Fellow Austin start-up, MakerSquare, came to us before their launch in early 2013. An immersive web developer bootcamp, MakerSquare sought to fill the need for full-stack JavaScript and Rails engineers in our tech-based city and beyond. Our challenge was to execute a full social launch from scratch and get the word out about the up-and-coming company.
Goals were developed to drive qualified applications, foster awareness, engage the press and, most importantly, inspire people to learn the language of the 21st century: coding.
Social Distillery created a consistently beautiful look and feel throughout MakerSquare’s social channels, something we knew design-savvy developers would appreciate. The initiatives supported by Social Distillery included branding and graphics for event-marketing specific goals including Ruby Noobies, MakerStories, coding focused holiday graphics, and many more. These graphics were repurposed across channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and additionally used for advertising.
Day-to-day execution tactics contributed to increased digital word-of-mouth sharing and chatter around graduates looking for jobs and further connected MakerSquare’s talent with local tech companies. Additional on-site live tweeting and media sharing support during quarterly Career Days(#MKSCareerDay) helped showcase students’ final web apps to tech advocates, recruiters, and companies from around the country. Content marketing tactics to engage advocates and influencers helped further increased reach and visibility of Career Day through Storify recaps of event tweets and blogs highlighting each student’s project.
To further increase awareness and ultimately drive applications, Google+’s Hangout feature and functionality were used for live Q&A between MakerSquare staff and potential applicants. After developing the run-of-show, Social Distillery managed online conversations while MakerSquare staff engaged interested candidates with frequently asked admission questions. With a successful first run, this tactic is now planned as a quarterly marketing effort.
Total community growth one year after social launch
Social impressions during MakerSquare's first year
Potential Twitter impressions from #MKSchat tweet-ups
White House Visit Due to #CrossCongress campaign
