Project background

In the fall of 2018 I was the newly hired Social Media Manager for Sideshow.com, an eCommerce brand focused on high-end geek culture collectibles. They had plans to expand in significant ways with new product lines and the launch of multiple sub-brands.

I was faced with the challenge of growing their social media presence in a significant way to pave the way for this growth, but there was no budget for additional staff at that time.

Creative process

Using my experience in geek culture fan spaces, I knew that community and shared passion are key in these communities. Researching Sideshow's brand and customers on social media, I found a large number of toxic Facebook Groups dedicated to collecting Sideshow's collectibles and discussing related geek culture news.

To differentiate and elevate the community, I decided to create an inclusive and official Facebook group for fans of IPs Sideshow licenses, such as Marvel, DC, Star Wars, etc.

To make the group trusted, I decided to not treat it like a direct marketing platform and instead, relied on members posting photos and unboxing videos to inspire others to purchase. Sideshow supported my plan and provided a product giveaway budget.

I created the group before New York Comic Con 2018 and used it as a platform to kickstart growth. I grew the group to 5,000 members in the first month by engaging with members daily and running giveaways and challenges.

I leveraged Sideshow's social media accounts to drive growth to the group and offered active, friendly members roles as Moderators in exchange for discounts. Over time, I scaled this strategy, adding Moderators and eventually Senior Moderators.

I eventually created exclusive content for the group during marketing events and added a weekly livestream to connect with the community, which continued even after the pandemic.

Final results

Members posting photos and unboxing videos of their purchases have helped to promote the brand and drive traffic to the website. Additionally, we have further engaged with the community through regular livestreams and giveaways. These efforts have not only increased brand awareness but have also fostered a sense of community among members and made them feel valued by the company. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with high levels of participation and engagement.

The original Facebook Group I created has grown to over 53,000 members in the first four years, with an engagement rate of 80-90% each month.

Over time, I identified opportunities to create sub-groups to serve specific products, sub-brands and fan culture interests within the community and now have 9 groups with 1,000 to 14,000 members each, all with monthly engagement rates of 75-95%.

Before these groups existed, the website traffic from Facebook never rose above the top 20 sources. Today, traffic from Facebook has dramatically increased and now consistently ranks in the top four sources, alongside SEO, paid media, and email marketing.

Geek Girls Society

Project background

In 2015, I had been partnered for several years with a local comic book store owner to differentiate her store - Brave New World Comics - as a safe and inclusive place for women and families to shop and socialize. I ran several local events with her and while they were successful at engaging people in the moment, it didn't lead to attendees becoming regular purchasing customers.

Creative process

I spotted potential for growth by creating a community for customers, especially after observing parents thanking the store owner for providing a space for their daughters to express their love for geek culture. At that time, it was uncommon for girls to have a place in geek culture.

Inspired by my childhood experience in Girl Scouts, I envisioned an organization for nerdy, geeky girls and started by testing interest in kid's programming with events like Kids Comic Con and Camp Brave New World. These events were well received, especially among families with young girls.

I founded Geek Girls Society, an after-school program for girls aged 8 to 18, where they could engage in activities, earn badges in Cosplay, Fan Fiction, and Women in Comics, and go on a field trip to Stan Lee's Comikaze (now LA Comic Con).

The girls were divided into houses that met once a week on different days. Due to its popularity, the houses quickly filled and soon we had a group of kids for every day of the week. Along with arts and crafts and geeky education, we emphasized the value of individuality and self-expression in the community we built for them.

While their children attended meetings, parents would visit the store, and we offered them a 10% "Waiting For My Kid" discount to encourage them to spend time shopping.

Final results

As a result of the success of the Geek Girls Society after-school program, Brave New World saw a significant increase in profits and regular customers.

On average, they brought in an additional $12,000 in profits each month, thanks to the combination of program fees and frequent purchases by kids and their parents while they were in the store for meetings.

Furthermore, our efforts to engage the community and foster a love for geek culture in young girls led to a noticeable increase in our comics pull list. Within the first year, we saw a 15% increase in the number of pull lists created for kids comic titles, demonstrating the impact our community building efforts had on our overall business.

Geek Girls Forever

Project background

I noticed a recurring statement from moms and women visiting the store after the launch of Geek Girls Society - "I wish there was something like this for adults." This sparked an idea to create a similar community for adult women interested in geek culture.

Creative process

I did my research and found a lack of similar communities nearby. I surveyed the comic book store's customers and social media followers to gauge interest and determine what they'd like to do in this community.

I organized a one-time event called Geek Girls Night to launch the paid membership community and promote the store. Members were offered shopping discounts and several chances to win prizes.

Using knowledge gained from this event and taking what I had learned from Geek Girls Society, I created programing aimed at adult women interested in fandom.

I created craft nights, movie screenings with discussions, field trips to conventions and geeky LA photo ops like Vasquez Rocks where many episodes of Star Trek were filmed and the Batcave in Griffith Park, a graphic novel book club, and panel discussions with local comic book creators.

Final results

The membership (and that of Geek Girls Society above) grew quickly and required more management than the comic book store owner and I could handle. So we sold it to a member who wanted to run it as a business. They continued to host meetings and events in the store's event space and pay a percentage of meeting fees. Members received shopping discounts 30 minutes before and after meetings.

Thanks to meeting fees and product sales, Brave New World saw an average monthly profit of $15k and a 20% overall increase in their comic pull list in the first year.

Brand Cheerleaders & Community

Building meaningful communities is key to creating an army of Brand Cheerleaders who are passionate, trusted, and effective advocates for a brand. A loyal and enthusiastic fanbase, guided by their passions and interests, can have a significant impact on a brand's social presence and bottom line.