A bespoke social strategy for a premium balance bike brand

Project aims

In 2020, MintTwist launched a UK social presence for the beloved American brand; Strider Bikes.

Strider Bikes wished for their core branding and messaging to ring true across all online activities (to encourage kids to get outdoors, get muddy, and learn) whilst promoting them as a luxury bike brand. But, they needed assistance in localising their content for the new market. Our core aims were to:

• Develop social pages in line with those of the US on Facebook and Instagram
• Grow Strider’s UK social media following
• Create engaging brand content to build brand awareness and loyalty
• Provide impeccable customer service and maintain a positive social sentiment

Our approach

Great organic social content is subjective. Hence, our first steps included thorough research of Strider’s target consumer base and UK competitors. We wanted to know who they were, what they cared about, what was already working in the industry, and where there were gaps in the market.

A well-researched content strategy

As a result, we developed a bespoke social plan focusing on a content strategy that resonated with the needs of our desired users – parents – whilst maintaining Strider’s brand identity.

Our localised content strategy translated into an ongoing, engaging content calendar. Our content mix aimed to capture our user’s attention, educate them on the brand and products, and keep them engaging through relatable and funny content.

Ultimately this captured users into their consumer journey and kept them connected to the brand. Many even became brand advocates after-sales.

Results

After 1 year of working together, in addition to building Strider’s following up from zero, we achieved:

Additional social services

Localised photoshoot

While the brand had created a global campaign and a huge image bank, there was a need for images more relatable to our target audience. So we also organised a photoshoot to get more images for the UK. Whilst Strider carried a tremendous asset library, we discovered much imagery was not resonating as well as it could due to the Americanised look and feel. Therefore, MintTwist carried out a local photoshoot. It was essential to include a range of models with varying ages, genders, and ethnicities to resonate with all potential users of Strider Bikes. Images from this shoot were used not only across their organic social profiles but all other online marketing materials too.While the brand had created a global campaign and a huge image bank, there was a need for images more relatable to our target audience. So we also organised a photoshoot to get more images for the UK.

Influencer marketing

To enhance Strider UK’s growth rate, we embarked on influencer marketing.

We strategically selected and reached out to influencers who were a great brand fit and whose follower bases aligned with Strider’s targets. The content provided was of remarkable quality and resonated more strongly with our followers. Thus, seeing higher results when published on owned pages. Not to mention, influencers also shared on their respected pages that boosted brand awareness, new following, and traffic to the website.

Bespoke social campaigns for event days

Strider carries out a Cup Race annually. However, in 2020, given the global pandemic, the brand took the executive decision to host this as a virtual event… with our help.

Our challenge was to raise excitement and participation in the event. Then, to facilitate social logistics on the day.

Firstly, we created a campaign strategy. This included everything from award categories, an ambassador program, event hashtag strategy, content plan, and user engagement strategy across the built-up, event day, and post-event.

The result of the campaign was exceptional. Kids across the country took part. Though virtual, the event provided an immense sense of togetherness and enjoyment during a difficult time for all – particularly for families. Beyond this, we received staggeringly high volumes of user-generated content from participants that we filtered into our future content strategy.

And so…

After our initial successes, we went on to manage the Strider social pages across France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands, localising content to each country and building bespoke strategies, influencer and event campaigns for each.