What was your journey until taking on this role in the company?
I have a degree in Oriental Languages and Civilizations and did my internship in Calcutta. After some work experiences, I joined PELFA Group, a company founded by my father. Here, being a small company at the time, the communication part was missing. Therefore I started working on brand reputation to create communication that would allow us to go beyond simple word of mouth. I started creating presentations and collaborating with schools, also participating in fairs and events. I opened the brand's social channels, following them until around 2019. In 2022 my father and I left PELFA Group and obtained HPG, a satellite brand that already covered another market niche. In recent years we have revolutionized and reorganized the interior and corporate, launching ourselves towards the future with clear projects. Now, with the support of the internal team, I coordinate HPG's marketing and communication, both online and offline.
What do you think about social media in the B2B market segment?
Basically, nowadays, people search for brands first on social media and then look for the website. I would therefore say that these channels are cardinal in the digital world as we know it today. In second place, in importance, I place the digital press because it has more impact and long-lasting than the paper press. HPG works on both the Italian and foreign markets, which is why we know the dynamics of both. We have noticed that abroad people are more dynamic and willing towards smart solutions, such as QR Codes linked to trade fairs and the brand. In Italy, perhaps, not all the tools that digital makes available are yet used.
Which social network is more in line with your business model and which is less?
The social network closest to HPG is certainly LinkedIn: it allows us to communicate with professionals and companies in our niche. More visual platforms like Instagram and TikTok are quite far from our target. X, or Twitter, still has a political flavor in Italy even though there are numerous companies moving to this platform. If we had to choose a social network where videos are the protagonists, YouTube would be the one most in line with our most institutional and serious communication.
The data shows that having a low number of followers damages the brand image, what do you think?
In my opinion it is a metric that still has a huge impact on the perception that people have of a particular brand or influencer. It is a detail that is underlined and pointed out, often in a negative way. For the moment at HPG we are not taking actions to increase our fan base because we are focusing on internal changes and new projects. In this way we will be able to create coherent communication that will fully represent us.
How important are online reviews, are they important?
In the steel industry it is very difficult to obtain reviews. This is a B2B niche where there are practically never contacts with non-professionals in the sector. At HPG it is very challenging to engage professionals enough to receive public feedback because often these are interactions over the phone involving product commissioning. Personally, I have learned to give due weight to the online judgment of others, realizing that reviews are often also used as "blackmail".
Have you ever collaborated with professionals regarding the social sphere?
I have never collaborated with agencies because, being often involved in the social sphere, the company consequently received articles and news from important newspapers. In general I am very open to external collaborations and I believe that there are many entities that could benefit from support from agencies. It's an exchange that I find profitable for both sides.
What are the future corporate communication projects?
HPG has a reorganization project in which a new company will also enter. We will revisit all communication and also focus on the new operational headquarters. There are many new features and projects coming up for which we can't wait to be able to create an ad hoc communication to talk about them in the best way.