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Specsavers.

Such a boring company…

Their Twitter?

Anything but.

Company Overview

Valuation: Unkown - Private company

2020/21 Revenue: £2.73 billion (Source)

Specsavers is a chain of opticians that mainly operate in the UK.

They’ve been in operation since 1984 and were never really much to get excited about.

It’s an optician.

• No exciting tech

• No crazy CEO

• Not exactly innovative

They did coin the phrase “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” which up until now was the peak of excitement around the brand.

Then they took to Twitter.

But it wasn’t their Tweets that grabbed the world’s attention…

It was their replies.

Breaking Down The Strategy

We’ve seen again and again over the last 5-10 years that good socials can revolutionise a brand’s image.

For Specsavers, it wasn’t that easy.

They didn’t have a “TikTok-able” product they could market to the Gen Z/Millenial audience. They would have to go a step further.

They had to create a persona around the brand, one that the Twitter audience could relate to.

They wouldn’t do that through posts though, they’d do it through their replies.

You may think these are just stupid gags and dad jokes.

They are.

But there’s also an immensely thought out strategy behind it.

Luckily for us, the mastermind agency (Tangerine PR) behind the account actually gave an insight into how they came up with the strategy:

They took the research they had found and they did 3 things:

1. Humanised the brand - They identified that they couldn’t come across as hollow. So corporate social posts wouldn’t cut it. They had to allow users to genuinely connect to the brand. Users had to feel like there was a person behind the account, so Specsavers made that very clear.

2. Relevant & Reactive - They knew that the best way forward was in the moment humour. They could do that through actual posts, however, it’s extremely hard to get the organic reach from general posts. Instead, they would simply add their “in the moment humour” through replies. This way they don’t have to start a trend or be the first to post on something. They can simply just piggyback off other people bringing up topics. They see something trending on Twitter, they drop a hilarious comment. Of course, that’s easier said than done. However, Specsavers has nailed this!

3. Built a community - Having a huge following is great, having a huge community is better. Specsavers have slowly been building a community through their replies. They allowed their followers to feel part of the brand because they could literally start conversations with the brand - how can they be more connected than that?

But how do they stay so relevant and reactive on Twitter and how are they always on point with every trend?

The amazing Laura Perry gave us an insider look at that too:

She also made sure to make a point that they specifically don’t jump on every trend.

Yes, Specsavers post crazy stuff like beans on glasses…

But every single post and reply comes with intention and falls into their long-term strategy.

I’m clearly a fan of Specsavers Twitter - especially their replies.

However, it’s not just my opinion.

The stats back it up…

Above is a graph of Specsavers’ Twitter engagement for February.

(I spent 2 hours putting this together so please appreciate it)

As you can see from the graph, the idea that Specsavers’ replies are more effective than their posts isn’t just subjective.

• Nearly 3X the number of likes

• 2.5X more overall engagement

The quantitative data is there to showcase that people truly do appreciate Specsavers’ replies.

Reacting to trends and the news agenda; interrupting relevant conversations, and surprising social media users clearly works!

Specsavers needed a way to connect their brand with their audience.

They’ve now done that through Twitter.

They took a brand that no one was excited about and turned it into one that Gen Z and Millenial Twitter users love.

Their winning formula was beautifully summed up by Tangerine PR’s Laura Perry:

How To Implement It

Thinking of a way to implement the strategy is usually the hardest part of my breakdowns. However, in this case, it’s super simple.

Focus just as much time on your replies as you do your posts.

Replies are a vital piece of account management that so many companies don’t utilise.

Community is a two-way street. You can’t simply throw generic content out and expect people to connect with your brand.

• You have to spur conversation and be involved in it!

• Be off the fence and have a personality

• Humanise the brand

• Stay relevant and reactive

People don’t have an intimate connection with P&G, why? Because their content looks like this…

Generic, corporate tripe that you couldn't connect with if you tried - and the interactions reflect that.

Be human, create a persona, have a laugh.

Don’t be P&G, be Specsavers.

And remember…

This has been a breakdown of Specsavers’ Twitter marketing strategy. I hope you have learned something and can implement a similar strategy into your business!

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I’ll see you next Sunday!