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Rupert had been in sales for 22 years but then established himself as a social media adviser. Typical clients included restaurants and beauty parlours. He provides businesses with advice on how to use social media to obtain links to past and potential customers and then use these to retain or attract their custom. This might involve getting them to subscribe to email lists or 'like' a Facebook page and then to determine the right kind of special offers - perhaps £5 off, or a 20% discount, or a 'Father's Day Pamper Package'.
Rupert's primary issue was enabling companies to understand that social media is best deployed in developing personal relationships. So he was very happy when customers responded with messages of congratulations when a restaurant announced its 25th anniversary. He encounters companies where:
'just every single post was a sales message. It was just like 'buy this, buy that'. It just wasn't working for them. And I was like - you've got no personality, all you've got is sales. I think there's a definite strategy around how much you need to promote your business and how much you need to interact with people.' He generally recommends that 80% of interaction should be non-commercial and friendly and only 20% actual attempts at sales..
This message appears to be having an effect, as was shown by the way that various businesses' online presences changed during this period. Some use social media for simply relaying information, such as a hair stylist who puts all his styles on Instagram. Others were making themselves more approachable, such as a pub that puts the staff banter online, or a restaurant that uses YouTube to shows it's recipes being prepared.