Going from 5 to 1500: How Word & Vision helped one company grow its social media base

Starting a new business has its challenges and things that need to be focused on.

There’s hiring, training, the actual launch of the service or product and – when rightly understood – the use of communications tools like social media to market and build excitement, even buzz, for your business.

The challenge facing one company we recently assisted was building a social media following. When the project began the company – a new restaurant launching in the metro Detroit area - had only a total of five followers on Facebook and a few more on Instagram.

The task presented to Word and Vision was to help market the new restaurant in a number of ways and to especially begin increasing the size of the social media following as fast as possible and with minimal cost. With a launch date just three months away, it was imperative that work was planned and started as soon as practical.

So, beginning in November of 2024 and working diligently to March of 2025 we were able to grow the social media followers on Facebook from five to just under 1,500 (as well as going from 100 to over 700 Instagram followers).

So how was it done and what advice can we offer to those trying to organically build a social media following?

First off, let’s be clear – this was accomplished through the efforts of one staff member, the with limited assistance of the company’s management team and with very little money. Having said that let’s take a look at some of the key lessons from this five-month exercise in content creation and social media audience development.

Relentless and consistent content schedule

One of the key factors in this successful campaign was the measure of consistency used. It should be an important reminder to everyone that having a regular schedule of well-considered posts is essential, as a starting point at least.

The first challenge was the limited content available while the restaurant was still under construction which made taking photos of things like food nearly impossible. The strategy was to start with brand messaging, explaining who and what the place was all about. Information about construction milestones and regular updates on opening dates and plans was also shared.

Scheduling was done using the Facebook Meta business suite with posts released initially between four and five times a week. As the opening came closer, and more content could be created specific to the restaurant’s food, décor, drinks and music, this increased to six times a week.

Timing these posts became a challenge – again without knowing final hours of operation or even specific “soft” and regular opening dates – but it was settled ultimately by the nature of the restaurant’s business model to be open only for dinner. With that firmly in position it became clear that early afternoon posts (sometimes late morning) would be an ideal time to start. Once the restaurant was open, this “ leading up to opening” time became more obvious.

Using limited advertising

Early on it was obvious that some advertising on Facebook would be helpful. The problem again centered on having content and artwork beyond just a compelling brand or message. Given that, we delayed the first advertising until approximately one month from the restaurant opening date.

Using that one month window, it was possible to “launch” the first tentative advertising efforts, while continuing regular FB and Instagram postings.

Eventually three ad campaigns were prepared and launched. Connecting these campaigns with a completed website and regular social media posting proved highly effective in generating “buzz” and helping connect people online to the new business.

Integrating, connecting and other resources

Besides using social media on a consistent basis, with good information and exciting artwork, it was important to connect these campaigns with what was happening on the company’s website, and its Google Business Page.

While some of this work was outside the direct control of our team, it was essential to coordinate these other resources and make sure they focused on internal consistency of message, look and style.

A bit of old-fashioned media work was also done by Word and Vision to help create organic interest among those living and working in the community where the restaurant is located. This may not always be the case for clients – having a local newspaper or even print magazine interested – but if available it is an added bonus and certainly helps engage readers as well as social media viewers and followers.

Creating measurable results

Over the five months the social media footprint of the restaurant grew at a steady and even rate with new followers and viewers connecting across the platforms at a rate of just under 100 a week. While those numbers have less significance than things like engagement, sharing and follow-up, they do speak to the consistent nature of the marketing approach.

Regular input from the client provided details as to what was happening, garner suggestions for what to post and share and look past just free content to limited advertising spending on Facebook in particular.

Once the restaurant opened a strong push continued for nearly two more months (of the five) to grow the social media audience. This met with continued success, likely driven by the fact that the business was now open and others could join in by promoting their experiences and reactions.

At the end of the five months there were 1,500 Facebook followers and 700 followers on Instagram, significant growth from where we started. While our client engagement has concluded, we are proud this social media campaign more than met its goals and objectives.

The trajectory of the project demonstrated the power of a focused, strategic social media effort. With clear goals, consistent messaging and a deep understanding of the audience, we delivered measurable results that will continue to benefit the client well beyond our engagement.