Neenah Paper

Facebook. Twitter. Blog. These are the watchwords of social media, and they are spoken with easy familiarity. And not just by computer geeks. Grandmothers, CEOs, rock stars and teens alike, all fit the typical Facebook user profile.

It’s local, and it’s global, as was evident when we saw Iranian citizens use Twitter to organize a massive protest and Facebook to communicate with the rest of the world. Now, social networking touches every industry: politics, entertainment, medical, hospitality, manufacturing, fashion, home décor, food, you name it.

Neenah Paper embraced social networking early on. But then, connecting with customers has always been important to this paper company that’s been an active member of the design and printing community for so long.

So how does a company take on social networking? One step at a time, according to Jamie Saunders, manager of public relations for Neenah Paper. “We started with a Facebook page, which quickly acquired over 1,000 fans. It’s a great way for us to spotlight events and introduce new promotions, as well as get immediate feedback from consumers using our products.”

Then Came the Tweets
It was evident right away that Neenah’s customers enjoyed the access and the open dialogue, so it made sense that they would respond well to Twitter, the popular microblogging service. And they have. With almost 3,700 followers, Neenah conducts regular twitterviews with design mavens and industry insiders.

The concise style of these interviews, limiting questions and responses to 140 characters each, makes them very appealing in a fast-paced mobile world. Aside from the interviews, announcements about products, events and promotions can go out on a moment’s notice.

Come Together
But the most effective way to build a community is through creating and maintaining a blog. Neenah recently launched its newly designed blog “Against the Grain,” now formatted to further engage the design and print communities as well as be a spontaneous and resourceful source of information. Designed by Rule 29, the blog brings everything Neenah together in one place.

“Against the Grain is about creating conversation and building a sense of community. We had a lot of great information, but felt it was getting lost within our other communication channels. We sought to create a space where designers could go for information, ideas and inspiration. Like everything we do at Neenah, we want our users to have a great experience, and I think we achieved that with the enhanced blog,” explains Tom Wright, director of design for Neenah Paper.

Clear navigation buttons let readers see what others are saying via Twitter while making it easy to subscribe to Neenah’s additional social networking channels including Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr and YouTube. Users can also upload their own comments to a blog post or continue the dialogue with other readers through threads. With information more concisely communicated, they have all of the content in one place, making it easy to find old posts.

Justin Ahrens, creative director for Rule29, which created the blog’s new look and functionality, says, “We want the site to feel more like an online magazine than a typical blog. It’s not about being sales-oriented; rather, it’s about being a valuable resource that designers and printers can always turn to for inspiration and information surrounding the world that Neenah lives in.”

In addition to the added features and direction, the color palette was updated. Inspired by the blog name, Against the Grain, it uses earthy browns, tans and grays to reflect Neenah’s clean, simple design aesthetic and the tones found in wood grains. The addition of accent colors, type fonts and image treatments all add up to an unexpected blend yet is cleanly organized. It speaks volumes about Neenah’s sense of design and involvement in color and technology.

But at the end of the day, it’s the content that keeps users coming back. As managing editor for Against the Grain, Matt Porter brings a unique perspective to the table, and an obvious appreciation for good design. Not to mention over two decades of writing for design publications such as Communication Arts and Step Inside Design.

“Against the Grain was created to celebrate all things about the people and personalities who love design – especially the tangible artifacts created through paper, ink and printing. We understand that not everything can or should be printed, but it is our philosophy that ‘when you print, do it well.’ The people and organizations that we feature on the blog pages are the kinds who do it well, day after day, year after year. We are proud to call them friends of Neenah Paper.”

Ahrens sums up, “Overall, designers today are devouring blogs for technology tips, ideas and inspiration.” The right design, Ahrens believes, does more than transmit information; it promotes fellowship between writer and reader, customer and company.

To visit Against the Grain, go to www.neenahpaperblog.com. And by all means, tell them what you think.

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