The Volley Facebook page was set up in March 2011 to coincide with the relaunch of the brand and has since grown to over 23,000 fans. Volley is also active on Twitter and YouTube and enjoys an engaged audience of loyal fans. So much so that it’s not uncommon for fans to defend the brand when there are complaints on the Facebook page.

“I just think that everyone has owned a pair of Volleys at some time in their lives and everyone has a fond Volley memory or story to tell!” says Brand Communications Manager at Pacific Brands, Jessica Bibby. “They have such a rich history and are an integral part of Australian culture that I think everyone can relate to the brand. It is also a very pragmatic brand which resonates strongly with Australians of all ages.”

Volley’s social media activity includes marketing, public relations and customer service. “We use it to engage with our consumers and let them voice their opinion and play a part in the brand's direction. We alert them to new styles, special offers, retailer activity and general things that are happening in society that they would find interesting and add value to their lives. It is therefore, a marketing and PR tool but we also respond to customer requests or complaints so in that sense it works as a customer service outlet too.” Customer enquiries are routed through existing customer service channels, and Volley ensures that these are addressed in a timely manner.

The Volley Facebook community is keen to engage with the brand. “I think the key is to exist in their space and listen!” says Bibby. “Consumers want excitement and dynamism out of their brands, so if we provide content that adds value to them, updates that are of relevance, special offers and new styles, then I’m sure they will appreciate that and continue to be responsive. Further to that, we try to ensure that our status updates have meaning and that we’re not just updating for the sake of it, otherwise we will just become irrelevant and our consumers will be disengaged.”

Volley recently conducted a giveaway of custom Volley iPhone 4 covers to new subscribers to the newsletter on the Volley website and received positive feedback on their Facebook page from participants who had received the covers. Entrants also used the Facebook wall to clarify whether they’d successfully been selected to receive the prize and discuss details of the giveaway.

Volley's successful Search for Australia's Well Worn Volleys campaign operated on a custom tab on their Facebook page. From the entries, 22 pairs of shoes were selected and displayed, together with their stories in an online exhibition and an exhibition at Melbourne's Fracture Gallery. “The stories that we uncovered not only told us a lot about Australians' passion for the Volley brand and provided us with some great consumer insights, but also helped us restore our product archive,” says Bibby. “The 1973 Volley Hi Leap that we uncovered through the Search, we are actually bringing back in November 2011.”

Bibby uses Facebook Insights to understand Volley’s Facebook community. “We have a near even split of males to females (49% to 48% respectively). 73% are aged 13-24 years old, which we would expect. I also like seeing the State breakdowns as it is helpful for when I run a state-specific update and only want to filter to, say, Sydney fans – I can see how many fans I have in that state. Also, we have fans from all over the world which is really great for the brand,” she says.

Volley maintain the social media channels in house, and work closely with PR agency One Green Bean, who contribute content ideas and ways to better engage the audience. As for the year ahead, Bibby says, “We are going to use our social media channels to help with our e-commerce strategy this year. Fans will be rewarded with special fan-only offers and we'll be asking them questions to help us improve the site. On top of this, we are looking at ways to grow the page and increase interactions amongst our fans.”