohh Deer is the first to build a social community with more than one million followers! That’s a million potential customers who’ve chosen to engage on their digital devices with a company specialising in paper goods. Other companies whose communities run into the tens of thousands include Derwent, Smythson, Filofax, Oxford Notebooks, Santoro London and G F Smith Papers, proving that companies who make pens and paper can master digital. British brands who don’t tweet or post to Instagram to keep their customers in the loop are clearly missing a trick. But it’s not just about getting product in front of stationery fans. Social networks offer multiple benefits. For many, it’s the immediacy of social media which appeals. Elly Vvaller, founder of Dear To Me Studio, a Stockholm-based company specialising in hand-finished paper products manufactured in the UK, says: “First and foremost it’s a platform for communicating directly with the customer, whether that’s wholesale or retail. We use social media to showcase our designs to both Far from being an afterthought, social media must now play a central part in any successful brand’s marketing strategy. JULIA FAIERS discovers how stationery is embracing digital #SOCIALSTATIONERY consumers and potential stockists. We’re based in Stockholm and find it’s perfect to reveal what life is like behind the scenes, the finer details and the day-to-day developments in the business. In addition, we can respond to our customers’ needs.” It shouldn’t come as a surprise that stationery brands are excelling on digital, despite their old-school heritage. Creativity and innovative design are crucial to stationery makers and suppliers. It’s not a giant leap to transfer these skills across to digital. The most successful brands on social are those using creative flair. One of our LaunchPad winners, Foggish, are a case in point. As soon as they heard about their competition win, they created a fabulously eye-catching Gif to post on Twitter. It caught people’s attention, and imagination, earning retweets and likes from the industry and consumers. The key is to keep customers excited by a brand’s social media feeds. There are many ways to achieve this, from using video through to hosting a social media account takeover. Rachel Woolley, marketing manager at STAEDTLER (UK), cites Facebook as the brand’s most successful platform, due in part to their creative use of video. “We love to share project ideas of what people can create with our FIMO polymer modelling clay. Speeded-up video clips are a great way to show simple FIMO model creations.” The Art File, for example, The Top 5 Social Media Stars of Stationery* 1.Ohh Deer 2.Derwent 3.Smythson 4.G F Smith Papers 5.Filofax OHH DEER ISTHE FIRSTTO BUILD A SOCIAL COMMUNITY WITH MORE THAN ONE MILLION FOLLOWERS. * Based on the total size of the brand’s social media community across all active networks. The Stationery Matters team carried out the study in October 2016. STATIONERY BIZ