The fashion industry has hit a vein and it’s full of gold. Leaders such as the fashion giant, Oscar de la Renta has managed to cook up excitement, and intrigue into their new products and have used Twitter to help with the enduser ‘noise’ momentum. But let us be clear, not by just giving out raw information, but by cleverly mixing ‘business with pleasure’.
The Wall Street Journal writes about how Erika Bearman (Oscar de la Renta Director of Communications), did not just give raw information about products but would essentially tease her followers (oscarPRgirl), currently numbering over 170,000, and provide some vague personal information that has kept their many potential customers interested. She manages to get over 1,000 new followers each week and like the article mentions, even brings up suggestions from her twitter feed in board meetings.
- But what can the rest of us learn from Ms. Bearman’s, and Oscar de la Renta’s use of Twitter?
- Is it that interaction with customers and potential customers, leads to more enthusiasm?
- Or is it that just more information feeds consumer commitment and ultimately more sales?
The answer is probably a mixture of both, but we have to understand that the internet phenomenon that is Twitter is a lightening rod for consumer interests and passions. 170,000 followers sounds like a lot of fanboys, but knowing that there are 882 x more women in America kinda puts it into perspective. Oscar’s able to tap into the enthusiasm of the opinion leaders of the mass market of the fashion consuming world. These folks are willing to signal their interest in following what’s going on at the brand. This sets in motion the notion of a potential two-way dialog with the people and brands that you admire.
Imagine being able to not only follow what your favs are doing, but your comments on your favorite brand, movie star or athlete’s tweet you may in fact get a response from that brand, star or athlete. It’s this potential that I believe excites people and what should have many companies getting excited about getting into – particularly those involved in particularly personal expressions of one’s personality, character and attitudes.
For consumer brands, Twitter is becoming an invaluable method of direct contact with your most passionate customers, a rare channeled opportunity to influence and be influenced by, that should not be passed up. Of course the connection with the customers is much more personal and laid back than making a support call into a customer service center, it’s the connection at the personal and emotional level that is the foundation of Twitter. It’s what makes Twitter an important tool in the firms communications arsenal for firing up interest on products, the company itself, answering critics and shaping the face or voice of the company, brand, campaign or product.
