Social Media Portal

PR and content manager Imogen Curry from Dobell talks to the power of SEO and quality over quality

Social Media Portal (SMP): What is your name and what do you do there for Dobell Menswear?

Imogen Curry (IC): My name is Imogen Curry and I am the PR and content manager for Dobell Menswear.

SMP: Briefly, tell us about Dobell

IC: Dobell is a leading online men?s formal wear retailer providing high quality smart wear at affordable prices.

SMP: Who are your target audience and why?

IC: Our target audience are males between the ages of 18 and 55. Our product range covers a multitude of occasions from a student buying their first tuxedo for prom to a middle-aged man buying his suits for the office and everything in between.

SMP: When was the company founded and how is it funded?

IC: Dobell was founded in 2003. The business received funding recently from the East Sussex Invest Growth Scheme, a project funded by East Sussex County Council and administered by Locate East Sussex for Dobell to expand into a bigger unit which was needed to fulfil the amount of business coming in.

SMP: How many people work across your content, marketing, PR and/or social team?
 
IC: Our core marketing team is made up of myself, managing content and PR. My colleague Keith White who heads up the team and looks after the SEO and online side of things in addition to social which we work on together.

From the wider marketing point of view, we have teams who manage email marketing and PPC that all contribute to the wider marketing mix.

SMP: What were you doing before you joined Dobell and how did you snag your current job?

IC: Before I joined Dobell I was actually taking a break from PR and working as a gym manager and personal trainer as this is my other passion in life. I had literally just decided that I wanted to get into marketing when I saw the job advertised on LinkedIn.

I didn?t even think twice about applying as I had always wanted to work in house and the role was exactly what I had been looking for. I couldn?t believe my luck when I landed my perfect job so quickly after beginning the search. 

SMP: Briefly, what does your job entail and what does a typical day look like?

IC: A typical day for me would include an hour or so of social media management, a few hours of PR outreach to journalists and bloggers and varying content tasks whether this be writing new blog post or refreshing content on the website. In a nutshell my job entails anything that requires content to make the company more visible and desirable to the online community.

SMP: What makes it a great job?

IC: The job is so great for me because it is so varied, no two days are ever the same, which I love. It also helps that I genuinely believe in the product and so does everyone else here, and our customers for that matter, so everyone is so passionate which is vital when marketing a product.

What also makes it a great role is that the whole company is situated under one roof so while I sit in the marketing team, I get to be involved with all aspects of the business and everyone helps each other out when needed. Not only is this a lovely atmosphere to work in, but it also means I am able to learn about different elements of the business.


SMP: Why did you make the transition from PR to content marketing and what skills are there that enable you to do this?

IC: Having worked in traditional PR agency side for the majority of my career it was always my goal to land an in-house role that would allow me to really get my teeth into one business. Moving over into a more content marketing role provides a lot more variation.

I still look after the traditional PR side of things as that is my bread and butter but now I can use my writing skills across social media, marketing materials and website development, after-all, pretty much everything involves some level of content.

SMP: Are you seeing any difference in approach et al from Brighton, London and Dubai?

IC: It?s hard for me to compare as all my roles have been within very different companies and I had very different responsibilities. Company ethos obviously varies massively especially between the UK and Dubai, but their approaches to PR are still very in line with each other.

SMP: How has the transition been so far, what?s a challenge and what?s coming more naturally?

IC: The transition has gone well, and it really is great to be able to focus all my energy on building one brand. I guess the challenges are learning all the new technology and software associated with an online retailing company but it?s all very interesting and sinking in very quickly.

SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far?

IC: We?ve undertaken a project to re-format how we create content for the website and as a result we have seen our organic traffic and keyword rankings exceed our expectations.

SMP: What are the main content/social channels are you using, why and which are the most effective for Dobell?

IC: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are the channels we use the most but Facebook is the most effective. Our target audience is much more prevalent on Facebook than the other two channels and it is also the channel that lends itself best to customer service. We also have a company page on LinkedIn.


SMP: What do you see as your biggest challenges and opportunities for your sector and the competition that you have?

IC: In fashion retailing our opportunities are often our challenges as well. Fashion moves so fast these days that it in itself provide a multitude of retailing opportunities but it also means it is an incredibly competitive market which in turn creates the challenges.

SMP: What is the most challenging part of building upon your brand presence in content/digital environments?


IC: One of our biggest challenges is being visual for our wider offering. We started as a tuxedo and formal wear brand and rank very well for keywords related to black tie or evening wear. Now our offering includes a vast array of suits and everyday smart wear, which is an incredibly competitive arena. However, we are creeping up every week and always keep a close eye on our competitors to help us get ahead.

SMP: What do you think is going to be the most interesting aspect regarding content marketing for the next 12 to 18-months and why?

IC: Most definitely engagement. It is no longer enough to talk to the consumer, we must engage with them and develop conversational content in order to fully gain their attention. This calls for more interactive content and for the wider marketing mix to all come together to create a brand conversation your consumers can relate to. 

SMP: What are your top five predictions for content marketing for the next 12 to 18-months and why?



IC replies with:

• Even more so than now, SEO will be more of a result of a brands authority and less of technical advantages.
• Content will need to be shorter and more interactive to gain the consumers attention.
• Brand blogs in their current form will become redundant and instead will need to be reformatted to provide a service in line with your offering to your consumers.
• The rise of voice search will significantly increase SEO competition.
• Once the leader, Twitter will become the social afterthought now that visual content is key.

SMP: What are your top overall five content marketing tips and why?



IC replies with:

• Quality over quantity. Historically, many marketers may have taken the opposite approach, but as the internet gets more discerning, so does the consumer, meaning we must be cleverer with our approach.
• Be relevant to your audience. Don?t just produce content around a popular subject if it has no relevance to your audience, it will only damage your credibility.
• Keep it fresh. Don?t leave content stagnant or use it time and time again, revisit it and repurpose it to be relevant, up to date and most importantly visible to your audience.
• Have a voice. You need to decide on your brands tone of voice before embarking on any campaign, an identity that should remain consistent across all communication.
• Tell a story across all your channels. These days you might have different campaigns going across email, PR, social, PPC and more, but it?s important to ensure you a telling a story with your narrative and that each channel is in some way in line with one another so that your consumer isn?t being fed multiple messages at one time and therefore diluting them.

SMP: Best way to contact you and dobell?


IC: You can contact me on imogencurry@dobell.co.uk and at the Dobell website.



SMP: What did you have for breakfast / lunch?

IC: Scrambled eggs and avocado/chicken, rice and broccoli (hence the background in fitness).

SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?

IC: I booked a surprise holiday for my boyfriend because he had a tough year.

SMP: If you weren?t working at dobell what would you be doing?



IC: I would either be still working at the gym searching for my dream job or I suspect I would have taken another agency PR job as that?s what I have always known.

SMP: When / where did you go on your last holiday and why?



IC: I went to Bali earlier this year. We wanted to go somewhere far away, and you don?t get much further than that!

SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office of a morning? 



IC: Check our social media figures, make a cup of coffee and check my emails.

SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why? 



IC: I am avid planner and organiser, so I would have to say the ability to see into the future.

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