Social Listening Blog Post

 Portland Leather Goods has been a company I have followed for the last couple of years. I love many of their products and I think they do a good job of maintaining a social media presence and promoting their company and mission. I thought this would be a good time to discuss the company because they just released a new purse. While many of the Portland Leather supporters are excited for this new purse, others are weary and are not pleased with the new product. They don’t like the shape or straps on the purse and they think it looks cheap. This could be a problem for Portland Leather because they are known for having high quality and genuine leather purses. 

Portland Leather Goods (Portland Leather Goods | Handmade Leather Products from Portland, OR) specializes in high quality handmade leather goods. They are simple in design but are incredibly versatile and durable. The issue that Portland Leather was trying to solve was the lack of simple high quality leather items. They strive to be affordable and durable. They carry a multitude of different items ranging from purses to phone cases. Portland Leather drops new purse designs often as well as offers a rewards program that saves customers money on future purchases. The company also sells “almost perfect” goods at a discounted price. These have a small flaw that most customers say they cannot find. Many times, when they drop new purses people are incredibly excited, however I have noticed that some followers of the company are not always as supportive.

Portland Leather recently announced that they were dropping a new purse design on April 23rd. Since I have followed this company for some time now, I noticed the Instagram and Facebook posts. I was not a fan of the new design, but I decided to see what others were saying about it in the comments. Many comments were supportive of the new design, however there were some customers that were expressing their dislike of the new purse. I found all of these comments on their Instagram page (Portland Leather Goods (@portlandleather) • Instagram photos and videos) Many of the negative comments were about the size of the bag, the straps, and the fact that it looked unfinished.  One user with the name just_cam_it_in said that “The handles look like an afterthought, unfinished. Round them out like the Raindrop (one of their other styles) and it would be perfect” I agree with what this user said. I think the straps on the bag look unfinished and don’t fit with the rest of the design. Another user by the name of brightandswift said “The body of the bag is amazing, but those handles are wildly disappointing.” This is an ongoing theme throughout the comment section on their Instagram page. Many of the users commenting on what they don’t like about the bag are also adding a solution to the issue they have with the design. For example, a user by the name of hank.the.glamazon suggested they attach the handles differently, so they don’t look so odd compared to the rest of the bag. I agree with many of the comments about the handles/straps. Another thing I noticed in the comment section was that Portland Leather was responding to a lot of comments good and bad. This shows their focus on customer service and their brand. While addressing negative comments they ask what could be improved but also stand by their product and the durability of it. This solidifies their dedication to their value statement of providing high quality products

Portland Leather utilizes social media extremely often. They have more than 362,000 followers on Instagram and more than 206,000 on Facebook. They at least post twice a day on Instagram and post weekly on Facebook. They also have a Portland Leather Insiders page on Facebook which gives members a sneak peak of new items, advice, and provides a space for suggestions. On that Facebook page they have more than 169,700 followers. People in this group post daily. 

They have a strong presence on social media. Portland Leather utilizes Instagram stories often to ask for feedback, mention customers that post their purchases, and promote sales/new products. They are trying to promote their product and get their name out there. However, after following Portland Leather on Instagram and Facebook I think they use it to promote sales too often. They have a lot of sales and it can get extremely annoying to be bombarded with sales every time you open social media. I think posting more engaging content would be incredibly beneficial. I know many people that have unfollowed them on multiple platforms because of the constant advertisement. I think the way they promote products by showing how other customers use their products is good. This shows potential buyers the different styles and uses for their products, without overwhelming them with advertisements that just sound desperate. Another aspect that I think they are doing well is asking for customer input and feedback. They use Instagram stories to poll their followers on various different things. This helps boost engagement and connect with customers. It makes the customers feel like they are really a part of the process. 

I think posting and providing more engaging content would help build their credibility and solidify their company as customer oriented and not just looking for another sale. I do think that they are doing a good job in achieving their goal of providing high quality leather goods at an affordable price. But changing some of the ways they use social media would be a good way to build a larger customer base. 

If I were the brand manager I would keep a lot of things the same. However I would change the way their social media pages are run. Instead of bombarding customers with tons of advertisements, I would suggest posting engaging and informative content. Some examples of this may be how to condition the leather or how to clean various different products. This doesn’t necessarily promote sales for the purses but it helps build a good rapport with customers, help solve an issue they may be facing, and provide helpful information. I think another tacktick I would implement is showing more behind the scenes work. An example would be showing how various different bags are made. This would also help build credibility with customers. The most important thing is providing customers with a unique experience that they will pass on to others, which helps build the brand name. Something else I think could be a cool addition to the brand is an exchange program. Customers can list Portland Leather items they don’t want anymore and they can buy from others who are doing the same. Of course these products would be at a lower price point, but it would be a good way to have customers reuse different items that may no longer be available or are out of their current price range. I know another brand that does this is Patigonia. This helps customers whose budget is lower and helps reduce waste. I think this would be something cool that would help Portland Leather be more sustainable and build credibility with customers. 

Something I learned from this assignment is how important having a presence on social media is. After doing this assignment, posting quality engaging content is incredibly important. It helps build the brand name and create a good relationship with customers. Providing customers with a good unique experience increases the chance that they will pass that information along, which promotes the brand.