How Format became a must have tool for social media teams

How Format became a must-have tool for social media teams

Matt Sayward saw the teams he managed needed a tool to help increase the quality and quantity of their assets – so he designed Format and revolutionised the way they worked.

How Format started

“I’m constantly thinking of ways to optimise workflow,” says Format co-founder Matt Sayward.

“And what Format can do, particularly in commercial campaigns, is remarkable.”

Format co-founder Matt has a knack for spotting opportunities for improvement. He began his career as a digital marketing executive at Waterstones after emailing head office while working on the shopfloor, and suggesting five ways they could improve their digital strategy.

From there he went to JOE where he headed up their podcast business as their first dedicated audio hire before launching Platform Media, his own podcast production company, alongside co-founder Matthew Sherry.

Format came to fruition when Matt noticed the bottlenecks created in brands and media companies when trying to create social assets.

“To get an asset for a breaking news story on Instagram or Facebook, you need to have a reasonable understanding of InDesign or ask a graphic designer to create the asset for you. If you’re in a breaking news environment, that can really slow the process down.”

Format can reduce the time it takes to create assets by up to 90%

“To get an asset for a breaking news story on Instagram or Facebook, you need to have a reasonable understanding of InDesign or ask a graphic designer to create the asset for you.

“If you’re in a breaking news environment, that can really slow the process down.”

What came next...

Convinced there must be a more efficient way to create social assets, Matt started toying with various apps and some basic coding knowledge to see if he could come up with a foolproof way to create assets quickly and error free.

Eventually, Format was born.

The way Format works is simple. A template can be added to the Format app, and through a series of drop down menus; text, brand logos and watermarks can be added.

“It makes brands and media outlets so much more agile in the field,” says Matt. “When time is of the essence, having a foolproof way to create assets on the fly means vital resources are saved and it will ultimately lead to greater brand exposure and increased revenues.”

And outlets using Format have already reaped the benefits.

James Haskell and Mike Tindall’s podcast, The Good, The Bad and The Rugby, was an early adopter of Format. When the match day team for an England game at Rugby World Cup 2023 was announced, they had the news live on their socials at such speed that they received a call from the RFU asking them how they’d published so quickly.

“You could be on the top of a mountain with one bar of signal and still get the announcement out in 30 seconds,” says Matt. “Things like the 30 or 40 players in the squad have already been added to the app so it’s just a case of selecting the right ones from a drop-down-menu and adding them to the template.

“In a social or newsroom environment, the things that matter most are speed, being first and accuracy. Whoever breaks the news will have the highest engagement and then get more algorithmic reach off the back of that.

“What it can do in terms of commercial campaigns is remarkable too.”

But don’t just take our word for it, The Good, The Bad and The Rugby have cited Format as a significant contributor to their 86% growth in revenue, after using it as their primary tool to deliver campaigns and breaking news.

“I think Format can revolutionise the way we work,” says Matt. “From the biggest media outlets and sports brands to smaller businesses, it can empower people across the business and democratise how people get content to market.

“I’m so excited to see how this will radically change things for the better for so many people.”