…The from my amazing hotel bed with 8,000 pillows in Austin (please just one more day to shop!) edition…

21 Mistakes Fashion Designers Can Make (via Fashion Incubator)

• 7. Not learning about marketing your product. Find a good marketer or sales rep and explain your product and sales vision then listen and decide. Diane Von Furstenberg represented her line successfully in the beginning. Anna Sui did very well for years with a sales rep until she went out on her own. Know your marketing capabilities or find an expert.

Is  Fashion Week Worth the Bother? (via The Cut)

• Do fashion shows still matter? And are these clothes worth the nine-hour flights? Everyone can view the collections online, and more houses each season are live-streaming shows online.

Fashion’s Strong Electronic Push (via JC Report)

• Efforts from brands and retailers continue to be focused on new and interesting ways to engage users. It is now beyond offering editorial commentary or special features that integrate customers into the curatorial experience.

How to Write for Search Engines Without Knowing SEO (via Social Media Explorer)

• Here’s a quick way to get started with smart SEO copywriting without having to know a lot about search engine optimization. Let’s start simple. Drop your website’s URL into the free Google Adwords Keyword Tool to see a list of what Google thinks your website is about. (Don’t worry with what this tool is supposed to be used for.

Fern Mallis: Bloggers Need to Unionize (via IFB)

• Granted these days, bloggers can get into the tents quite easily, the accreditation process is rather hit or miss, established bloggers have a hard time getting into shows, while brand new bloggers get in with no problem. There is a disconnect as fashion houses, PR agencies and organizations like IMG act as gate keepers, but still don’t know how to handle the change in fashion media.

Is Kell on Earth an accurate portrayal of Fashion PR? (via EHS)

• The PR firm I intern at doesn’t work with as high-profile clients as Kelly, but from my experiences and friends’ experiences interning at various companies, I’m here to compare and contrast the statements the show makes.

Burberry 3-D Live Stream (via Business of Fashion)

• What’s missing? Greater authenticity. While maintaining the spirit and standards of the Burberry brand must have been of paramount importance, so is providing an authentic and real experience for all the participants. Since when was it acceptable for a CEO and creative director to give a PR pitch before a fashion show starts? Unfortunately, the pre-show promotion felt rehearsed and forced, and detracted from this otherwise brilliant initiative.

The Impact of Fashion Bloggers on NYFW (via Fashionably Marketing)

• Only 2.25% of fashion bloggers wrote original, in-depth coverage of events they attended on their blogs (the 2.25% were related to bloggers in the “Top Authors” photo below). Most bloggers covered trends and featured photos on runway shows they liked by referencing more established news sources (outlined above). It’s fair to say that bloggers who work on cultivating and curating their own web content (as well as join together to form networks) will rise to the top and stand out thousands of other would-be fashion bloggers. The findings on original content are supported by the WWD coverage of Chictopia Conference and summaries of the Evolving Influence conference.

Putting on a fashion show (via Reuters)

• From models and stylists to electricians and invitation writers, some 8,000 people are involved in this February 24 – March 1 Milan fashion week, according to Italy’s National Chamber of Fashion, which organizes the event.

DIY PR: Press Releases by the lovely Lauren Rich (via Young, Fabulous and Self-employed)

• There are various tools to help enhance and execute effective communications strategies for your business — simple DIY PR essentials for any new company wishing to increase brand awareness, tap into their target market, and ultimately increase their bottom line. First up: the press release.

Can social media save haute couture? (via The Star)

• The precious enclave of the Paris-based couture industry – fashion at its haute-iest pinnacle – is as much a talking point for bloggers and tweeters as the latest misstep of a Hollywood starlet.

Why Brands Still Fear Working With Bloggers. (via Yuli Z)

• While blogging is evolving as a business and profession for many of us, I think it’s important to recognize the differences between various groups of individuals in the fashion blogging landscape and avoid the very comfortable stereotyped thinking, especially if your job is to create and manage online media relationships for a designer or brand.

Vote! Fashion 2.0 Social Media Awards (via Style Coalition and ideeli)

• ideeli and Style Coalition invite you to participate in our first Fashion 2.0 Social Media Awards that celebrate fashion designers and brands for outstanding social media activity.

Should Fashion Brands Hire Agencies For Social Media Marketing? (via FMM)

• Brands and retailers often hire consultants to construct social marketing campaigns and plans that they can implement in-house. But after some trial and error, they often discover it’s more cost effective for them to let a agency or consultant handle certain aspects of online marketing and PR.

Chanel learns to think like a Media Company (via BOF) – make sure to read the comments too!

• Chanel’s real content focus has been in the digital space, harnessing Karl Lagerfeld himself to create increasing volumes of original content for digital distribution, especially around the brand’s showcase “Métiers d’Art” collections, which underscore Chanel’s unique commitment to the traditional Parisian ateliers the firm acquired in 2002 — costume jewellers Desrues, embroiderers Lesage, milliners Michel, feather-makers Lemarié, cobblers Massaro, floral designers Guillet, and silversmiths Goosens — a strategic point of differentiation.