Looking Back At SWAIN Analysis

Below is a reflection of the SWAIN Analysis I completed at the beginning of the module. It discusses the expectations and the realities of the goals I set for my role as a Social Media Manager.

Strengths

When beginning my role, I identified my strengths as creating visual content and engaging copy. In reflection, I feel I’ve improved on these strengths. As I realised the importance of planning in implementing a successful digital marketing strategy, I was able to design visual content with care. This improved the quality of my images as I designated time and effort to organising, creating and editing. Images were created in advance to be used when needed.

Due to my planning approach, I could make use of visual content to promote key messages of the magazine promptly. I arranged images around articles and events. Quickly, I understood that the context of the image shared was just as important as the context of the copy. This is an aspect of my role I hadn't expected to be as important to the success of my marketing strategy.

I also improved my skills with editing applications such as Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Capture, VSCO and Canva. I settled into a consistent editing style for the social feed and this assisted in improving the quality of images being shared. The style promoted warm, natural and gender neutral tones. I decided this colour scheme based on research conducted into the audience of milk. Indeed, research into my role identified that a consistent editing style is key for increased engagement. To ensure my visuals flowed well, I made use of the planning application UNUM. This allowed me to draft images prior to posting in the grid format of Instagram. The planning process can be seen below.

Making use of UNUM, a planning app used to industry standard.

Reflecting on the quality of written copy, I believe I’ve improved this skill. My writing for social media is more concise and better reflects the tone of the magazine. As my role developed, I understood who our audience was. This understanding of personality benefited my voice as it engaged with our audience more thoroughly. Again, planning content in advance assisted in improving the quality of my writing as I had time to redraft, revise and perfect.

Weaknesses

In my SWAIN Analysis, I identified my weaknesses as regularly interacting with the audience on social media and making use of the Instagram Story feature.

Upon reflection, I feel I’ve improved audience interaction. Followers have increased by 41% since my role began and the audience appears engaged with the content being shared. A selection of comments is evidenced below.

A selection of comments taken from the social feed.

As discussed in my critical reflection, I could have further utilised the story feature. I’m pleased with the improvements I made to story highlights. Highlight covers look professional, content attached to them is relevant to the current team and I’ve used the feature to drive website traffic. My planning process for improving this can be seen here. However, I found it difficult to create regular story content that wasn’t repetitive. If I were to approach this weakness again, I would better plan content as I identified Instagram Stories as important to a successful digital marketing strategy.

Aspirations

My aspirations included building relationships with the publishing industry and growing the milk community. Looking back, I’ve achieved these aspirations to an extent. The number of followers has steadily increased. Social media is better connected to relevant industry accounts. The magazine has gained publicity through collaborative events such as Making Magazines, connecting with the Society of Young Publishers, Magalleria, Bumble Magazine and Future Fusion.

However, it would have been encouraging to see the magazine achieve a greater reach on social media, perhaps through more collaborations with industry professionals. Nonetheless, this is an aspect of digital marketing that future cohorts could look to improve.

Analytics taken from UNUM and Instagram Insights evidencing social media growth.

Interests

I stated in my SWAIN Analysis that my interests included building a portfolio for myself and connecting with industry professionals. I believe I’ve achieved my expectations. I am extremely proud of the quality of the social feed I’ve created. Images are high-quality, curated and the platform overall is pleasing to look at. Written content is also concise and engaging. Overall, I’ve improved the presentation and professionality of the platform.

In terms of achieving my interests, I’d say I’ve built a professional portfolio to be used as a reference by industry professionals. Regarding connecting with industry professionals, milk is in a better position to achieve this due to the culling of irrelevant accounts, the following of industry professionals as well as interacting with the wider publishing community.

Needs

To conclude, I will finish with reflecting on my needs. I stated in my SWAIN Analysis that I needed to make contact with industry professionals and interact with the audience regularly and consistently. I feel I’ve achieved both of these expectations, developing relationships with Circus, Bumble Magazine and Spa Life to name a few. Looking at the increase in followers and engagement, I feel my part in developing the reach of milk through social media has been a success.