Transforming Social Media for Go Forth Goods:

A Strategy to Amplify American Craftsmanship and Drive Growth

Background

Go Forth Goods is a mission-driven purveyor of handmade leather goods with a focus on quality and American craftsmanship. They design their own bags and accessories and have developed a passionate base of consumers who understand and appreciate the craftsmanship and durability of their products. The founder of Go Forth Goods started the company out of frustration and disappointment with bags that were either poorly made, or too focused on adorning their products with design elements that took away from the purity of a well-made leather product.

The company has been growing carefully through an obsessive focus on quality and customer service. The founder felt that the company was ready to expand, and they needed a partner to help. He presented Between Pixels with a two-part challenge. First, he wanted to get the Go Forth Goods story in front of more people through organic Social Media. While they had an established presence in social, they lacked the consistency and scale that is necessary for growth. Second, he wanted to change his product mix, better aligning the sales volume with his production capacity. Shifting sales volume to the core products that are less specialized and easier to produce would have a massive impact on their business and ability to scale. The first step in the process was putting together a strategy and production plan that would help turn their social channels into high-engagement profit centers.

Solution

The Between Pixels Social Media Program (SMP) was a perfect fit for Go Forth Goods, so we were able to start this engagement within a few days of our initial meeting. This subscription model starts with a month of strategy and planning, then transitions to a 6 or 12-month cycle of content production that aligns with the speed of social media. This innovative, compressed production cycle allows us to deliver relevant and strategic content quickly and affordably, ensuring that clients on the program always have fresh and highly-engaging content across their social channels for both organic and paid (Ad) distribution.

We started the process with a Discovery Session that incorporated four exercises that got us the direction we need to start producing branded content for Go Forth Goods.

The first was a Story Framework Session, a structured and collaborative workshop that built a brand narrative to guide our messaging.

The second was a core Audience Persona, a detailed profile of the primary social media consumer that goes beyond simple demographics.
The third was a Content Calendar, a simple but effective roadmap that laid out the content based on schedules and themes and guided our production cycle. Finally, we defined a set of targets based on the OKR methodology, which gave us clear goals and a shared definition of success.

While we incorporate isolated posts into our production cycle, themes and series-based content help reinforce core messages and provide consistency in social media. For Go Forth Goods, we came up with a number of themes during the Discovery Phase:

Tell us Your Bag’s Story. A series that features fans of the brand making the products their own.
Craftsmanship BTS. Content that provides a look behind the scenes at what hand-crafted looks like.
Trending Content. Lifestyle features that connect the products with current trends.
Leather Care Tips. Helpful educational content that reinforces the quality of the brand.
Curated Flatlays. Well-constructed and stylized shots of products that highlight unique aspects.
Seasonal Content. Environmental and lifestyle content that gets worked into trending content fees.

Social Media can be overwhelming and daunting, particularly for a business that relies on the channel for revenue. Creating great social content requires a different approach from traditional advertising, video production, or design. You need a team that understands both your business and what works in social media. You need a production cycle that is fast and efficient enough to work at the speed of social media culture. And you need a range of skill sets to ensure that the copy, visuals, placement, and campaigns are on point and effective.