Testimonial

Hello everyone, I'm Nishino, the sales manager at Orinasal.

This time, we spoke with Mr. Hashizume of A-Style Co., Ltd., who has been supporting the Instagram account analysis of the apparel brand CLEA for about six months now.

While photography and posting are handled in-house, A-Style was struggling with the direction of their account management and posting plans. We asked them to tell us the secret to their success, which led to an increase of 10,000 followers since they started their efforts.

When operating in-house, we felt unsure about our next move as we were feeling our way around.

Nishino : Mr. Hashizume, thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. Could you please tell us about your company's business?

Hashizume : We mainly handle men's and women's clothing and fashion accessories. Our company has three departments: OEM business, wholesale, and the in-house brand e-commerce business that I am currently in charge of.

Nishino : How many brands do you own now?

Hashizume : There are two brands.

Nishino : One of them is "CLEA."

Hashizume : Yes. CLEA is a brand with a casual adult theme, and my other brand is "Louéme," which sells girly clothing and accessories.

Nishino : What will be your role in this?

Hashizume : I'm in charge of all public relations, using social media as my main tool.

Nishino : Besides Instagram, what other social media platforms do you use?

Hashizume : I sometimes use TikTok, but my main focus is Instagram. So, my main PR duties are managing the Instagram accounts for the two brands and taking photos.

Challenges Before Working with Orinas

Nishino : Before working with us, what were the challenges your company faced in the areas of digital marketing and social media?

Hashizume : I joined the company in 2020, and CLEA had just been launched shortly before that. At the time, we were trying to ramp up our advertising on social media to coincide with the launch. However, as we actually started using social media, we were feeling our way around, not knowing what kind of measures or campaigns we should implement or which media we should focus on, and we felt that this was an issue.

Nishino : The first thing we talked about was the launch of the official LINE account.

Hashizume : That's right. I was in charge of Instagram operations at my previous job, so I knew the basics. Then I decided to try LINE next, and although I was able to create an account, I didn't know what kind of flow or content I should use to operate it. I felt like I couldn't do it on my own, so I looked into social media agencies, and that's when I came across Orinas' website. I thought, "This looks good," and that's how I got in touch.

Nishino : In our first meeting, we started by talking about LINE, but as I listened to your company's challenges, I felt that it would be better to grow Instagram.

At the time, we wanted to acquire new customers rather than follow existing ones, so we shifted the focus to focusing more on Instagram rather than LINE.

By the way, what were the specific points that made you think, "This looks good"?

Hashizume : When I looked at your website, I was impressed by the fact that you have a lot of experience with women's brands, such as apparel and cosmetics.

Increase Your Followers by 10,000 by Taking Advantage of Monthly Reporting and Advice!

Nishino : Currently, we are conducting monthly analyses, submitting reports, and holding debriefing sessions, but have you noticed any benefits from actually commissioning our services, Mr. Hashizume?

Hashizume : One visible effect is definitely the growth in the number of followers. When I joined the company, we only had around 1,000 followers, but after working seriously with Orinas on Instagram, we were able to reach 10,000 followers in just six months. I think this is due to the effectiveness of implementing the PDCA cycle based on monthly effectiveness measurements.

Nishino : That's great! Before working with us, did you measure the effectiveness yourself every month?

Hashizume : I did check the number of daily follower increases, and reactions to posts such as impressions and likes. However, looking at those numbers, I couldn't figure out how to improve for the next time on my own. Orinas has compiled a report on what can be read from the numbers and what measures and improvements we should take next, which is very helpful.

Nishino : When you're in charge alone like Mr. Hashizume, you don't have anyone to bounce ideas off of, so it must be difficult to come up with and implement the next measures based on the numbers that come out.

Hashizume : That's right. There are some things I can't handle, and I feel uneasy about deciding everything on my own, so I wanted to hear other people's opinions as well. That's why Orinas is so helpful, as they work with me to come up with measures and give me advice in advance.

Nishino : Mr. Hashizume is quick to utilize our feedback, and the results are actually reflected in the following month's report, which is a great thing for us as partners and makes us look forward to it every time!

Is there anything you are looking forward to from us in the future?

Hashizume : I had never used a social media agency before, so I was a little worried about the cost, but I liked that Orinas allowed me to start with a light plan like the reporting we are currently using, so I hope to ask them to do the same for my new brand when the time is right.

Nishino : It's true that there are some concerns about outsourcing all of the work that you've been doing in-house from the beginning.

Recommendations and Final Thoughts

Nishino : Finally, if you had the opportunity to introduce our company to other companies, what would you recommend to them?

Hashizume : I would recommend this course because it teaches you not only the basics of social media management, but also advanced skills. Personally, I think it would be great for people like me who have been put in charge of social media management within their company but don't know how to properly manage it.

Nishino : Thank you for today, Hashizume-san!

Finally

When we first spoke to A-Style, we were consulting about another medium, but after listening to their concerns, we suggested Instagram, and as a result, we have continued to support them with Instagram. As it is a newly launched brand, we wanted to start with something that could be done with a minimal budget, so we are currently only helping them measure the effectiveness, but because they are able to immediately reflect our advice in their measures, we are seeing results quickly, and I think that is why they are able to feel the benefits.

We hope to continue to look at the numbers and propose various measures, so we appreciate your continued support!