Social support for UK’s largest independent forecourt operator
In real life, Motor Fuel Group never stops expanding. But on social media it was a different story. When it first came to us, its foot wasn’t exactly on the gas.
Social media management
Website development
Hosting and maintenance
+ 90.7% Engagement growth
In the first six months
+ 157.5% Post link clicks
In the first six months
4,000,000 Impressions
In the first six months
+ 132.2% Video views
In the first six months
Meet Motor Fuel Group (MFG), the UK’s largest independent forecourt operator. While you might not have heard its name, we can almost guarantee you’ve filled up with petrol at one of its sites.
It offers everything you need from a forecourt – fast food chains, supermarkets, convenience stores, post lockers, car wash facilities, and EV chargers – which means it has a huge customer base. Think eco-conscious EV drivers, long-distance commuters, and pretty much anyone who owns a car.
MFG boasts an impressive portfolio of partners (all the big names), from Esso, Murco, Morrisons and Londis, to Burger King, Greggs and Pret. Our challenge? To make sure its social media fully showcases these partnerships.
MFG was in a tricky position. Its in-house social media manager left on a Friday, and by Monday morning, we had taken over. No gentle handover. We went full throttle. That level of reactivity has set the tone for our relationship with MFG ever since.
It needed a team who could act as an extension of itself, organising a huge variety of departments (EV charging, food to go, ESG, valeting, infrastructure, HR, and more), all while ensuring that each one was equally represented on social media.
Luckily, this wasn’t our first rodeo with MFG. We’d run its social media in the past, built one website, and we’re currently in the process of building another. So when things got difficult, they could trust us to slot seamlessly back in.
We weren’t working in an easy market
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The audience
An extremely wide target audience, each subsection with unique interests, needs and pain points.
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The posting
Inconsistent, with formulaic, repetitive captions and limited calls to action.
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The competition
A market dominated by household names with already substantial followings on social media.
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The transition
Moving from an in-house social media manager to an external agency could be challenging. If we were going to post consistently, we needed to quickly make ourselves known to key contacts in each department, setting up effective lines of contact with each of them.
We streamlined communication with key departments to ensure strategic and consistent posting. Here’s how we did it:
- Scheduled a weekly inter-departmental meeting to streamline communications.
- Created a shared content calendar on Notion where department leaders could track our progress in real time.
- Developed unique communication methods with different department leads to suit their needs.
- Reported on key performance metrics and top performing posts month on month, encouraging certain post types based on data.
How did we elevate MFG’s social presence?
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Social media management
- Strategically planned content calendars to ensure a balanced representation of MFG’s offering.
- Created timely, reactive posts to communicate upgrades and expansions.
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Social video editing
- Edited weekly social-first video interviews of MFG’s Contract Managers, showcasing life at MFG and bringing in new manager applications.
- Advised on how to optimise video scripts for socials.
- Created engaging, social-optimised captions with persuasive calls to action designed to drive traffic to MFG’s website.
- Reached over 600,000 individuals and gained over 800,000 impressions in the last quarter through organic posting.
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Social branding
- Built brand recognition through branded social assets.
- Implemented a consistent MFG tone of voice across all social platforms.
- Briefed MFG partners to create collaborative branded assets.
In the first six months, we achieved…
- A 90.7% increase in engagements
- A 157.5% increase in post link clicks
- A 132.2% increase in video views
- Net audience growth of 40.6%
Compared to the previous six-month period.
“Since we started video testimonials from our Contract Managers (Franchisees) on Social Media, our applicant numbers have more than trebled. The team at First Internet are quick to edit the videos & prepare the posts for approval. They are ready weeks in advance!”
Scott Mackenzie, Recruitment and Training Manager
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