Written by Martha Chavez
Fashion is eye candy the social customer can’t help engaging with. Whether it’s outfit photos shared on Facebook, devouring the unique point of view of fashion bloggers, waking up early to stream a runway collection that just a few years ago would have gone sight unseen for those not in the industry, social media and fashion are a match made in sartorial heaven.
Tamara Littleton, CEO of eModeration recently penned a whitepaper that highlights how leading fashion brands are harnessing the power of social media for business success. While the entire 14 page whitepaper is worth a download, below are some of the highlights:
Brands like ASOS not only manage customer service queries through social media, but they have actually created specific customer service channels. “ASOS has set up its ‘ASOS Here to Help’ sub-brand for Twitter and Facebook, to take customer service issues off its main pages and into a dedicated customer service page.” Making separate pages specifically for this purpose take issues off the main page and provide a dedicated place for questions, concerns and package tracking.
At Ted Baker, customers can pose in front of an Instagram photo booth. “100 of them will be transformed into artwork by a team of fashion illustrators. The artwork will be used in stores and Facebook (and customers get to keep the signed, framed illustration).” Love this idea!
Littleton acknowledges that while Pinterest is still in its infancy the site has been known to drive more new customers than Facebook and calls out Victoria’s Secret for their “VS Bikini” campaign. Part of testing new channels includes figuring out appropriate metrics of success. Littleton writes that “how well it works isn’t recorded; while 12,000 people are following the pins, only 188 pictures have been pinned to date.” (I’m making a guess here as to the why, anyone else?!).
Beyond Pinterest, Littleton recommends taking note of how Tiffany’s and Oscar de la Renta (Oscar PR Girl) are using Instagram “to post behind-the-scenes photos, outfits, and even invite followers to post their own pictures and participate in contests.”
Social media has shifted the power over to consumers and fashion brands are using these channels to get immediate feedback on garments, acquire and retain new customers and collaborate on new opportunities that increase brand loyalty, and ideally, increase their bottom line.
