Alter Trading Company

Content Development for a Real Scrapper

For over 125 years, Alter Trading has built a reputation for innovation in the scrap metal industry. From their state of the art processing facilities to their corporate headquarters in St. Louis, it is a company committed to sharing the benefits of recycling responsibly with its suppliers, its consumers, and its communities.

Built on a foundation of quality, integrity, and responsibility; Alter Trading understands that managing environmental aspects is essential for continued success, especially as their company experiences rapid growth and enters new markets and communities.

Services Utilized —

Analytics & Reporting

Content Development

Social Media

The Challenge —

As one of the largest scrap metal companies in the country, Alter Trading has over 80 locations across the United States. These locations were struggling to create a cohesive message on their Facebook pages. The team at Alter knew that Facebook could be a powerful tool for creating loyal fans. They just weren't sure how to pull it off.

One of the biggest challenges is that Alter had many pages with 0 fans, no posts, and no brand consistency. With over 80 locations that needed a social presence, there was no cohesive brand strategy but the opportunity was clear. Alter could not ignore the chance to utilize social media as a chance to build both awareness and relationships with current and potential fans.

A triptych image showcasing various stages of a brochure design for alter trading. on the left are wireframe layouts, center shows mockup designs, and right is the final printed version.

The Approach & Solution —

Seafoam tackled this challenge by creating a communication cadence that was simple and easy. Even the busiest yard could share ideas and see them brought to fruition on their social pages. These tactics included:

Building a documented process for creating, editing, getting approval (from corporate and legal departments)
Posting compelling content that was consistent with the brand, with added flair from each location
Monitoring engagement to ensure all conversations had proper moderation while creating friendly dialog
Reorganizing, refreshing, and redesigning existing pages to maintain consistency
Creating new pages as needed
Creating a balanced approach to company-wide posts and location-specific posts.
Maintaining regular communication with both the corporate office and the various staff of over 50 locations to help inform our local strategies and posts
Jumping in on PPC efforts to help increase the reach of our brand
Utilizing our graphic design skills to create in person handouts to help mirror our digital efforts.

A promotional image showcasing various activities of alter trading corporation, featuring scrap metal recycling images on a smartphone, handshakes between professionals, and heavy machinery in operation.

The Results —

In doing so, we were able to build a loyal and engaged following on social media that helped bolster Alter Trading’s presence in their customers’ lives as well as generate awareness in potential customers.

220%

Increase in brand followers

218%

Increase in organic reach

200%

Increase in engagement rate