On the final session of [r/Advertising] we were tasked with theorizing the social media POV of a brand we choose. We were to do this with a simple framework and show examples of our theory.
Mailchimp
I’ve often lauded Mailchimp as a great example of best-in-class content and social presence. Their definitive writing style guide is a bible for many content marketers. So here goes the theory of Mailchimp.
Brand Archetype
Mailchimp has the Citizen/Everyman/Regular guy archetype, this is characterized by their dedication to small businesses and the real people behind them. They do this through content.
Social Archetype
Mailchimp’s Citizen archetype is supportive, more specifically it is a combination of:
Citizen + Sage
The Sage is a voice of wisdom, they seek to empower, educate and guide. This fits well into the Citizen archetype which fosters a sense of belonging with their audience. A feeling like we are all in this together, just a bunch of entrepreneurs trying to move our businesses forward.
Muse
I think they are a lot like Saitama from One Punch Man. Dry Humor check. Super wise and helpful check. Yellow check. Straight face check.
Tone of Voice
Like to the voice of your calm supportive best friend, with a sprinkle of light humor. It’s not overt and I would have expected them to be cheeky and have more of a jester persona, yet that’s not the voice they portray. It’s otherwise mostly clear and straight to the point.
In their own words from the Mailchimp Content Style Guide: … “we speak like the experienced and compassionate business partner we wish we’d had way back when.” “Using offbeat humor and a conversational voice, we play with language to bring joy to their work. We prefer the subtle over the noisy, the wry over the farcical. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.” Genuine. Plainspoken. Educators. Dry Humor. Informal.
Mailchimp rarely responds to culture, I say “rarely” because I’ve never found a living example but I couldn’t say this is a fact without talking to some relevant people.
Visual Identity
Characterized by their unique mascot Freddie, bold yellow, and whimsical doodles and colors. It’s less subtle than their TOV but always invisible.
But also quirky and fun, carrying and indie spirit.
Channel Presence
I’m going to illustrate this with three types of content.
Immediate
Interactive
Mailchimp doesn’t run polls and “rarely” asks questions to the audience, that’s not a big part of their archetype. Their social content is usually either immediate (get the message right now) or immersive (spend the next 30 mins to an hour of your life). Still something I really like stands out on the @mailchimp page on Instagram called the Small Biz Blitz and its a collection of stories as one of their Highlights framed as a minigame to create a website for your business using Mailchimp. A really good use of platform media if I do say so.
Immersive
If you want to spend ours on really wholesome content. Look no further. This account right here has got you covered. @mailchimppresents on Instagram
Mailchimp Presents is one of the great examples of brands evolving to become media companies in their own right. There are a number of podcasts including recently acquired Courier Magazine, video series and films produced under Mailchimp Presents. The content isn’t only on instagram, its shared across Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter as well. In fact the content from Mailchimp Presents make up 80% of their social channel feeds now. They all link to the content piece on the Mailchimp Presents website, which is basically Netflix for entrepreneurs, small businesses and cool people. They have some pretty famous people on there too Few examples:
I can’t do it justice in these few words so I recommend that you check out Mailchimp Presents right here. If you can’t already tell, I’m a huge fan. That’s the theory of a best-in-class social media and content team. For more musings follow me @freeshype on twitter, also have a look around this website remember…
There is only now.
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