Paper is commonly perceived as a boring commodity, but we didn't think it deserved to be seen that way. PaperOne™ is more than just paper, we make things happen.
Previously focused on marketing to businesses, we turned our attention to the consumers in late 2014. The paper and pulp industry is notorious for its conservative ways, and no other paper brands had properly ventured into the social media landscape. So we took a leap of faith and started telling our story on Facebook. We wanted to:
Forget selling paper products. Instead, our mission was to help consumers see our paper as a means to creative, fulfilled and meaningful life experiences, by creating stories that they could relate to.
Ultimately, the challenge we had was to unleash the potential manifested in a blank sheet of paper, transforming what seemed to be ordinary and plain into a platform for unlimited creativity and imagination. Simply because we are More Than Just Paper.
To achieve our goals, we rolled out a content strategy that was broken down into the following content pillars, which are also a part of the brand story. This consisted of both curated and original content.
More Than Just Fun
Paper is not just about having fun – it is a point of connection, like a handwritten card, or a crafted piece of art. We value human connections and conversations, and want to connect with the creative community by sharing content that is relevant to them. Paper is afterall a source of knowledge, facts and information that can deeply enrich our lives!
This led us to develop content made up of productivity and creativity protips, statistics and reports, and even #PaperIdioms that gave our weekly postings an interesting twist. We also took the chance to highlight ProDigi™ Nanotechnology, our unique selling point, through creative ways.
More Than Just Utility
Paper is beyond its utility. We felt that other than being a useful tool, paper is also a springboard for innovation and expression. Like the blueprint of a building, paper is often the foundation to making dreams come alive. This gave us the opportunity to showcase paper creations by talented paper artists, inspirational quotes, origami how-tos, drawing tips and paper tricks – all of which are easy to make, easy to share and easy to relate to. We wanted to unlock creativity and ideas, empowering people to dream big. These made our page collaborative and engaging.
More Than Just Words
PaperOne™ takes a firm stand on its commitment to environmental sustainability, and we want our fans to take our word for it. We aren't just about words, we take and inspire action. Through our content, we highlighted our values of social responsibility and efforts in giving back to and supporting local communities. We want to show that we're not just about the paper, but the people behind it.
Leveraging on trending topics or thematic days like World Animal Day, 50 Shades of Grey, we ensured our content remained current to remain on-topic and on-trend.
In July 2015, PaperOne™ was officially certified by PEFC, an internationally recognised certification that ensures sustainable use of forest resources. During the same month, we embarked on a mission to bring a meaningful message to our fans. We created bite size content about sustainability, so it was easier for consumers to understand the purpose of PEFC and how much it meant to us and our community.
Our posts went out on Facebook every day – all 365 days of 2015. We used every opportunity to weave ourselves into the users' daily lives. We wanted to contextualize the use of paper across generations, and produce content that is adaptable to different lifestyles. So whether it was about art, music, writing or organizational skills, our mission was to make paper a part of ALL creative endeavors.
We built a community of followers who also believed in the potential of paper. PaperOne™ started out with approximately 63,800 fans in 2014, yet by the end of 2015 we crossed 370,000 fans – which meant a 480% growth! The page now has fans spanning across several different countries, from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia to USA, countries from the Middle East and Europe.
We developed a personality unique to PaperOne™ through tone of voice and artistic direction of visuals. We saw an increase in engagement with the page receiving over 1,000,000 post likes, over a 1,000 comments and more than 3,000 shares over the span of 1 year. This resulted in an average of 823 interactions with the page each month. A community of creatives joined us with many engaging in conversations on our posts. Popular content topics include inspirational quotes and origami how-tos, which meant that we managed to empower and inspire them to embark on a creative journey with the use of paper.
Above and beyond that, the Facebook page also became a channel for sales enquiries. On average, we received 2 sales enquiries via private messaging or comments (per day) which we redirected to country managers to build our network of distributors and sales partners.
