Utilising Digital Marketing to Target the Consumer…

A huge part of Ulster Wool’s marketing activity is educating the consumer about how amazing the wool fibre is, what products it goes into and crucially where they can buy Ulster wool products from. This is all designed to increase front-end demand for Ulster wool rich products and increase the price of their member's wool.

Digital channels are crucial as Zoe Coates Digital and Communications Manager at Ulster Wool, explains “We don’t have the budget for things like TV advertising, so it is crucial that we use other, more cost-effective means of targeting consumers.”

“Social media is key to this. Across all of our many social media channels (14 at last count, across 3 different countries) we have a combined audience of over 135,000 people, mainly consumers. As well as a sizeable and growing audience they are also highly engaged in our content meaning they are more likely to purchase Ulster wool rich products and spread the word amongst other consumers.”

The Ulster Wool partners British Wool’s online shop, launched in 2021, helps to connect our growing audience to brands and companies that are verified users of Ulster wool. The shop is going from strength to strength.

Zoe said “Sales on the online shop have increased by around 87% in the past 12 months and we now have 25 brands selling their products through the platform. The site is also attracting around 13,000 unique visitors every month. We expect this growth to continue during 2024 as the site becomes more established and more brands are added.”

Ulster Wool’s PR activity has also increased considerably over recent times with 537 pieces of coverage in the past 12 months across TV, radio, printed press and on-line.

Zoe concluded “It is great to see the amount of coverage we’ve had over the past 12 months through our digital channels and our PR activity. This is helping us push the Ulster Wool brand to new audiences who are increasingly looking for more sustainable options when making purchasing decisions.”