04
Client
Freehand
Location
USA
Work
Social media management:
Instagram
Linkedin
Content Marketing
04
Client
Freehand
Location
USA
Work
Social media management:
Instagram
TikTok
Content Marketing
About
Freehand is a collection of US hotels that combine the social culture of a hostel with innovative design, award-winning food and beverage and a community-driven atmosphere.
Each Freehand takes its cues from the surrounding neighbourhood, with spaces that are a microcosm of the best each city has to offer. They are currently located in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago.
Each Freehand takes its cues from the surrounding neighbourhood, with spaces that are a microcosm of the best each city has to offer. They are currently located in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago.
Main Challenges
We began working with Freehand in August 2021. Over the past three months, we have worked closely with their marketing team to address the following issues:
Brand tone of voice did not stand out:
While the brand has a large following on social and is extremely popular among target markets, the team were not happy with their tone of voice. They felt it did not align with their offering and did not stand out from competitors.
Encouraging onsite teams to create and send content to share on social platforms:
Similarly to Generator, the HQ team were having difficulties receiving content across properties from their onsite teams which was leading to a disconnect between the lively events programming that Freehand – and their popular F&B providers – are so well known for and their social media content.
Increasing brand awareness among target markets:
Freehand has a loyal customer base, with many of them acting as their brand ambassadors by frequently sharing content of their experiences online. However, post-pandemic they were looking for fresh creative ideas on how to increase brand awareness among target markets and capitalise on growing travel demand.
Becoming increasingly difficult to maintain high levels of online customer service:
Their Instagram account has a large following and is one of the most popular ways to users to get in touch with the brand about booking enquiries. The team were seeking support with maintaining high levels of online customer service to ensure responses were prompt in order to continue to strengthen
their online community and avoid missing out on direct bookings/revenue.
Results
Increase in direct bookings:
63%
Increase in direct booking revenue:
5%
Increase in web traffic:
46%
Users reached on Instagram:
0
m
Pieces of content received from onsite teams to showcase experiences
0
+
Increase in Instagram followers:
0
%
Approach
In order to achieve Freehand’s objectives, we implemented the following approach:
We sat down with the team to develop a tone of voice that better aligns with the brand. As part of this, we conducted market research to inform Freehand’s customer personas which enabled us to understand the needs and demands of their target markets and this contributed to the tailored strategy we devised.
Implemented a plan to work with the onsite teams to create content so we were able to effectively showcase what was happening across Freehand properties online. It also allowed us to be more creative with the content type we were sharing e.g Reels.
To do this, we created a Whatsapp Group with a content representative from each property added. We then individually chatted and briefed each appointed team member and sent them a personalised visual content guide [which includes content ideas, tips and examples]. We share a prompt, idea or visual example into the group on a regular basis to facilitate content creation and this has allowed us to begin sharing more of what is going on at each property.
We work closely with the team, with frequent communications via Whatsapp and email as well as weekly content meetings. As part of these meetings, we discuss and brainstorm innovative content ideas and analyse social platform performance.
