When it comes to driving online buzz for offline events, Instagram and the almighty hashtag are a PR pro’s best allies – assuming there’s something worth ‘gramming about of course! It’s crucial for event planners to think through how to harness digital to extend the value and build brand buzz for attendees and non-attendees alike.
ShoeDazzle, an online fashion subscription service with Kim K as one of its founders, took advantage of a popular Instagram photo trend to ensure plenty of social coverage during a series of influencer events, including a pre-NYFW event hosted by their Chief Stylist, Rachel Zoe.
Who: ShoeDazzle
What: The company wanted to increase social media engagement and change the way their shoes were photographed and shared. Capitalizing on the new selfie, the ‘#shofie,’ a selfie of your feet set against a captivating backdrop, ShoeDazzle introduced the “Shoefie and Repeat” instead of the traditional step and repeat to use at events. By providing event attendees (blogger, vloggers, and influencers) with compelling content for their social media channels, ShoeDazzle drove increased brand engagement on Instagram and beyond.
Where:
For a June influencer event in Los Angeles, Shoedazzle introduced a backdrop with sand and another with palm tree. The event focused on high-summer footwear the seasonally-appropriate imagery was chosen specifically to make the shoes to pop against the background.
At the aforementioned pre-NYFW event with Head Stylist Rachel Zoe, the event theme tied in ShoeDazzle’s September Collection, “Dark Romance.” A second image made it look like attendees were standing on a NYC sidewalk, adding in a hint of NYC romance to the event and a nod to the week ahead.
Each event had a specific hashtag, and many attendees used that as well as #ShoeDazzle on their photos.
Why: By looking at what was trending on social media and the idea that bloggers always need interesting content and great backgrounds to post on their social channels, the PR team realized that the Shoefie and Repeat was a natural, influencer-created extension of what their social team already posts to their more than 168k followers: aspirational shoe focused images.
Results: Shoedazzle has received more than 1 million impressions on Instagram from the June event alone. By providing an easy and fun way to encourage influencers to post about the event, ShoeDazzle increased engagement and amassed usable user generated content that is both branded and includes product.
