2021 Roundup

This year at Function28 has been the busiest and most exciting yet. We’ve been working our socks off producing fresh new websites, managing campaigns, and helping businesses with their social media. We’ve worked on so many fantastic projects that we want to share just some of them with you!

Red Ruby Cattle

The good people from the Devon Cattle Breeders’ Society came to us after finding out we built and managed Mid Devon Show’s website and provided them with tech support. Devon Cattle Breeders’ Society had been let down by another agency that started the project of designing and developing a new website, but left them with a product that was unfinished and not fit for purpose. We took on this project and delivered a new website with a fresh, modern look, we also made sure it was fully responsive on mobile devices too. With hundreds of members on their books, they wanted to make the site easy to navigate and attract new members.

As part of the package that they have with us, we’re also hosting their site as well as setting up their new emails too.

Fentrigan Manor Farm

We worked closely with Richard to help promote his beautiful holiday cottages on his working farm in Cornwall. We redesigned and developed the website to make it easier to navigate, respond on mobile devices and we’re also hosting the site along with his emails too.

The team really enjoyed working on this project and it’s always a joy to see new pictures of Richard’s dog, Oscar pop up every now and again!

Somerset County Council

A few key projects that we were part of earlier this year were the Somerset County Council campaign’s to fight knife crime and domestic abuse.

We created and managed major ad campaigns across all social media platforms, collaborated with local companies to make videos for YouTube, and we completed several PPC campaigns on Google. Our team provided clear and precise reporting back to the Council to show how successful these were across the board. We had a great response back from our contact at the Council and we’re very much looking forward to working with them on their new campaign in 2022 (keep an eye on our Blog area for more info!).

Cully Pet Shop

Earlier this year, we helped Cully Pet Shop as they made the transition to an online shop. They wanted a modern take on their business so we updated their logo design, website to match, and an online shop with a simple paw design. We also provided some printed posters, business cards, and vehicle graphics which we think look pawsome! (Sorry, not sorry!)

With Cully Pet Shop being a small local company, it was very important for us to walk them through the process from start to finish.

Other projects we’ve completed, take a look!
MJ Smith
Repair Wizard
Near and Near
JPD Services
Ball and Lawton
Bancoft Locksmiths
Bridgeman Jacks
Crossfit The Physical Edge
Edwards Plumbing Services

We’re looking forward to continuing working with our clients into 2022 and collaborating with new ones too! You can speak to Russ, Adrian and Gemma about your requirements by giving us a call on 01884 308091 or email us at info@function28.co.uk.

The Power of a Single Tweet

Imagine how excited and proud we were when we came into the office one morning to find that one of our long-standing clients went viral overnight! This happened last week with StopTopps’ important campaign to stamp out drink spiking.

StopTopps
Dawn Dines founded the not-for-profit company, Stamp Out Spiking UK in Exeter, Devon. The aim was to empower young people to keep themselves safe by running educational workshops on alcohol and drug awareness, knife crime, anti-social behaviour, and cyberbullying. With a rise in drink spiking around the UK, StopTopps was created. To give women and men confidence on a night out, a simple and versatile tin foil lid was created to fit on any type of glass.

Going Viral
On the 8^th of November, Evie Norman posted on Twitter a single image of StopTopps’ stickers over a few drinks, congratulating the pub on taking this preventative measure. The Tweet received almost 13,000 Likes, 1,609 Retweets, and 828 Quote Tweets. Evie’s Tweet was soon picked up by The Archbishop of Banterbury account on Instagram, which has 3.6 million followers and was Liked by 150,000 people. Reaching this many people around the UK and beyond was something Dawn had always strived to achieve since she started the company, and was helped along massively by one single Tweet.

With orders coming in steadily before going viral, StopTopps has now been inundated with orders from around the UK with the pub chain, Wetherspoons wanting to stock them in all their pubs around the country.

Whilst the debate about the effect social media is having on our society rages on, in this case, it has helped advocate a vital message which has got people talking, and taking action about the very issue that Dawn has been pushing for many years.

Having worked closely with Dawn to created the website, and helping promote the company and its important message across various platforms, Function28 is unbelievably proud of this collaboration. We’re feeling very hopeful for the future – the Stamp Out Spiking campaign will undoubtedly help bring down the cases of drink spiking in the UK.

You can read more about the Stamp Out Spiking UK mission here.

Apprentice role as a Social Media / Digital Content Assistant

Job Details

Full-time

Job Description

We are looking for someone who can work independently, has creative flair with an outgoing personality who wants to jump head-first into an exciting career opportunity.

Your job will be to engage the viewer, convey information about the brand or write copy that motivates a reader to buy a product/service.

As this is an apprentice role the below are the things that you will be working towards with the apprenticeship, it will be a great advantage in your application if you are able to demonstrate as many of the below as possible at interview

Responsibilities –

Create content for channels across social media, blogs and websites.
Tailor the content and tone of voice according to the brand and medium.
Identify the key messages – Understand what you want the reader to feel and do, and how to communicate this powerfully.
Understand your target audience – You’re not writing for the client, you’re writing for their readers.
Research the client’s industry and their audience.
Identify fresh and interesting content, engaging the audience and creating interaction.
Schedule content.
Use marketing tools.
Grow accounts across social media.
Work to ensure that the visual elements complement the words.
Provide or create content, such as, images and videos. You will occasionally feature in the videos.
Measure the success of campaigns.
Stay up to date with the latest trends on social media.

Skills – You will need to have:

Strong listening skills, so that you can understand the brief.
Good research skills to gain an accurate understanding of the subject, industry and business in question.
Excellent writing ability, including the ability to write in different styles and to other people’s direction.
A creative approach, both in coming up with ideas for new campaigns and for getting a message across innovatively.
Good attention to detail, including the ability to proof-read your own work.
Understanding of social media.
Understanding the various channels of social media.
The ability to work independently, intuitively and flexibly.

‘Finfluencers’ – Friend or Foe?

The new online Finance Influencer… nicknamed ‘Finfluencers’

What are Finfluencers?

Finance influencers – aka finfluencers, are making finance cool for younger generations.

Youngsters are using TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube as a way to learn about personal finance, turning to a rising class of financial influencers for guidance.

Depending on where you look on social media, making money seems to be straightforward. Learning how to buy a property in the UK with no money, or getting the basics of being a day trader in 30 minutes, are both lessons on YouTube, along with a lots of advice on how to earn from crypto currency. Meanwhile ‘finfluencers’, with varying degrees of knowledge, have blossomed on Instagram and TikTok especilly during lockdown and the pandemic in general.

What to look out for

With a large amount of advice across social media, it is worth keeping some core rules when deciding what is worthwhile and what is not. Here are some things to look out for:

Who are they? You don’t have to be regulated to set up as a finfluencer on social media. Nor do you need any knowledge, skills or experience. So approach personalities with a healthy degree of scepticism.
Popularity does not equal success. Just because a video has 100,000 views does not mean it is advice worth following. If there are some you think are valid, use the videos as a jumping-off point to do your own research.
It is always safest to assume that someone is not an expert unless proven otherwise. The lack of regulation means that people can say whatever they want about any topic, from buy-to-let to bitcoin.
It’s not all about getting rich quick. Big rises will always catch the eye – spikes in cryptocurrency being a particular example. But getting returns slowly, over time, while it may appear boring, can also transform your life over a few years.
It is important to have all the information at hand in order to make investment decisions, especially when someone may suggest that they have a surefire way to make money quickly. It may not be that the finfluencer is trying to deceive, simply that there is not enough space in the video to tell the full story – or they may not be well enough informed.
Make sure you have the full picture. If someone tells you they made 50% on a bitcoin investment in the last month, that would be true. But it is also the case the price of the cryptocurrency has dropped by almost a third in the last four months.
Don’t depend on people who you think are just like you. There are many ordinary consumers who share their experiences of saving and investing. Focus on how good the advice is, rather than any shared history.