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Social Media Style Guide

Esri

Project Case Study
Social Media Intern - Influence Marketing
June 2023 - February 2024
Remote

  • Hired as summer intern, stayed on as student technician

  • Tasked with creating a style guide for 100+ social media accounts

  • The guide was intended to create a cohesive social media presence

  • Worked directly with the senior social media design strategist

  • Introduced a user-centered design process

Screenshot 2024-02-15 at 4.20.39 PM.png

Demo Video

The Approach

User-Centered Approach and Project Development:

  1. Conducted listening tour with one-on-one meetings to understand team needs

  2. Gained insights into team motivations for needing a style guide

  3. Outlined project scope with problem, objective, key phases, research methods, and deliverables

  4. Ensured team alignment and understanding of user-centered approach

  5. Plan approved and ideas welcomed by the team

The Process

Plan Implementation:

  • Interviewed key stakeholders: Social Media, Account Leads, Creative team, Brand teams

  • Compiled survey for account leads to poll larger audience

  • Card sort workshop for intuitive information architecture

 

Identified Pain Points:

  • Inconsistent social media graphics due to long turnaround times with Creative team

  • Account leads creating their own graphics, resulting in less professional and inconsistent visuals

  • Creative team operated as designers for hire, inconsistent visual language between account leads

  • Social media team sought consistent visual style and voice across accounts

 

Opportunities:

  • Develop guide to bridge communication gap between Account Leads and Creative team

  • Create a digestible quick reference guide for easier access by account leads

  • Align with Esri.com Art Direction and Style Guide, and overall Brand Guidelines

Roadblock

The Issue:

  • I created custom designed layouts in Figma

  • I utilized my design freedom and produced unique layouts

  • I was unable to attain a work license for Figma, and unable to use


The Fix:

  • I discovered Esri's ArcGIS Online Experience Builder

    • a no-code/low-code web app builder

  • I taught myself the program through online tutorials and by trial and error

  • I creatively adapted Experience Builder to fit the needs of the style guide

Upside:

  • Experience Builder is a web-based interactive platform

  • It is a free and in-house tool

  • I impressed the Social Media Team and Experience Builder product team with my ingenuity


Downside:

  • My original layouts were unusable due to complexity

  • Restricted to drag-and-drop block layouts

  • I lost the ability to have unlimited design freedom

The Solution

  • The Social Media Style guide is a web-based solution I created in ArcGIS Experience Builder.

  • I designed it to be concise and easy to navigate as a quick reference guide.

  • It is a go-to, one-stop source for essential social media account standards.

  • It supports account leads and designers by offering brand voice guidance, best practices, graphics standards, and additional resources.

  • It helps bridge the gap between account leads and designers by giving everyone the same visual language to better collaborate.

  • Promotes a cohesive brand presence across all social media accounts.

What I Learned

Participant Engagement:

  • Easy to gather willing participants

  • Struggling accounts less likely to participate

  • Needed a strategy to engage less passionate account leads


Communication and Rollout:

  • Ongoing communication and rollout plan crucial

  • Project failure at risk if forgotten or not approved by upper management


Style Guide was approved and launched early summer 2024!

© 2024 by Sara James

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