Social Listening - Bloom Nutrition

 The company I selected was Bloom Nutrition LLP.  "A life-changing addition to my routine!"

The owner of @bloomsupps is Mari Llewellyn. I came across her YouTube videos when I began my weight loss journey and was looking for tips and advice. She currently has 1.5M followers on her Instagram page and 139K followers on the Bloom Nutrition page. 

Mari and her fiancé, Greg, are both active on social media and appear to have a lot of support and even fans. What I find fascinating about this couple is that they gained a lot of popularity from transformation photos and were able to seemingly run with it and start a business. 

There are a few benefits and values that I consider unique for this business. First, these products are coming from a fitness influencer who consistently posts on social media. I feel that this makes the experience way more personable. Mari's posts are always positive and I think there is a good mix between photos that don't feature products or merchandise and photos that do. Overall, I think the message being sent to followers is that they, too, can be happy, healthy, and reach their fitness goals (with the help of Bloom Nutrition!). 

The value proposition could be... crushing your fitness goals while being inspired, motivated and supported with Bloom Nutrition. 

Recently they ran a sale and I considered making a purchase but wanted to know how others felt about their products first. I read through the comments and many people mentioned how excited they were about their orders. Some of those comments included, "*gets bloom order right before a sale* *will still order during the sale*", "Yaaaaaas! I was on my last spoonful of pre workout and was waiting for this", and "Legit just ordered last week but you know I'm back for more". 

Bloom Nutrition offers a variety of products including protein, pre-workouts, vitamins, greens & superfoods, collagen products and more. Bloom Nutrition – Bloom Nutrition 

Mari and Greg both feature these products on their Instagram pages. It could just be a photo of one of these two holding a drink in a Bloom shaker. Sometimes they include a photo with a meal, drink and supplement together. One of my personal favorites is when they upload a photo or video of a recipe that includes their products. I believe all of these are a part of great marketing efforts. For those who have been following Mari from the beginning of her fitness journey or those who are just now learning about it - she has left an excellent trail behind her in photos and videos that tell her story. I found myself watching video after video because she was very detailed and provided so much useful information. She left a great impression on me and so, of course, I had to find her on other social media platforms. 

When you visit Mari's Instagram page, there are a lot of links in her bio. First, we learn that she is the owner of @bloomsupps. She has an app, @theslayapp. As I mentioned, she has a YouTube channel, Mari Fitness. And the Bloom Nutrition link is listed below "My Supplements!". These links are all connected when you visit various platforms. So no matter where you learn about Mari, she has made sure that you have easy access to all of the links she wants. 

From what I've learned so far, by reading the textbooks, researching and watching the videos, Bloom Nutrition is off to a great start! In Gary Vaynerchuk's book, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, he outlines how to identify "outstanding content". Going through the list:

1. It's native. Bloom Nutrition certainly has the right content on the right platforms. 

2. It doesn't interrupt. Vaynerchuk said, "if we want to talk to people while they consume their entertainment, we have to actually be their entertainment". I will admit that I enjoy seeing posts from this business as I scroll through Instagram (my preferred social media platform). These posts include things like tips for sticking to your fitness goals, memes, product information, photos of Mari and Greg and so much more. I enjoy the content, therefore I would say they have successfully become part of my entertainment.

3. It doesn't make demands - often. When I see the posts from bloomsupps, I do not sense that they are trying to push me into buying their products. Like I said before, I enjoy the content. It is lighthearted, fun, inspiring, motivating and informational. Once the sale was announced, I found myself rushing to the website to see what I could get. 

4. It leverages pop culture. I believe this business integrates their content in a way that can be easily "consumed". Personally, I follow Mari, Greg, the SLAY App and bloomsupps on Instagram. I am happy to see content from any of these pages. Often times Mari and Greg post photos and videos from trips that they take. I see beautiful photos as I scroll through my feed and that's exactly what people love about this platform.

5. It's micro. Vaynerchuk says, "Stop thinking about your content as content... think about it, rather, as micro-content". He explains the importance of staying relevant to today's culture, conversations, and current events when posting. A simple example would be a post on bloomsupps page just one day ago. "Hey girl!! Plans for the weekend?!". The text response says, "Waiting for my Bloom order ...". It's micro, and it's humorous. I'm sure it lured in customers too!

6. It's consistent and self-aware. Lastly, Vaynerchuk said, "though your business's micro-content will vary widely everyday, it must consistently answer the question - "who are we?". I think it is very rare that some entity of Bloom Nutrition does not post something fitness related daily. To this day, Mari will post progress photos - proving that she has not forgotten where they came from. I think the message being sent is that through hard work, determination and commitment, all of our goals can be met. 

With all of this being said, I do believe that Bloom Nutrition is successfully marketing through social media. I think a challenge that they may face currently is just gaining more followers and brand recognition. As I mentioned before, I found Mari on YouTube. To this day, she consistently adds videos every week. These videos include topics like getting vacation ready, what we eat in a day, how I stay productive, healthy recipes, KETO, Trader Joes finds, buying my dream car, COSTCO haul, tips to transform your body, skin care routine, staying lean in quarantine - there is such a great variety in topics. Meaning, there is a great variety in viewers. Again, the links to Bloom Nutrition and their Instagram pages are included in every video description. I think this is a great strategy to gain followers! Another approach that I have noticed is occasionally having giveaways on Instagram. The rules are simple: Follow @bloomsupps & @theslayapp, like and save the post, and tag 2 friends in the comments. Who can resist entering to win something? Followers are gained and are now subject to your content. 

As long as there are videos being uploaded to YouTube consistently, and posts are being uploaded on Instagram consistently, I believe the brand recognition will continue to grow. Of course, this will lead to expanding sales as well. 

I have noticed that they do interact with current followers in the comment sections of their posts. This is important. It's possible that potential sales could be lost if potential buyers are ignored. I don't think that is a problem for Bloom Nutrition at this time. As the company continues to grow, I imagine their team will expand too. Therefore, they can keep focusing on that customer interaction. Earlier I mentioned how part of the unique benefits include a more personable experience. I hope that the company does not lose sight of that. 

An Instagram post from 4 days ago features a Bloom Nutrition box and a bundle of greens. "You asked, we listened!". Their greens are now available for subscription. This is a good way to keep customers in my opinion! "Greens" is a powder containing nutrients that address digestion, bloating and immunity. This powder is something that Mari raves about often. Claiming that she just can't live without it! I would say that this marketing approach has worked well considering people now have subscriptions.

If I were the brand manager, I would make sure that paying attention to customer feedback is a priority. I would have a team that handles comments on social media, reviews, complaints, etc. As Vaynerchuk put it, "Social marketing is now a 24-7 job". I would like to see that any questions or comments that customers have are answered quickly. If there are complaints, those should be addressed first!

This assignment proved to me that social media is a powerful tool when it comes to marketing. It can be used to gain recognition and sales. Listening to the customers is crucial. Not only are those individuals waiting for a response... but everyone else can see how much of a priority a business's customers are based on their responsiveness. Or the lack thereof.