Jelena Mijatovic and Marija Djunisijevic – Who Is Behind the Metalac Twitter Account and How the Campaign for This Social Network is Created

If you are from Serbia and you have a Twitter account, it is very likely that you are following a traditional local company. Of course, it’s Metalac from Gornji Milanovac, which has over 18,000 followers on this social network, with whom they communicate openly, directly and in a joking manner, every day.

Most local companies do not tend to rely on digital marketing, and even when they do so, they more gladly choose Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Metalac was brave and dared to stray from the beaten path, and the customers and the social network community have responded positively. We have talked to Jelena Mijatovic and Marija Djunisijevic of Metalac Digital about who is behind Metalac’s Twitter account, why they picked this social network and how they deal with aggressive users or negative comments.

eKapija: Companies, at least in these areas, still do not tend to rely on digital marketing. For you, what was the incentive to go down that path?

– Primarily following the increasingly modern trends of advertising and world trends. Definitely, our customers, as well as the social network community, were the initial driving engine which motivated us to further develop and constantly perfect ourselves. We try to follow trends, but primarily, one needs to keep in mind that Metalac is a traditional company which has existed for over 60 years, so modernizing some things has not exactly been a simple task. We have used our own presence on the networks to instill some of the more modern spirit, which was missing. Everything that has happened on our social networks, especially on the Twitter profile, which has been in the center of the interest of the Twitter community for years back, all those positive things have given us additional confirmation that we are on the right path and that it would be a shame to stop here. We have always tried to address followers of all tastes and generations, especially those who remember Metalac as an old, traditional company, in a joking, innovative and, above all, different way.

eKapija: Who is behind the Twitter account of Metalac?

– For 12 years now, we have cooperated with the Pioniri Communications agency. With them, we opened the first Facebook accounts, after which we expanded again, which later resulted in: 500,000 followers on all networks, five Facebook accounts, two Instagram accounts and one Twitter account. The Pioniri agency has gotten to know us very well in these 12 years. They know the brand well, they know how the brand communicates with the public, so it was natural for them to join us in going in some other direction, in order to present Metalac in a different light, in a joking, interesting, different way.

eKapija: Why Twitter, and not LinkedIn or Facebook?

– When you visit Metalac’s Twitter account, the first thing you’ll see is “We produce kitchenware since 1959, we would have opened a Twitter account back then too, except it didn’t exist.” That’s why it is said that Twitter is lagging behind Metalac, and not the other way around. We have had a Twitter account for several years now, but until two years ago, the communication was more moderate. We usually adapted the Facebook or Instagram announcements for Twitter. We were at a level of some 2,000 followers for a long time. After that, we decided to adapt to that network due to a more open communication. In general, people on Twitter are a little more strict, more inclined toward critical thinking, and they don’t fear to comment on the behavior of a brand or a public personality. By, we can safely say, bravely entering the whole thing, we became different from the start.

Just like the community has not been reluctant to criticize us, or praise us, we have not been reluctant to respond. In a period of two years, we have reached over 18,000 followers. The whole story was crowned with the campaign with Konstrakta, which is probably well-known to a wider community. Definitely: that kind of a joking, bolder way of communication has contributed to our success. Also, in addition to Twitter, we are active on all other social networks, on which, as we’ve said, we have reached half a million followers.

eKapija: What does the process of creating a Twitter campaign look like? What are the specificities compared to other channels of communication?

– There is no concrete creation process. It works spontaneously, naturally. On one hand, it is the story about our products, whereas, on the other, we want to participate and talk with a wider community about some topics which have nothing to do with Metalac and its business. One of the goals is to get as close to the followers, customers and users as possible, to bring everything that Metalac is (or everything it isn’t) closer to them and to achieve a closer connection with the community through a somewhat different way of communication.

eKapija: Which campaign would you highlight as the most impressive so far?

– Definitely Konstrakta & Metalac – as the crown of the whole project – RSD 2.5 million donated to NURDOR, the National Association of the Parents of Children Suffering from Cancer.

eKapija: How do you deal with aggressive Twitter users or negative comments? What is the strategy there?

– We respond to everything. On Twitter, Metalac gains on a human form and way of thinking, we respect all comments and that is a very important source of information for us, so that we would know what we can improve, do differently… We grow and develop with each comment.

eKapija: Do you have advice for other local companies when it comes to marketing on social networks?

– Being proactive, courageous, honest and fast. Following the trends and current events, that is, real-time marketing. For more advice, follow us on Twitter. 😊

eKapija: What are the plans of Metalac for the coming period when it comes to digital marketing?

– We will try, as we have done so far, to follow all the current events and respond to them in an interesting and humorous way. There are, of course, new social networks as well, like TikTok, through which we would get closer to an even younger population, who is maybe not even aware of us now, but will surely be later on. 😊

I. Zikic

Metalac a.d. Gornji Milanovac

Pioniri communications Beograd

NURDOR Beograd

Jelena Mijatović

Marija Đunisijević

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Konstrakta

TikTok

digital marketing