Ellen Dettling knew social media had emerged as a formidable marketing tool when she dabbled in it in May of 2012, but she didn’t have the time to become an expert.

“I knew it was huge, but I’m not wired to be the person to do it,” says the co-owner of City Staffing, an agency with 11 coffee-devouring employees housed in a colorful Wacker Drive office in Chicago’s Loop. “We were barely scratching the surface of it.”

She needed help, and a Linkedin search directed her to Mana Ionescu and the Lightspan Digital team.

A Perfect Fit

“She came in and it was a perfect fit from the start,” Dettling says. “Her outlook on life and her passion resonated with me. It was a coming together of liking her personally, liking her personality, and seeing that she was passionate about social media. She lives and breathes it.”

Dettling had just hired an intern, Samantha Swade, who would become the company’s Digital Media Specialist, working with Lightspan Community Manager Michelle Laing to build a digital brand from scratch. Swade grew up with social media, but was surprised to learn how much Lightspan taught her about using it to build a brand and engage customers.

“That was a big eye-opener for me,” Swade says.

Ionescu says that reaction is not uncommon.

“Many people still believe social media can be done on a whim,” she says. “But it can’t if you’re going to access its full potential, and it takes time and effort to learn how to do that. Social media strategy is our passion, and we love accelerating that process for businesses so they can focus on their passion.”

Laing says City Staffing was a perfect client.

“They had a lot to learn, but they knew that,” she says. “When you have an open-minded client that lets you teach them and explain how this works, they walk away from the experience with so much more.”

Social Media Strategy: Adding Depth

Swade was surprised to learn how much depth there was to the strategy of building a social media presence. From creating a voice, to engaging customers, to evaluating data to determine what the most effective language and targets, she learned quickly that successful social media is done with purpose.

“How they build a foundation with Twitter really surprised me, how they engage people,” Swade said.

Laing said part of the strategy for City Staffing was to position them as thought leaders among the city’s job hunters.

“We connected with other leaders in career advice, which meant not just reaching job-seekers, but university career centers and recruiters,” Laing explains.

That gets to the heart of what Lightspan is all about – purpose. Ionescu’s sentences are peppered with the word, but what does that mean when you’re talking about something as ephemeral as social media?

“We tweet and we post with purpose,” Ionescu says. “We ask critical questions. Are we getting engagement? Are customers responding? Are we engaged with the right customers?”

Those principles are integrated into customer training as well. Swade worked closely with Laing, a DePaul University graduate.

“We worked together really well,” Swade says. “She gave me tips on crafting tweets and how to evaluate what was working. Michelle was very motivating. They teach you about each platform and provide the training for you to move forward.”

Laing says that the attitude City Staffing brought to the table was invaluable. Swade, she says, was one of the fastest learners she’s ever worked with and quickly developed a social media voice for the company. In three months City Staffing grew from about 150 followers on Twitter (@citystaffing) to 660. They now have nearly 900 followers.

Dettling is beginning to see the results of the effort, with leads coming in via Twitter and City Staffing’s digital reputation growing.

“It’s been amazing to work with Lightspan,” Dettling says. “I can’t say enough about them.”