Maggie Outridge of ST ARGO
If you own a dog, you very likely know the name ST ARGO. The brand that makes dog accessories that are – actually stylish – much to our delight. As they put it, “what a time to be a dog.”
Behind the success is Melbourne-based duo, Maggie Outridge and Tim Rogers. Here, we speak with Maggie, who leads the brand’s social media activity. Fortunately for us, she was nothing but generous in sharing her learnings, detailing wins and recalling risks that pay off.
If you’re someone who needs a good dose of social media for business inspiration, you’ve come to the right place.
What social media channel is the most impactful for ST ARGO and why?
For branding and organic content, it’s Instagram for sure. I invest a lot of my time into collaborating with other brands, working with influencers and making sure our brand resonates with the right audience through the right look, feel and positioning.
TikTok is great for the top of funnel, but tricky to track and we aren't at the stage to spend on this platform just yet. On the other hand, Facebook is great for running ads, and it's where we get the bulk of our conversions.
How do you connect with your community on social media?
It’s been an evolution! I’ve found that the easiest way to get your audience to connect with your content is to make sure of three things:
The content is top quality. This is really important, especially for Instagram. It's got to be aesthetically pleasing, thoughtful and different.
We actively ask our audience to engage with our content. Both via polls on our stories, and clever call-to-actions in feed posts. We often ask our audience what they think of a design, or what colour they would like to see – and we use this intel as a marketing strategy.
Don't overdo it with content. I now post around four times a week, but all the content is high quality. (Rather than stuffing your feed with content for the sake of it.)
In your experience, what is the biggest pro and biggest con when it comes to social media efforts?
The biggest pro is seeing what social media does for brand identity, recognition and community. The more time you invest on the platforms, the more feedback you get and your brand inevitably flourishes because of it.
A personal con – especially when it comes to TikTok (a platform which I consider much easier to go 'viral' on) – is dealing with trolls and negativity. Because my brand is so close to my heart, negativity can take a toll. However, it is inevitable that as your brand grows and gains more exposure, it can come with the territory.
What is a mistake or misstep that you have made on social media and what lesson did it teach you?
I would say that a misstep was not utilising our story more, sooner. We started the brand in 2019, but it wasn't until this year that we really offered up our story to social media. It's incredible what it can do for your brand, and I do wish I had done it sooner.
Of course, it can open you up to more scrutiny, but I'm proud of the brand and at the end of the day, I'm happy to share our story, lessons, mistakes with the world.
What has been a standout moment or milestone for ST ARGO on social media?
A highlight was definitely when we launched our popular hands-free lead earlier this year February. It was the same time where I really started taking TikTok seriously.
I posted a short three second clip to TikTok and it went viral. What I found really interesting, though, was that our website sessions, email subscriptions and Instagram followers also shot up. From that, I was able to really see the importance of that top of funnel exposure through organic socials.
Now, we consider TikTok our number one top of funnel piece for the brand – even more than Instagram, which we started in 2019. It's much, much easier to be discovered on TikTok.
How do you measure your social media success?
We measure our social media success in different ways. For TikTok, it’s website visits from the platform. For Instagram, I always take note of the engagement rate and shares/saves (rather than likes or followers). For Meta ads, we measure conversions.
Looking forward, what does the future hold for ST ARGO when it comes to social media activity and efforts?
We'll continue to refine our branding on Instagram, and post selectively. We’ll also keep up our efforts on TikTok. I hope TikTok Shop comes to Australia, as I would love to test that!
I'd love to invest more into influencer marketing as well. We've only ever worked on a gifting basis with influencers, which has been great, but I would love to test paid partnerships in the future.
See more of ST ARGO by following them on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest or YouTube.
