To promote a brand through social media, sometimes, you have to focus on everything else. When we developed a social media marketing effort for YMI Jeans, it became clear that the target market was looking for more than the new styles and products that our client wanted to sell. To reach its goal, we created an integrated social media environment that used related information to attract likely customers and used it to draw them into a relationship with YMI.
We partnered with YMI Jeans to construct a customized social media presence that includes robust content development and community management for its blog, Twitter and Facebook … as a starting point. Of course, content has little value in front of a limited audience. To increase the value of YMI’s promotional material, we launched a collaborative initiative with musician Pete Wentz and his clothing line, Clandestine, to increase brand visibility, drive sales and attract social media users into an ongoing relationship to use as a foundation for future revenue generation.
For YMI Obsessed, our client’s blog, we conducted an interview with Wentz, using the content to drive membership on YMI’s fan page and to generate activity on Twitter. Proactive media outreach expanded the interview’s online footprint, as several high-profile, highly trafficked blogs picked up the story and made the interview YMI’s most popular blog post. After the initial spike, we found an increase in the traffic baseline, indicating that core readership increased substantially.
Blog traffic, of course, is an indicator of potential. Turning it into a business success requires both an innovative sales tool and a hook for reader retention and the development of an ongoing brand relationship. We developed a multifunctional Facebook application to accomplish both goals seamlessly.
Our application enabled readers to become fans of YMI Jeans and GoMerch on Facebook at the same time through an off-platform application. Potential customers were thus able to opt into the relationship without any disruption to their experiences on YMI Obsessed. The Facebook application was reinforced by targeted content – both written and photographic – to show how the YMI and GoMerch products fit together, delivering a complete experience for visitors and incentive to take the next step.
Visitors were rewarded for their efforts. When they responded to the blog candidate and became fans of YMI on Facebook – without having to leave the blog – we revealed an exclusive promotion code that provided a discount for products from YMI.
YMI was able to use this partnership with Wentz and Clandestine to gain substantial media attention, as several major blogs picked up the interview. The result was a proliferation of the YMI brand across the web. There’s no such thing as recession-proofing (don’t believe anyone who says otherwise), but an aggressive, unique social media marketing campaign provided an up-tick in brand visibility and sales in a difficult market. It’s possible to succeed, as long as you’re ready to venture into new territory.
Fashion brands and retailers are seeing not only the benefits of social media, but the need to enter the space. Every indicator points to the growth of this marketing approach. This means that social media marketing alone won’t be a differentiator. The specific social media techniques used to market the brand will determine where the consumer’s wallet will open. enter:new media is watching these trends and constantly develops and implements new measures to help our clients engage with their customers. As YMI Jeans saw, a collaborative effort with a complementary apparel company and a celebrity that matters to its market can be incredibly powerful.
