This social media presentation was geared towards students and professionals in the fashion industry as part of the Fashion Group International's Professional Development Day on October 16, 2010 in San Diego, CA. Includes 6 high-level best practices that can be applied to most social media programs in addition to actionable takeaways that will help businesses and individuals build authentic relationships with desired community members online.
social media is marketing’s “it” girl. There’s a lot of people who want to use it or think they should use it, but only a handful are doing it in a way that makes sense to their customers.When the economy took a dive a few years ago, companies across all industries were forced to do more with less, and that’s where social media came into play.Traditionally, in the fashion industry, there were many barriers between businesses and individuals trying to sell a product or service and their end users. It was customary to go through some type of media outlet to get exposure, but social media allows anyone to communicate with anyone, so many brands have evolved into their own media sources on top of what they sell, to communicate with end users and provide valuable content that fosters relationships and leads to brand loyality and evangelism.Today I’d like to talk about this new dynamic between businesses and customers and how you can utilize social media to connect with people that have an impact on your business, whether that’s end customers, retailers, employers, and the media.
Why should people follow you?What are some of the reasons people follow brands on Twitter or Facebook?The effectiveness of social media communications is reliant upon the content you provide – what are you giving people?
Several studies and surveys have been conducted to find out what motivates people to follow brands on social sites, and by and large, the #1 reason most people follow businesses is to receive special offers and discounts. But be careful of this tactic, because unless you’re prepared to make these offers consistently, you will lose people. Instead, think about other content people like to receive that’s relevent to your industry and the product or service you provide.