Beneath the Ink: An In-Depth Analysis of Ed Hardy's Social Media Ecosystem
1. Beneath the Ink
An In-Depth Analysis of Ed
Hardy’s Social Media Ecosystem
2. Ed Hardy: The Brand
Ed Hardy is a clothing brand started in 2002 by Don
Ed Hardy, a well-known tattoo artist.
The brand has grown to earn $20 million dollars in
revenue.
In 2004, fashion icon, Christian Audigier licensed
the rights and helped market directly to celebrities
and opened stores in well-known fashion areas.
Today, the brand has evolved to include more than
just clothing, offering styling tools, school supplies,
lighters and branded wine and beer.
3. Facebook
1.7 million fans with 16,288 people talking about this (as of 11/5)
However, this means only 0.9% of users are actually engaged.
Between July-September of this year, Ed Hardy acquired an
averaged of 12,694 new “likes” and 48,810 people talking about
the brand.
Content featured on the pages includes photos, links, call-to-
action statuses, and promotion for other social media.
Each post receive hundreds to thousands of likes.
Seven different community pages have been created by users for
Ed Hardy and Ed Hardy products. Some of the pages are regionally
specific (i.e. Australia, India). The pages range from 900 to 60,000
likes.
The Ed Hardy Facebook app has 30 monthly users.
4. Twitter
8,737 followers
Tweets are almost identical to Facebook posts, with
some even posted from Facebook directly.
Tweets include quotes, retweets of popular lifestyle
brands, and call-to-action tweets.
The call to action tweets did not receive as many results on
Twitter as they did on Facebook.
Average of one to two favorites, one to four
retweets, and zero to replies for each tweet.
Other Twitter accounts have been created for
various stores and types of product (shoes,
watches, etc). These accounts range from 100
followers to 5,000 followers.
5. Instagram
The Ed Hardy Instagram is the newest social
media account for the brand, with only 342
followers after launching in June 2012.
The photos include shots of merchandise and
sales, Instagram-themed polls, and tattoos.
6. YouTube
Despite having three separate channels associated with Ed Hardy,
the brand’s presence on YouTube is very weak.
EdHardyTV
60 subscribers for six videos. However, this channel hasn’t been
updated in four years.
Ed Hardy Brasil Shop
37 subscribers for 29 videos. This is the most dressed up
account, featuring an appropriate logo avatar and Ed Hardy-
themed background.
Ed Hardy Tattoo Movie
80 subscribers for seven videos. Account for the movie
associated with Ed Hardy and the brand. The movie came out in
2010, and the channel has not be updated since. However, it’s
worth noting that this channel still boasts the most subscribers.
7. Pinterest
26 followers, one board, zero pins
Eight pins total under the tag “Ed Hardy”
Featuring female products: bikinis, shoes, and
fragrance
50 boards featuring the tag “Ed Hardy”
25 boards specifically titled “Ed Hardy”
The others highlighting various themes, including
tattoos and fashion.
8. Ed Hardy Tattoo Artist App
Created in 2011, the app has had one update since
then and is available for both iPhone and iPad.
The app allows users to make their own Ed Hardy
tattoo designs, as well as have access to popular
designs from their mobile devices.
The app retails for $2.99, and out of 32 reviews, is
rated 3/5 stars.
Users praised the ability to make your own design
and the “awesome wallpapers.”
9. Other Social Media
Minimal presence across the remaining popular
social media sites: Tumblr, Foursquare, and Yelp.
Tumblr search results for both “Ed Hardy” and “EdHardy”
result in various related and non-related posts from users
on Ed Hardy.
Foursquare and Yelp were connected to various Ed Hardy
stores, as well as clubs with similar names and restaurants
serving Ed Hardy-brand alcohol.
10. SWOTs of Ed Hardy
Strengths
Strong community and fan base
Unique image and consistent voice
Creating a bridge between old and new (vintage photos, etc.)
Maintaining relevancy with pop culture posts (ex: women in binders)
Weaknesses
Lack of a concrete celebrity endorser
Actual audience is not inline with brand’s ideal demo
Brand believes they are more fashion savvy than is actually portrayed
Failed attempts at polls and call-to-action posts on social media
Opportunities
Utilize and grow on Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr
Add video producers to create new and engaging content for YouTube
Continue to be one of the most popular brands associated with the tattoo culture
Partnerships with new cultural icons, i.e. Sons of Anarchy
Threats
Previous connotations of the brand continue to dominate the image today (douchebag, Jon
Gosselin, Jersey Shore)
Lack of relevancy today, associated more with the early 2000s
Dependent on the fad culture of tattoos
Brand has failed to grow and evolve from it’s earlier image
11. Biggest Competition
Affliction, TapouT, and True Religion are the biggest competitors of Ed Hardy.
Affliction, centered on sports and music, is the closest in image to Ed Hardy
TapouT is revolves around sports
True Religion is focused on denim and clothing for men, women, and children
How they stand out
All three have stronger Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest presences than Ed Hardy.
The various social media accounts have some overlap, but mostly diversified
content on each platform.
Solid branding with MMA, UFC, and other prominent endorsers.
True Religion is the only brand of the three to have a Tumblr page
Affliction and TapouT both have blogs that are linked on the main website
How they fall behind
Despite solid Facebook likes for all three brands, they still fail to match the
volume that Ed Hardy has accrued.
No ties with other brands mean they have more flexibility.
12. Conclusions
The theme across all of the mediums was consistent. They focused
on the brand merchandise, tattoos, and pop culture.
Posts featured links to discounts on various items, old and new
photos of tattoos, and music videos, photos, and other media
related to pop culture.
On the other hand, the individual platforms are so similar that
updating the other accounts becomes redundant.
Facebook, having the biggest audience, stands out the most.
However, a user who likes them on Facebook gains nothing new
from following them on Twitter.
They have a surprisingly small following on social media for how
popular and big the brand is. They attract the kind of fan base that
thrives within the social stratosphere, however, are not leveraging
them for their full potential.
13. Recommendations
Diversify the different accounts.
Different content needs to be created for each platform. The brand has yet to
create a reason for fans to follow them across the different social media accounts.
Making the various platforms different will help attract more users, and more
engaging users.
Utilize the accounts
Pinterest and YouTube are currently wasting space for Ed Hardy. Adding boards
on Pinterest and generating new, original videos would help the accounts grow
and evolve.
Give a backstage pass
Ed Hardy is currently missing the behind-the-scenes angle in their social media. A
regular blog or tumblr account would give fans a glimpse at the world of Ed Hardy
while also diversifying the content they are providing.
Promote the accounts on the main site
Outside of Facebook and Twitter, all other social media accounts for Ed Hardy
are not linked to the main Ed Hardy site. A simple link with the proper image for
Pinterest and YouTube would add several hundreds of users instantly.
14. Links
Facebook
Official Page http://www.facebook.com/edhardy
http://www.facebook.com/search/results.php?q=ed
%20hardy&init=quick&tas=0.7293323688209057
Twitter
https://twitter.com/EdHardyOnline
https://twitter.com/search/users/ed%20hardy
Instagram
http://web.stagram.com/n/officialedhardy/
YouTube
EdHardyTV http://www.youtube.com/user/EdHardyTV
Ed Hardy Brasil Shop http://www.youtube.com/user/EdHardyBrasilShop
Ed Hardy Tattoo Movie http://www.youtube.com/user/edhardytattoomovie
Pinterest
http://pinterest.com/edhardyofficial/
http://pinterest.com/search/boards/?q=ed+hardy
http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=ed+hardy
App
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ed-hardy-tattoo-artist/id408945425?mt=8