GCI: Trailblazer Stories

VIDEO /
Image /
INTRODUCTION /

After closely monitoring sentiment and seeing that some people viewed the company as a faceless corporation on social media, GCI realized the need to revamp its messaging to humanize the brand. The objective of the Trailblazer Stories series was to connect GCI followers with employee stories, and to do it in a unique and meaningful way so sentiment would improve.

Tactics /

Research

Content Creation

Monitoring and Reporting

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Campaign TItle
GCI Trailblazer Stories

The Challenge

The challenge with the campaign was a disconnected social media audience in an industry plagued by negative online comments and engagements. This negativity is compounded by working to serve areas in rural Alaska that are hardest to connect, due to their remote locations.

The Approach

T&C would focus the campaign on creating inspirational content. Additional research confirmed GCI’s social media audience already engaged most with posts featuring images of employees. Our strategy was simple: honest, environmental portraits and compelling, first-person stories. Share them on social media platforms. Evaluate performance and adjust.

30+

Employees Profiled

4x

Engagement
More than 4 times the engagement rate of industry average.

311,000+

Impressions
More than 311,000 impressions and 21,000 engagements.

Services Provided /

Research

GCI conducted in-depth research, doing scores of in-home and in-person surveys, to recognize how Alaskans felt about GCI. Our team also researched brand sentiment of telecommunications companies and set performance goals. Through sentiment analysis, our research found the larger a telecommunication company, the more negative sentiment they experience on social media. Based on that research, our campaign goal was to increase GCI’s positive sentiment and perform better on social than major competitors like AT&T.

Content Creation

T&C and GCI first identified employees to feature, conducted interviews and drafted their profiles. The team used varied communication techniques to launch and sustain the campaign. This included external social media channels as well as internal newsletters. The team used standard tools and tactics to launch and maintain the campaign. These included Adobe photo editing software, Microsoft copyediting software, and Sprout Social social media manager. From flying planes to reflecting on single parenthood in China; from immigrating to the U.S. to raising children in Alaska; Trailblazer Stories showcased GCI employees, our Alaska neighbors and friends, in fresh, new way.

Monitoring and Reporting

Since the first GCI Trailblazer Story went live in summer 2020, GCI has introduced an additional 30+ employees across Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. The posts have increased GCI’s positive social media sentiment by 54% and most often receive 100% positive comments. Our method of evaluation and reporting include Salesforce’s Social Studio as well as Sprout Social and in-app analytics. From July 2020 to June 2021, Trailblazer Stories were the most popular GCI posts on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for 9 (75%) months. In total, the campaign garnered a total engagement rate of 6.8%. This is significantly above the cross-platform telecommunications industry average of 1.6%. The campaign has accumulated more than 311,000 impressions and 21,000 engagements. Trailblazer Stories are among the top 5% of most cost-effective T&C campaigns at GCI.

Tactic #1

Research

GCI conducted in-depth research, doing scores of in-home and in-person surveys, to recognize how Alaskans felt about GCI. Our team also researched brand sentiment of telecommunications companies and set performance goals. Through sentiment analysis, our research found the larger a telecommunication company, the more negative sentiment they experience on social media. Based on that research, our campaign goal was to increase GCI’s positive sentiment and perform better on social than major competitors like AT&T.

Tactic #2

Content Creation

T&C and GCI first identified employees to feature, conducted interviews and drafted their profiles. The team used varied communication techniques to launch and sustain the campaign. This included external social media channels as well as internal newsletters. The team used standard tools and tactics to launch and maintain the campaign. These included Adobe photo editing software, Microsoft copyediting software, and Sprout Social social media manager. From flying planes to reflecting on single parenthood in China; from immigrating to the U.S. to raising children in Alaska; Trailblazer Stories showcased GCI employees, our Alaska neighbors and friends, in fresh, new way.

Tactic #3

Monitoring and Reporting

Since the first GCI Trailblazer Story went live in summer 2020, GCI has introduced an additional 30+ employees across Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. The posts have increased GCI’s positive social media sentiment by 54% and most often receive 100% positive comments. Our method of evaluation and reporting include Salesforce’s Social Studio as well as Sprout Social and in-app analytics. From July 2020 to June 2021, Trailblazer Stories were the most popular GCI posts on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for 9 (75%) months. In total, the campaign garnered a total engagement rate of 6.8%. This is significantly above the cross-platform telecommunications industry average of 1.6%. The campaign has accumulated more than 311,000 impressions and 21,000 engagements. Trailblazer Stories are among the top 5% of most cost-effective T&C campaigns at GCI.