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Social Media Marketing in the Fashion Industry From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

'Social Media Marketing in the Fashion Industry is a marketing style that allows brands to connect with their target market through Internet outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. According to Macala Wright Lee, CEO of FashionablyMarketing.Me, “Until recently, the fashion industry has been fashionably late to the social media party, refusing to adopt it at all, or merely adopting one-way communication via social networks and RSS feeds for sales and promotions” (2). Many brands initially believed social networking would weaken the relationship with consumers, but for most it has turned into a “genuine interaction between brand and client” (2).

Becoming a part of the social media network allows companies in the fashion industry to capture a larger audience. According to Macala Wright Lee, “The Fashion Industry has adopted social media as a marketing platform to reach their customers online and reignite brand passion and customer loyalty” (2). The easily accessible and inexpensive nature of the Internet makes it an ideal platform for building consumer trust and loyalty. Social media marketing does not only reach a significant demographic, it has the potential to create customers devoted to a specific brand. The online promotions, perks, and discounts offered by brands have some consumers choosing one brand over another. These online incentives increase brand competition and urge brands to optimize their social media presence.

How organizations use social media
Fashion brands have taken the opportunity to utilize social media in several ways, the most prevalent being advertising. The other uses include reporting news, updates, announcements, events, promotions, and customer service. This allows outsiders an inside look to what goes on. For example, organizations can use Facebook to promote events and give full news stories. They can use Twitter for shorter updates and announcements. Both social media sites have the ability to promote the brand. The company decides which sites to use and controls how these sites display their image.

Avoiding the use of social media platforms has been seen as detrimental to a brand’s success. Companies’ awareness of society’s dependence on technology drives them to delve into social media. In order to maintain their customer base, brands must be fully immersed in these technological trends. A study by Morgan Stanley shows mobile internet use will surpass that of desktop internet use by 2015 (5). Social media has enabled consumers to feel more “connected” to companies. It has also proven to give more exposure to individual brands.

Engagement Ads
Facebook developed engagement ads that allow more communication between the advertisers and the Facebook users. The most common form is a fan page where users can receive automatic updates, comment on ads, and RSVP to events. Fashion brands like American Apparel and Victoria’s Secret PINK take it a step further and include contests to further engage users. These small interactions of commenting, voting and “liking” activities allow brands to see what consumers like and dislike. The page’s fan base allows companies to pinpoint their actual target market.

Facebook has created a way to measure viral marketing by allowing page admins to track how often content is shared and how much has spread throughout the site. The brands benefit from being able to see which fans are sharing their material and it gives them a way to see their return on investment (ROI). Here are some terms Facebook provides to help advertisers know how engaging their ads are:


 * Interactions: Total number of comments, Wall posts, and likes.
 * Interactions Per Post: Average number of comments, Wall posts, and likes generated by each piece of content you post.
 * Post Quality: Score measuring how engaging your content is to Facebook users. A higher Post Quality indicates material that better engages users.
 * Posts: Number of posts your Page has made either on the Wall or in video.
 * Page Views: Number of times your Page has been viewed by Facebook users.
 * Stream CTR / ETR: This graph is a measure of the Click Through Rate and Engagement Rate for your content appearing in the Facebook News Feed. If a user clicks on one of your posts, that will be counted as Stream CTR. If a user likes or comments on one of your posts, that will be counted in the Stream ETR. Please note that Stream data is based on a sample and therefore is an estimate of your Stream CTR and ETR. (Coming soon)
 * Media Consumption: This graph tracks how many photo views, audio plays, and video plays your content have received.
 * Discussion Posts: Total number of discussion posts written by fans.
 * Reviews: Number of times your Page has been rated in the Reviews application.

Advertising through Apps
Companies have found ways to utilize apps on both social networking sites and mobile phones. The apps are predominantly used on iPhones for easy access to Facebook and Twitter. However, mobile applications are being created for the Android operating systems. The Android is used on several different phone providers where as the iPhone OS is only for the iPhone. The expansion of apps on the Android operating system increases marketing possibilities and consumer interest.

Gilt Groupe, a private discounted site for luxury clothing, created Android apps to promote their products. According to the Vice President of Product Management for Gilt, “The Gilt for Android App was specifically designed for Android-powered devices. Android users can now shop Gilt sales, preview upcoming sales, and invite friends from anywhere via multiple messaging channels, including sharing the app via QR code. In addition, unique to Android devices is the Gilt widget, which is always viewable on the phone so that Android users can see today’s sales even if they don’t have the Gilt app open” (6). Gilt has found multiple ways to market itself through just one custom-made app.

Facebook allows companies to choose a gaming app that markets for several brands or create an app specifically designed for one brand. Target released an application on Facebook for its Merona clothing brand. The app allows users to virtually play with the clothing by mixing and matching outfits while trying them on. The merchandise displayed in the game constantly changes to reflect only what is being sold in Target stores. It also increases traffic by linking users to that same item on their website.

Charlotte Russe
Charlotte Russe has a successful social media campaign with a strong following on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Their social media campaign is focused on “user-generated content and social engagement” (2). Charlotte Russe has a weekly trivia contest on Twitter, which compels consumers to visit their website. According to Wright Lee, “Charlotte Russe is running ‘Be The Next Charlotte Russe Design Star’ a t-shirt design contest where the winner will have his or her shirt produced and sold online” (2).

Diane von Furstenberg
Diane von Furstenberg is one of the most popular designers on Twitter. According to Hitha Prabhakar, a retail industry expert and principal of The Style File Group, “Within the last year of having a major online and social media presence, von Furstenberg’s online traffic has increased by 13%” (3). The brand uses the re-tweeting capability on Twitter to capture the attention of their target market.

Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton is a late adopter of social media sites, but that has not stopped them from building an advantageous campaign. According to Dana Gers, who specializes in marketing communications for luxury company’s, “Louis Vuitton broadcasts its spring 2010 ready-to-wear show live exclusively to Facebook followers, offering a big incentive for recruiting new fans and a reward to its most passionate customers” (1).