Ep 20: Clicks 2 Bricks with Walmart Director of Social Media Marketing Zachary Lones

Nov 18

The impact of social media is being reinvented every day, and now large corporations like Walmart are leading the way. Today we talk to Zach Lones, the Director of Social Media Marketing for Walmart. We kick things off by taking a look at where it all started for Zach — having owned an e-commerce store at the age of 15 and making his way into corporate localized marketing for Walmart. Zach also shines a light on the evolution of Walmart’s social media presence, as the brand has moved into a variety of platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. He goes on to share some of his secrets to social media success and touches on employee trust, recognition, and associate content. You’ll learn how Walmart separates itself from its competitors by making use of a volunteer strategy and offering social media roles to any store employee that is creative and enthusiastic about content. He provides listeners with behind-the-scenes details on their training process, how moderating content works, and this remarkably led to only one out of 2.1 million posts being flagged. Toward the end of the episode, we discuss how Walmart looks at viral content differently, as well as their views on KPIs, ROIs, and the importance of engagement. Tune in with us today!

Key Points From This Episode:

Introducing today’s guest Zach Lones, and his expertise in distributed localized marketing.
Learning marketing from owning an e-commerce store.
How Zach came to be the Director of Social Media Marketing.
Why Zach moved from Sam’s Club to Walmart.
The social media opportunity Zach got from CMO Tony Rogers.
How Zach started to flex Facebook as a marketing and e-commerce tool.
Hear about Walmart’s social media evolution.
Zach gives us the inside scoop on what My Local Social is all about.
The different phases of Walmart’s social media strategy.
Innovative ways Walmart creates great local content.
Trusting employees to deliver content instead of bureaucratic processes.
How Zach’s team of moderators operate and keep content personable.
Why volunteer strategies are what drives Walmart’s social media.
Hear about Walmart’s social media training process.
Zach talks about the experience of Walmart employees.
We talk ROI and KPI as they relate to Walmart’s social media.
Why Walmart looks at viral content differently from the norm.
The importance of valuing Walmart staff as human beings and individuals.
Hear about the limits of Walmart’s social media program.
The difference between social media and associate content.

Tweetables:

“When I was just 15 I had my own e-commerce site. We had influencers and did digital marketing, and that’s where I learned a lot of what I still use today.” — @zacharyplones [0:03:44]

“It was my responsibility to drive traffic and great customer experiences. Facebook was the natural outlet to connect with my community and modernize the customer experience of the rural store that I was running.” — @zacharyplones [0:07:30]

“The cashier knows better what a community needs to hear than I do, so why don't we trust and empower them? That's really where we're at today.” — @zacharyplones [0:12:48]

“If you're made to do a social media post, you probably won't want to invest the time to do your best. But if you're trying to make a difference and communicate with your customers in a way that matters to them, then you’re the best person for the job.” — @zacharyplones [0:28:50]

“I love local social because it lifts you up and it shows you that you're making a difference. It connects you with people and allows you to hear their stories and become a part of their story.” — @zacharyplones [0:35:05]