What is Social Media

The use of electronic tools for the purpose of sharing and discussing information and experiences with others…

Social Media v/s Traditional Media

Why Social Media

93% say a company should have presence in social media

85% say a company should use it to interact with them

Almost 60% of Americans interact with a brand on a social media site

56% feel a stronger connection to brands when use social media

It’s About Relationships, Not Pitches

Monitor your brand and reputation online

Social Media Exposure: Better Than Traditional Ads and Cheaper

Monitor others brands/reputations

Interact with your consumers

Track ROI better

Men/Women 18-34 yrs

33% want companies to market to them via social media

Fashion Industry & Social Media

The hottest trend in fashion right now is Social Media. Social media has become the hottest trend since skinny jeans and stiletto heels

Journalists, fashion incubators, retail gurus and people who were just plain interested in the industry are weighing in on a topic via social media that has notoriously shut its doors to anyone deemed an outsider.

In the past six months, the amount of fashion insiders embracing social media has skyrocketed. The Fashion Industry has adopted social media as a marketing platform to reach their customers online & reignite brand passion and customer loyalty.

By letting the public behind the fashion influencer curtain, stalwarts and luminaries have created and connected to an entirely new audience, and capitalized on the 400 million Facebook users and more than 22 million Twitter users.

Von Furstenberg is one of the most beloved and popular designers on Twitter having over 22,000 followers. The viral marketing capabilities of re-tweeting by this targeted group is something an advertising budget cannot buy. Within the last year of having a major online and social media presence, von Furstenberg’s online traffic has increased by 13% and sales “have been great” according to a source in the corporate offices of DvF.

Victoria’s Secret, has 2.63 million fans on Facebook and 1.7 million for Pink— thorough which the brand is able to connect with their customers and monetize on it through awareness, loyalty and engagement.

Fashion Industry Uses Location-Based Marketing

Marc Jacobs partnership with Foursquare

Fashion giant Marc Jacobs used location-based services Foursquare to deliver its brand messages to its customers.

For Fashion Week 2010, the brand decided to go beyond just digitally streaming their runway shows. It took the online interactions offline through Foursquare.

Marc Jacobs and Foursquare created the “Fashion Victim” badge, which allowed Fashion Week attendees (and others) to “check-in” at any Marc by Marc Jacobs stores in New York and around the country to unlock the badge. Four people who unlocked the badge in New York were randomly chosen to receive tickets to the Marc Jacobs show. The partnership provided both Marc Jacobs and Foursquare with word of mouth marketing.

Foursquare and other location-based services like Loopt and Gowalla offer retailers the opportunity to increase in-store visits and foot traffic. If executed well, these location-enhanced shopping experiences can translate into improved customer loyalty, referrals, and sales, both online and offline.

Tasti D-Lite the frozen dessert chain popular in New York ,rolledout TastiRewards a rewards program that incentivizes customers to associate their Twitter and Foursquare accounts with their Tasti D-Lite membership cards. By syncing their loyalty programs with Foursquare, they’re enabling frequent shoppers to share their recent purchases with their communities. When a user posts shopping tips or deals at a particular location, that post is essentially an advertising impression on Foursquare, Twitter and Facebook.

Social Media Strategies

Getting Cozy in Communities

The majority of the industry thought this would tarnish brand image if they engaged in social media. Now almost every brand or retailer, from American Apparel, Sears and JCPenney, to Oscar De La Renta and Louis Vuitton , have created a presence in several social communities.

Social Media Strategies contd..

Creating Niche Communities

Fashion Brands are experimenting with development of their own social networks or even invitation-only communities. Luxury brands Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel and Burberry have launched their own social networks or added social components to their existing web sites

niche communities such as Weardrobe (recently purchased by Like.com), Modepass, and Lookbook.Nu,have yielded impressive ROI, as their audiences are more likely to become loyal customers

Niche Communities

Social Media Strategies contd…

Embracing Mobile Applications

Fashion Brands have taken to developing apps via iPhone in a big way.Chanel shows its runway collections via iPhone app, and the Gilt Groupe app allows users to

shop sample sales and receive alerts as to when sales are starting.StyleCaster’s app lets users access style tips, individually customize news feeds and fashion

trends, and houses a large online retail catalog of brand-name clothing.JustLuxe is a digital global concierge company whose extremely interactive app comes with over

1,000 member benefits. Utilizing GPS, the app will recommend participating restaurants and hotels in the user’s area. It’s the first style-oriented app that leverages location-based mobile marketing

JustLuxeStyleCaster

Social Media Strategies contd…

The Rise of Style Bloggers

In 2009, bloggers had an enormous impact on fashion, affecting everything from print publishing to how brands market themselves online. There are thousands of style-related blogs on the web these days, and those dedicated to their craft have earned industry recognition.

Social Media Strategies contd…

The Impact of User-Generated Content

User-generated content is key to social media and fashion. From blogs to Facebook photo contributions to product reviews –- user-generated content is where it’s at.

More brands are realizing the collective power of their customers’ networks by encouraging fan contributions.

One of the most notable and consistent campaigns built around user-generated content and social engagement has been from the brand Charlotte Russe. The brand’s weekly trivia contest on Twitter drives followers to the web site or YouTube channel with the hope of snagging some excellent prizes (the brand recently gave away a jacket worn on Gossip Girl).

Charlotte Russe is running “Be The Next Charlotte Russe Design Star” a t-shirt design contest where the winner will have his or her shirt produced and sold online. A fashion-filled trip to NYC is also included

Another great example of user-generated content used in conjunction with a niche network is Burberry’s Art of the Trench site.

The Impact of Bloggers on New York Fashion Week

New York Fashion Week Feb10 Social Conversations

In past 30 days leading to the NY fashion week , there have been 15,996 online articles, blog posts, tweets and discussions on New York Fashion Week 2010.

Fashion Week Trends In Real-Time: 45% of NYFW participants used Twitter to discuss events. From models to designers, PR gurus to celebrities, people tweeted and twitpic’d their experiences.

Fashion Week Is Written In-Real Time : 53% of the coverage came from online articles and blog posts occurring between 2/13/2010 to 2/20/2010. As magazines posted photos and commentary of shows, bloggers were hot on the heels, reblogging, writing and linking to photos and trend information as they were released.

Established news outlets led real-time coverage: Bloggers used the CUT blog, New York magazine and Coutorture as their main fashion week news sources. NY Mag and Coutorture are established, mainstream fashion resources.