3 Reasons Fashion Brands Rock All Social Media Platforms

 Across almost every social media platform, fashion companies have retained more followers than any other industry, and continue to do so using 6 different techniques that make it hard for users to ignore. During fashion week, Michael Kors fashion week board on Pinterest gained over 90,000 followers(Meyers, 2014) before his fashion show even took place. So how are these companies creating such hype amongst their brands?

1. Pictures are worth 1000 Tweets 
Platforms such as Vine, Instagram, and Pinterest are growing in popularity, and all three allow you to promote your brand or company using more than 140 characters. These social networks are also extremely visual and tend to be the most powerful for "product related conversations" amongst consumers. Because consumers have the ability to say whatever they want, and however much they want, about a certain product or brand, the conversations are driven by people, instead of only the brand itself. This is a great way to generate free earned media and traffic. Pinterest alone is already responsible for 23% of social media purchases (Meyers, 2014).

2. Tell a Story about Your Customers' Lifestyle (or the One They Wish They Had)
When coming up with a social media strategy, make sure you are targeting a clear customer, and telling a story that applies specifically to them. You don't want to focus solely on displaying your product, but rather on targeting a specific consumer and their needs or wants. A great example of this is seen by Kate Spade, and the #ohnewyork tweets that are trending from a New York "fashionista" who makes her way around the city sporting Kate Spade clothing and representing the brand in the most stylish way possible. The main takeaway is to think about who is using your specific product or brand. Your social media platform should explain to that customer segment how you are going to improve or change that specific area of their life. 

3. Online is the New Offline 
An example of this was mentioned in my last blog post about Fashion Week and the popularity it's gained through social media. By live streaming all of the shows, the industry was able to "bring the offline world of the tents to the entire Internet" (Meyers, 2014). In addition to live video, brands like J. Crew are using Pinterest to debut their fall catalog. By making their fall catalog exclusive to their Pinterest followers, J. Crew is giving consumers an incentive to to follow them via social media. Once they follow you on Pinterest, it is only a matter of time before they search your company on Instagram, Facebook, and every other social media platform. If you are struggling with figuring out what to put on social media, consider taking offline messages to online, and promoting them more efficiently through a platform that is the best fit for the particular message.

By tweaking your social media strategy to better incorporate the tips described above, your company, and it's entire image, will become public in the best way possible.

Notable Citation:  http://www.inc.com/stephanie-meyers/6-social-media-tricks-fashion-brands.html

How Social Media has Revolutionized Fashion Week

A decade ago, fashion week used to be “hush-hush” and extremely exclusive to the outside public whom had no connection(s) in the fashion world. Today, runway shows are streamed live online and even backstage cameras are present to give everyone a sneak peek of behind the scenes footage. Social media is not only transforming the industry’s brand, but the fan base as well by giving consumers and fans a voice. Through social media platforms like Twitter, almost anyone can live tweet and express their opinions about individual collections. 

In the past, editors were completely in charge. They picked out pieces from certain collections and made the final decision for what the public would see on the runway. Today, a high fashion magazine editor’s opinion, such as Anna Wintour from Vogue, is still extremely important; however, consumers at any income level have opinions that will influence what we will see on the runway.

Not only has social media revolutionized Fashion Week and the collections that designers choose to showcase, it has changed the industry as a whole forever. Designers such as BCBG no longer cater to only high-end cliental, but are now attracting younger consumers through Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Because runway shows are now streamed online, and designers such as Marc Jacobs and Tommy Hilfiger are connecting with consumers through all social media platforms, what’s considered “trendy” is accessible to almost anyone.

I enjoy the revolution that is taking place within the fashion industry due to social media. Not only are we able to voice our opinion about what we like and dislike, but also we are able to connect with our favorite designers with a click of a button. Social Media is making the fashion industry available to anyone regardless of his or her social status.