Fashion Brands on Social Media: One Step Closer to the Consumer

Gucci is doing it. So are Oscar de la Renta, Donna Karan, Target, Urban Outfitters, Louis Vuitton and Rachel Roy. This was the opening paragraph from one of WWD’s recent leading stories, ‘Social Media Rewrites the Rules for Brands’.

Even some of the most prominent designers you would have never expected to see using Twitter, Facebook or any other online social media, are making a point that such channels are radically changing the way fashion brands engage with their customers and prospects online.

Brands are coming to realize that people are interested to know beyond what’s hiding behind the fashion label. Oscar de la Renta does a great job in managing his Twitter profile by appointing what he calls the OscarPRGirl, to promote the brand ‘from inside one of the world’s most prestigious design houses’. Who wouldn’t want to know more about what goes on inside Oscar’s fashion empire?

Donna Karan tags right along with her very own PRgirl who provides the latest behind-the-scenes scoop from inside DKNY. And this is what people like to see, a more humanized, responsive and sensitive facet of the brand.

Social media channels offer great exposure for the brands and a great opportunity to reach out to customers, all this while profiting from all the free advertising and virality that comes with it.

“Customers can feel like they are part of the brand’s extended family, and therefore the brand itself, while the interactive element further deepens that relationship,” said Alex Bolen, chief executive officer of Oscar de la Renta. “These characteristics address and satisfy that ‘tribal’ part of the fashion consumer — the way in which people identify themselves by the brands they buy.”

Social media represents a powerful brand advantage that allows for both the brand and the consumer to engage in conversation while offering a fun and easy way to stay tuned on the latest products, lines, and promotions. As reported by Nielsen Media, Facebook and MySpace represent the most established social platforms with a retention rate of almost 70%.

One important fact that should not be overlooked by brands is that social media is here to stay, whether they evolve, lose, gain influence, it needs to be part of a holistic marketing strategy. As we know, the fashion world is constantly shifting and people’s habits are constantly changing too-particularly shopping habits- therefore, brands would need to adapt to these changes and keep up with the consumer and their demands.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 5:10 pm and is filed under Social Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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