Insights & Findings.

Five years have already passed since we started Spin Brands. This year, the Manifest recognized our efforts and named us one of the most reviewed global graphic design companies for 2021.

If you’re wondering how we got here, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane:

In 2016, after growing their respective cycling brands for many years through digital marketing, Alex Bodini and Max Whicher developed a knack for the world of social media and recognized a clear gap in the market for a malleable, young, and agile agency, hence Spin Brands was born.

In 2020

We started working with the likes of Moët & Chandon, an icon of success and style for over 270 years in the champagne industry. Who wanted to replicate their success in a hyper-competitive digital space by appealing to a broad set of consumer age groups. Moët & Chandon’s concern was that the diversity of “moments” that defined the brand was absent from their organic content and tone of voice. Our solution was to construct and carefully execute a contemporary voice style that was reactive to a fast-paced UK context and relatable to multiple age demographics.

In 2021

As of November 2021, our YTD revenue is up over 80% and our churn is the lowest it’s very been which goes to show the value we are bringing to clients at the moment. We are proud to have added three new services to help give our clients a more well-rounded offering. These are: Google Ads, Production (Product photography/videography/etc), and content creation (most notably for TikTok and Facebook Ads.

This year also marks another milestone for Spin Brands as we’ve been considered a leading and most reviewed global vendor for 2021 by The Manifest. For context, The Manifest helps buyers find the right solution providers they need through its shortlists of top-performing firms from around the world.

Most Reviewed companies have the opportunity to show off their new client feedback through a press release on The Manifest, offered a Most Reviewed Company badge, and content marketing support to share the news on their blog.

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Spin is an award winning pure-play social media agency that combines the sharpest creative minds with the smartest performance specialists. For more information or to enquire about scaling your brand through social please email hello@spinbrands.com

Sculpd has appointed Spin to handle their international performance marketing across both Paid Social & Google Ads to support their continued efforts to dominate the home pottery market globally.

Sculpd are one of the UK’s success stories to the lockdown craft kit revolution in the form of air-dried clay and they’re showing no signs of slowing down post pandemic.

Having had exponential growth in the UK market Spin will continue to support them in their international D2C growth through performance marketing.

Shop online here!

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Spin is an award winning pure-play social media agency that combines the sharpest creative minds with the smartest performance specialists. For more information or to enquire about scaling your brand through social please email hello@spinbrands.com

BOL Foods has appointed Spin to handle social media strategy and execution across organic, paid + creative following a resurgence of physical stockists opening post-lockdown.

BOL Foods are a plant-powered product powerhouse, relentlessly innovating with nutritious foods and shakes from their humble veg pots to an extensive range of delicious meals.

A match made in plant-powered heaven, right?

Shop online here!

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Spin is an award winning pure-play social media agency that combines the sharpest creative minds with the smartest performance specialists. For more information or to enquire about scaling your brand through social please email hello@spinbrands.com

Social media isn’t rocket science, sure. But maybe it’s more attune to biology? I don’t know, I wasn’t great at science. Let’s take some time to dissect some examples of extremely good Instagram copywriting. Don’t worry, there will be no gore here.

Obviously, it’s ⚫️ ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚫️ (Just Saying)

An emoji says a 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ words – seriously. What makes Oreos’ copy so good is the clear lack of text. For too long emojis have been used as secondary accessories to basic word-based copy. Fine, this works – but it’s a tad boring now.

When writing copy you should always try to work out how you can push emojis to the edge and do something fun or innovative. Oreo has done this incredibly successfully by returning to emojis as a simple and pictorial form. They obviously haven’t completely reinvented the wheel and this certainly isn’t anything new, these types of symbols have been used throughout the entirety of history – think hieroglyphics, but Oreo? But, what it does show is that next time you use emojis within your copy, have a bit more of a play and see what images and stories you can make with them. They are useful tools.

This clever use of emojis is also incredibly successful because the caption becomes a clear extension of the asset. It mirrors the simple and visual form and invites a conversation cleverly and succinctly (without needing to appear beggy). If you scroll down the comments on this post, users are playing around with emojis in response (it’s fun!) – from football emojis to zebra emojis. Oreo have used the copy to cultivate an interactive space within the post, an emoji playground, and the audience has responded incredibly well.

Human/Brand Hybrid

What makes this Karma Drinks copy so great is its simple and clear mix of being distinctly human, but also very clearly a successful brand.

It starts with engaging human content – with a witty line and then an (unpopular?) opinion. It invites human reaction and human discussion – echoing exactly what could potentially be on a personal account. In a social media landscape where authenticity is craved by so many – the first half of the copy does a great job at cultivating very human interaction.

The second half of the caption has a clear and blunt call to action (with an added emoji to visually direct the viewer 👆). People following these accounts are under no illusions that you are a brand – so don’t insult their intelligence. There is often no need to beat around the bush. What this Karma Drinks caption does so well is they clearly put their human hat on first, and then their brand hat. In the everlasting hunt for online authenticity – this copy stands out but is still very effective.

Within this copy, there are two calls to action, though. There is the very obvious one (👆) – but, also, the more human first half is subtly inviting conversation and comments about all things seasonal. What makes great captions is not only words that sound nice together, or feel witty; but, a great copywriter should always be ‘one step ahead’ – thinking about each word’s purpose and what it might lead the reader to do. Be very subtly provocative (obviously, dont create a PR disaster).

It’s also a great example of how copy can add much-needed context to a seemingly simple image. By using the ‘hot topic’ of the incredibly popular PSL, the asset is dragged from being a pretty photo into a relevant and engaging piece. The adding of context is a prime affordance of copy – so utilise it!

Break that Fourth Wall!

If you have ever had the pleasure of scrolling down Innocents Instagram – you will see a feed crammed with humility, sarcasm and self-deprecation (sounds like my Thursday). With a move to a more ‘authentic’ social media – Innocent have captured the Gen Z-led tones and aesthetics that are extremely popular right now. The breaking of the fourth wall is also quite a trendy thing to do – being comical and open about the constant hunt (burden) for content or the daily struggles of a social media manager is a great and humorous way to engage your audience. Breaking the fourth wall shows real humans run Innocents Instagram (instead of cold corporate overlords).

If anything though, this shows how important copy is in elevating an asset. Without context this could have been a huge flop – but the use of a simple and funny script format heavily improves the asset. Always use copy to work with an asset and add context. The script format is a simple but effective way to ensure the copy is filled with narrative – and, not to sound like an English GCSE teacher, has a solid beginning, middle and end structure.

We can’t lie though, we’d love to work with a client with a budget for fire breathers – let us know.

TLDR:

1. Be more creative with emojis!

2. Get that Human/Brand hybrid just right.

3. Always use copy to add context.

4. Ironic humour is hot right now. Don’t be scared, roast yourself.

Start-ups can sometimes spend hours labouring over the creation of beautiful assets and producing a cohesive feed with engaging visuals - but their content still underperforms on every single post. Why?

The answer is obviously very context-dependent and complex, but a determining key factor tends to be the quality of copy they are producing (or not).

Captions are the unsung heroes of social media marketing. And unfortunately, they are often an afterthought considered too short or insignificant to be worthy of much attention. However, all it takes is one well-crafted caption to make your social media post go viral. And, if done right, captions can be one of your greatest assets for content marketing.

We often give primacy to visuals within our culture - specifically within a lot of marketing circles. However, what makes social media so exciting is its fluid relationship between multiple types of communication. We only need to think about TikTok and its reliance on sonic soundscapes, or Twitter and its backbone of words/language. Because of this, social media is absolutely a space where solid visuals are not the only recipe for success.

Of course, what makes a solid piece of copy is always changing. Luckily, at Spin, we have a team of expert copywriters who have some of the best tips and tricks to produce the best captions going.

1. Tone of voice is more important than anything else. You could craft the perfect caption that grabs attention and has a clear and solid call to action; but, if it doesn’t fit the tone of the brand it simply won’t work. Before getting out your notepad and scribbling ideas for copy - make sure you have a robust tone of voice guide to refer back to. This is very important.

2. Social media is a fast-paced landscape (duh). When we scroll down your feeds we never stop to read every post - and you probably skip longer and more complex posts. Most people do this, so make sure your copy is short and sweet. At Spin, we use a method where we write ‘poetically’ first then cut it down with no mercy. Aim to delete any word that is not essential.

(On that note there is a TLDR. So, if you are having a lazy read scroll down 😉)

3. Copy must also always compliment the visuals. It seems like a no brainer, but so much copy takes a fractured tone from the content it is placed directly next to. Use copy as a way to provide context to the asset, and an asset as a way to provide context to the copy - think of it as a symbiotic relationship embedded throughout the whole creative process. The two will end up displayed together, so make sure you have a collaborative process where designers and copywriters work together. The disconnect between the two is often obvious and awkward (never mind the fact it makes the copywriter’s job very difficult).

4. Creating copy with value is also an important quota to hit. Educate your audience and allow them to gain something in reward for not scrolling past your post, and let them know to come back for more. Frantic copy obsessed with summer sales, new products and influencers (BUY BUY BUY) doesn’t make viewers feel compelled to keep coming back. Within the copy, ask questions that matter to your audience - and listen to what they say. People genuinely like chatting with brands - and the copy facilitates this chat. Again, this highlights the merits of having a robust pipeline. Community managers can report back to copywriters on what is working ‘on the ground’ - and then flag when other things are not.

5. Emotion is important - and it should be imbued into every piece of social media copy. To do this, we can learn a lot from the ‘everyday account’. A big part of 2021 has been bigger brands attempting to humanise. Unless you are an AI copywriter (🤖), we are going to assume that you are human. So just get into the mindset of writing your own Instagram captions - and just write it out. If you were posting these polished assets onto your feed what would you say? A little sarcastic joke? A short and snappy quote? A singular emoji? Then, afterwards, edit and cut it to fit the vibe of your brand. What you will (hopefully) end up with is a hybrid of authentic and relatable, yet also smart business captions. Put your human hat on, and THEN your brand hat.

It is always a good idea to keep your eye on what people's personal accounts are doing. Usually, they spearhead the trends way before big businesses jump on board. Cutting edge and fashionable copywriting seems to always come from the bottom upwards - we can learn a lot from ‘non-professionals’. Don't be a snob.

6. Vague captions don’t work. Seriously. With a quick Google search, you might find articles claiming that various forms of “psychology” (used loosely) show that you can subtly manipulate the reader but it’s just best to directly say what you want. A great summer sale link in bio? Tell them! Want lots of comments - just say. While nobody wants a feed that makes their brand look like corporate try-hards, most followers are under no qualms that you are a brand and are not running an account purely for fun. Have a solid call to action that doesn’t beat around the bush.

5 and 6 lead to a tricky dichotomy. On the one hand, you are trying to appear ‘genuine and ‘authentic’ yet on the other hand you have something to sell. To be blunt,

Everybody wants that coveted blue tick on their profile and we know you do too - no need to be modest 😉. Whilst they aren’t a direct endorsement from Facebook, they do signal notable and authentic accounts to the everyday user. This can obviously be incredibly useful when you become the victim of fake account impersonations or if you need to gain the trust of the masses. But like anything useful, they aren’t always easy to come by (in fact, the process can be quite the opposite). But fear not - because, here at Spin, we will guide you through every step of the process.

Firstly, it's really important to know that Facebook requires the following criteria to be met:

- You must be a real person or a registered business (easy, right?)

- The account must be the singular presence of what you are representing (except for multiple language needs for global accounts).

- The account must be public and have an about section, bio and profile picture (we can help you make a cracking profile).

- The account must have at least one post (make sure to make it a good one).

- It must represent a highly known brand or person (a tad tricky for newbies).

Secondly, Facebook verifies accounts that have been featured in multiple news sources. It's important to know that they don't consider promotional content to be part of this. This news source scan has recently been expanded to include more Black, LGBTQ+ and Latinx sources (wooo!). You can add up to five articles in your application to give Facebook as much context as possible. Don't be shy, it's your chance to show off all your good work.

After submitting, the process also involves Facebook examining your brand's “cultural impact” - pretty vague. Luckily, Facebook gives us some indication of what they search for through the following two prompts: has the account holder gone viral lately? Is the account holder creating a buzz in their community?

And then you wait. Sometimes for quite a while.

Something to bear in mind is that once you (hopefully) receive your blue tick, Facebook recommends creating a two-factor authentication as your account may become the victim of hackers trying to sell your prized possession. Don't let this happen after all your hard work.

If your account doesn't (currently) manage to meet the rigid criteria - don't fret! There are many other ways to let people know your account is authentic. That's exactly what we are experts at. Here are two quick tips:

- Always make sure to link your social accounts from your official website - and other social profiles (like Twitter/Linkedin). Make your own little verified ecosystem - who needs a blue tick anyway?

- Make sure your account produces quality, and meaningful, content. Show a little behind the scenes, create a Q&A with the founder and make the best looking feed the world has ever seen!

A big ask we know - but you can always keep your eyes peeled on our own Instagram for even more expert tips on how to do this. See what we did there? This account is authentic (this one… not so much). Happy Verifying!

Funky Pigeon has appointed Spin to handle social media strategy following a year of strong sales growth in 2020. We will be advising on both organic social and performance marketing for them.

Funky Pigeon is a market leading online personalised greeting cards and gift business. They specialise in helping customers create a memorable and keepsake present or card for any occasion.

Funky Pigeon offers same day despatch with over 93% of products delivered the next day from its own 36,000 sq ft production facility.

Since WHSmith acquired Funky Pigeon in 2010, they have continued to invest in customer experience and mobile technology and are always looking for new opportunities to provide innovative and creative products to their customers.

A match made in heaven, right?

Shop online here at www.funkypigeon.com

_“I’m your biggest fan, I’ll follow you until you love me, Popar-Poparazzi.” _While we love a bit of Gaga here at Spin HQ, we’re not here to chat about 00s pop. Say hello to Poparazzi: a brand-spanking-new photo-sharing platform that lets your friends be your very own paparazzi and vice versa. (Disclaimer: yes, you need friends to use the app).

Despite kicking it back in beta-mode since its inception in the Dark Ages of the pandemic, the app has reached an estimated value of $1 Billion, so we’d say that this app is set to be more of a pop than a flop.

What is it?

Poparazzi is similar to Instagram, except you can only take pictures (or “pops”) of your mates, your nan, Pete down the pub, or anyone you’re friends with on the app. Once you’ve taken a pop, it’ll appear on their profile.

(Sorry, selfie sleuths – self-paps are strictly prohibited).

Who’s using it?

Like TikTok and Snapchat, Poparazzi is attracting 13-25 year-olds and is set to be the “next big thing” among the Gen-Z crowd.

What features does it have?

Poparazzi seems to have stitched together layouts from competitor platforms, so it has a bit of the deja vu’s about it. For instance, the search tab has an uncanny resemblance to that of Instagram’s Explore page, while the main feed’s compilation of images looks like a TikTok profile. It’s a smart choice because its familiarity makes it accessible AF.

When it comes to creating content, you have a couple of options: you can upload photos from your camera roll or create native in-app GIF videos on Poparazzi. However, if you were hoping to add a filter or two before your pop goes live, you’ll be disappointed. Currently, the app doesn’t allow you to crop, add captions, filters or any edits to the photos taken.

How do you grow your account?

Poparazzi has its own iteration of an ‘Explore’ page and, as with Insta, you need to post engaging content to increase your chances of appearing there. Having lots of friends to follow you also helps.

How many friends do you need on the platform for it to work well?

About 5ish should do the trick, but they need to be friends you see IRL regularly so you have plenty of opps to get “popped”. For that reason, we see it really taking off as lockdown eases.

**Spin’s verdict **

Clubhouse showed much promise when it launched as it was set to be the new and improved Periscope. However, it failed to outshine the likes of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, which triggered a 68% drop in daily active users.

We don’t see the same fate for Poparazzi, since its core USP is the prohibition of selfie culture, of which platforms like Insta depend on. We even see it replacing private “spam” Instagrams by publicising the photo-to-photo interaction users have on Snapchat.

In addition, by removing the option to add filters or spend 10 years choosing the right Olivia Rodrigo lyric for your caption, Poparazzi users can share more authentic experiences on the platform and, ultimately, take a bit of the pressure off. This aligns with one of the biggest trends we’ve seen since the beginning of the pandemic: a shift from the super-polished feeds of old and towards greater authenticity and raw content.

Perhaps brands will join the platform to generate UGC? Perhaps Instagram will pull a number out of the bag and find a suitable copycat a la Reels? Will Poparazzi launch more features to keep pace?

Watch this space…

The copy game is about to change, so make sure you are ahead of the curve. The secret ingredient? Empathy. Forget about gimmicks and hacks; it's all about getting into the minds and hearts of your readers.

As chaos riddles the social media landscape with dying platforms & government bans, it’s time to know how to stay one step ahead in the social game.