Online fashion blogs are a relatively new concept; fashion organisations have noticed the popularity of viral video marketing and are now using the technique to their own advantage. “To go viral online, if you all you do is hold our attention, you’ve failed. In viral videos, your job isn’t to keep viewers from changing the channel”. (Voltz, et al. 2013, p2). Organisations strive to be noticed, if a video goes viral then this is a seriously effective way of getting a brand message shared quickly. Youtube is a well known video blogging site which allows users to like and share user generated content “Viral video is about sharing. That makes it different from every other kind of picture ever made.” (Voltz et al. 2013, p2). Businessess use YouTube in order to promote their own material or simply make themselves know. Some viral videos are unrelated to the brands product or service, but the fact that theyre being mentioned is enough to create brand recognition. An example of this is the Cadburys adverts.

“There are four core principles that we’ve found are crucial for you  to understand:

1. Be true
2. Don’t waste our time
3. Be unforgettable
4. Ultimately it’s all about humanity” (Voltz et al. 2013, p5).

Cadburys created a video of two children moving their eyebrows to a techno song, completely unrelated to their confectionary products, this video had everyone talking about the brand name. “It’s to get them to love what you’ve made so much that they want to stop what they’re doing to tell their friends”. (Voltz et al. 2013, p2).

Cadbury. (2007). eyebrow dance

These adverts are wild and wacky, another Cadbury advert is this Gorilla playing the drums…

Cadbury. (2007). Cadbury Gorilla.

Examples of viral fashion videos

LANVIN FALL WINTER 2011-2012 AD CAMPAIGN

Lanvin. (2012). Fall Winter 2011/ 12.

These supermodels Karen Elson , Raquel Zimmermann, Lowell Tautchin and Milo Spijker are well known for their professional outlook; here they are here dancing along to Pitbull’s 2009 hit “I Know You Want Me”. This video combine’s comedy and shock, viewers share this video with their friends. “Were more likely to share something that gets us fired up” (Voltz et al. 2013, p3).

PRADA CANDY L’EAU

Prada. (2013). Prada candy

Prada created a new perfume in 2013 called Candy L’eau, the advertisement combined stylish fashion statements with well known stars. The key to this video was the comedy values and the attention grabbing style. This advertisement is an example of how fashion can be engaging and comical. When youre trying to make a fashion video go viral, take this into consideration. The fashion world is full of seriousness, try to have some fun!

ART IS DEAD. JEANS ARE ALIVE. STARRING AMY POEHLER

Comedian Amy Poehler is featured in this viral video, the video pokes fun at the art world. Although the clothing and style of these models is outlandish, its eye catching. Fashion is all about expressing yourself and making yourself known. This video is memorable and  the business also published the outtakes for the world to see, with comments such “This piece is aggressive, it’s dangerous, it’s stupid and that’s why I like it.” This makes the video engaging, users want to laugh and enjoy fashion.

LADY GAGA – TELEPHONE FT. BEYONCE

Old Navy. (2014). Art is dead.

Lady GaGa is a well known star, famous for her good looks and charm, she paired up with Beyonce to create a music video called  “Telephone” in 2010. You may be wondering how this is linked to the fashion industryo.. it was styled by Nicola Formichetti. A well known designer can get people talking, an opportunity for fashion to be displayed in a pop video means that both pop and fashion enthusiasts will like and share it. Encouraging more than one category of viewer is a great way to increase the views on your video marketing campaign.

 Sh*t fashion girls say

The platform. (2012). Sh*t fashion girls say.

Sh*t Girls Say was viral video which spoke about the fashion industries stereotypical fashion leaders. This video makes the industry more relatable, it means that normal everyday people can gain an insight into the fashion world. It a good idea to try to make your viewers feel like theyre equal to you, if you ever find yourself being patronising rethink your strategy. “Were more likely to share something that makes us feel good” (Voltz et al. 2013, p3).

References

Cadbury. (2007). Cadbury Gorilla. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHjieD6CTYs. Last accessed 27/04/15.

Cadbury. (2007). Cadbury eyebrow dance. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aDCrYUKIMo. Last accessed 27/04/15.

Old Navy. (2014). Art is dead. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf_bMjJ8mK4. Last accessed 27/04/15.

The platform. (2012). Sh*t fashion girls say. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojnnSZcQEpc. Last accessed 27/04/15.

Lanvin. (2012). Fall Winter 2011/ 12. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwwcnUBY9Zg. Last accessed 27/04/15.

TatiaPllieva. (2014). First Kiss. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpbDHxCV29A. Last accessed 27/04/15.

Prada. (2013). Prada candy. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbRE10bmmpc. Last accessed 27/04/15.

Voltz, S., & Grobe, F. (2013). The viral video manifesto. McGraw-Hill Professional.

Are you following the right fashion brands on Instagram? Right now, more fashion brands than ever are using Instagram effectively to promote their latest products. As we all know fashion is about visual aesthetic and design so what better way of promoting your brand than using imagery and videos directly to your fans smartphones, tablets or computers? Instagram has over 75 million daily active users (Kastrenakes, 2013). That’s 75 million potential customers.

“This is fashion in the age of Instagram, a heady era in which digital media is changing the way clothes are presented and even the way they are designed” (Schneier, 2014).

Visual brand identity is key

The success and popularity of Instagram is believed to be due to its simplistic interface, high usability and the focus on visuals rather than text (Henning, 2012; Rusli, 2012). The rise of visual content sharing sites such as Instagram and Pintrest indicates how visual content is becoming an increasingly important force for brand communication online. Through these sites fashion brands are able to promote and inform fans about both product and brand identity quickly and very cheaply. A study by Performics (2012) into social media engagement found that users are motivated by images and videos when engaging with friends on social media sites.

Here is are some examples of the most popular fashion brands on Instagram and how they are winning The Instagram Game:

Burberry

3.2 million followers

Burberry use Instagram to showcase its products and develop its image as a British brand by posting photographs taken around central London. The daily posts tend to get around 30,000 to 50,000 likes and hundreds of comments. Burberry has also engaged with its 3.2 million followers by posting videos of catwalk events and celebrities wearing Burberry products, for example the one in the screenshot. Burberry have connected their Instagram to their Twitter which is evident from the hashtags.

Zara

4 million followers

Zara are doing very well in engaging with their audience by posting at least one photograph a day gaining around 40,000 to 50,000 likes. Zara Daily provides fans with a photograph of a model wearing their clothing or accessories for every day of the week using the hashtag #zaradaily and the day of the week. They encourage traffic to their website by stating that the item of clothing is available from zara.com.

ASOS

2.7 million followers

Along with posting images of its latest ranges, ASOS place great emphasis on posting user-generated content which is a very effective way to build a connection with your audience, essentially creating a sense of community. Complementing this tactic, ASOS tend to reward their audience with prizes and discount codes for engaging with the brand.

Topshop

4 million followers

Topshop engage with their Instagram audience mainly through posting pictures of new ranges of products and promoting sales and discounts. In this particular post they have used Cara Delevingne in the photograph which is quite effective in grabbing the attention of the consumers who in turn like the page resulting in an increased awareness of the sale as the more people who like the page the more people who do not follow Topshop will see the picture.

Benefit Cosmetics

1.7 million followers

Benefit Cosmetics are rewarding their customers in this particular Instagram post by providing a discount code for their followers offering a free mini Benefit product. They have used the fact that Mother’s Day was approaching as a reason to treat their customers and at the same time gain custom their selves.

As demonstrated Instagram can be very powerful in creating a visual brand identity and consequently it is essential that all fashion brands make an effort to integrate it into their social media marketing strategies. It is a very clever strategy that manages to engage with consumers at the same time as promoting their own product ranges and driving traffic to their websites.

References

Henning, K. (2012). The Social Circle: A window to a designer’s soul. Available: http://www.wwd.com/media-news/digital/the-social-circle-a-window-to-designers-souls-614 8201

Kastrenakes, J. (2013). Instagram has more than 75 million daily active users. Available: http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/12/5203578/instagram-now-has-150-million-active-monthly-users. Last accessed 28th April 2015.

Performics. (2012). Life on Demand 2012: Participant behavior and social engagement. Retrieved from http://www.performics.com/assets/1/7/Performics_Life_on_Demand_2012_Summary_Deck. pdf

Rusli, E.V. (2012). Facebook buys Instagram for $1 billion. Available: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/facebook-buys-instagram-for-1-billion/

Schneier, M. (2014, Apr 10). Fashion in the Age of Instagram. New York Times. Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/fashion/fashion-in-the-age-of-instagram.html?_r=0. Last accessed 28^th April 2015.

Who said Email Marketing is dead?

You’re probably like me, receiving tonnes of emails on a daily basis, half of which get deleted straight away, right? Although there are some that catch my eye and get me skimming through. The question is why? Is it because I just can’t resist the brand or is it their clever marketing strategies reeling me in?

Let’s take a look a recent email from Boots and see what they are doing right.

The first tactic I notice is that Boots have personalised the email to me using my first name which is quite an effective way of catching my attention and making me feel like the content could be something of my interest. Postma and Brokke (2002) suggest that personalization can significantly increase click-through rates. I must admit I would be less likely to click delete after seeing my name on the email pretty much straight away.

They have clearly displayed my Boots Advantage Card balance, stating ‘worth of points to spend’ letting me know I have money ‘to spend’ in store and encouraging me to go on to the website.

The email subject line is short and sweet ‘Spring into Summer with Order & Collect’ to engage the consumer. It introduces the new order and collect service along with eye-catching offers such as ‘save up to half price!’ inspiring the consumer to shop immediately.

There is a button saying ‘Get set for summer’ taking you straight to the website and of course, as you hover over the images HTML links appear meaning when clicked they take you straight to the website. They are taking advantage of the fact summer is coming and people are going on holiday and are willing to spend money on toiletries, especially sun-cream (it’s even in the picture!).

Email Marketing might be cheap and practical but is it effective?

A recent study by predictive analytics firm Custora discovered that customer acquisition via email has quadrupled in the last four years and now accounts for 7% of customer acquisitions (Devaney & Stein, 2013).

Even though email marketing is not as glamourous as social media marketing and other forms of marketing, many people believe it is still the most effective type of marketing mainly because it is permission-based. So technically you are not bombarding the consumer with unwanted junk as they have opted-in themselves.

Watch this interesting video on effective email marketing tips! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDk_MkVtD2k

References

Devaney, T. & Stein, T. (2013). Why Email Is Still More Effective Than Social Media Marketing. Available: http://www.forbes.com/sites/capitalonespark/2013/10/01/why-email-is-still-more-effective-than-social-media-marketing/. Last accessed 17th April 2015.

White, T. B., Zahay, D. L., Thorbjørnsen, H., & Shavitt, S. (2008). Getting too personal: Reactance to highly personalized email solicitations. Marketing Letters, 19(1), pp. 39-50.

Video blogging as a form of web-based communication can provide opportunities for social contact and interaction and help address issues of social isolation (Harley & Fitzpatrick, 2009). A well-produced video blog can have an impact on lead generation and brand awareness (King, 2014).

Here is an example of a fashion video blogger using YouTube as their platform. To raise awareness and gain more followers, the video blogger has connected their social media in the form of Facebook and Twitter underneath the video and also promoted their website stating there are more videos to view on their channel.

Video blogs can be integrated onto websites and shared on social media platforms, instantly boosting your companies SEO and ultimately driving traffic to your website. Facebook provides an effective platform for video blogs to be posted and usually creates a substantial response with likes, comments and people sharing the videos. ‘Shares’ raise awareness of the video as more and more people have access to viewing it and in some cases the video may go viral.

So this is an example of a video blogger sharing their video on Facebook to gain ‘likes’, comments and ‘shares’. They have over 2,000 likes, 124,845 views and 608 shares. This is an example of how a video blog can effectively increase awareness and drive traffic to view it through a social media platform.

Here is a guide to how to market your video blogs and increase your chances of getting your videos shared. http://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-social-video-for-marketing/

References

Harley, D. Fitzpatrick, G. (2009). Creating A Conversational Context Through Video Blogging. A Case Study of Geriatric1927.. Journal of Computers in Human Behaviour. 25 (3), 18th Feb 2015.

King, K. (2014). The Benefits of Video Blogging. Available: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/digital-marketing-video/the-benefits-of-video-blogging/426. Last accessed 18th Feb 2015.

Uganec, C. (2014). A Guide to Social Video and How it fits in your Marketing Plan. Available: http://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-social-video-for-marketing/. Last accessed 19th Feb 2015.