Assignment

A strategic plan to inform emerging fashion retailers about social media research and best practices.

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Proposal Overview

Social media can take the form of various outlets, including, but not limited to: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, etc. Each social media platform has its specific use and benefits, with a wide range of active users. It is important to note that successful retailers are using these online strategies to penetrate new markets, to champion for social media movements, and to effectively develop connections with consumers.

In this social media blueprint, we suggest using Instagram as our company’s main social media platform. Our primary research examines H&M, Topshop, and Uniqlo’s Instagram accounts and revealed the importance of using models, creating effective hashtags, and providing customer service. The secondary research presents the best practices of social media and how the public and specific individuals view social media. To conclude the proposal, we will provide a comprehensive strategy that includes a detailed plan with suggestions for a stellar social media presence. Primary Research Summary & Key Takeaways

We have compiled the following key takeaways using Instagram. Our primary research includes a variety of retailers who specialize in different products and promote to diverse markets. These three key findings will provide an all-encompassing approach which will ultimately tie into our strategic recommendations going forward.

#1: Using models to showcase the retailer's products increases follower satisfactions. Each one of our retailers uses this form of posting. The following three pictures are example images used by retailers to promote their products through outfit modeling. Our retailers provide consumers with the option to directly purchase clothing, accessories, and shoes via online portals. These types of posts provide followers with a visualization of how the products will look once worn, which is part of the purchasing decision many consumers take into account. In addition, these types of images also provide outfit inspirations when consumers are in need of assistance with outfit coordination.

(Uniqlo) (H&M) (Topshop)

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#2: The use of hashtags connects posts to a broader conversation and trend. Our retailers use various hashtags that either connected their post to an on-going product line, style, event, or motto and “catchphrase”. For example, Uniqlo wants to be known for their fashionable, yet simple clothing. Their hashtag, #simplemadebetter, allows Uniqlo to actively promote the company’s business strategy of revamping basic clothing to make it ‘better’ quality and more fashion forward. London Fashion Week is one of the most prominent events in the fashion industry, known to set the latest fashion trends. The #LFW (London Fashion Week) establishes Topshop as a brand that is compatible against the haute couture fashion houses in the latest trends, it also streams to audiences the latest fashion trends and Topshop’s newest products. Furthermore, hashtags, such as #HMSport and #TopshopUnique are both tags that are specific to the H&M and Topshop brand. This form of hashtag allows brands to promote different styles within its product line, but also help crowdsource contents from its users. Individual users can associate themselves with the brand by adding these brand specific tags to their posts. Through the use of a single hashtag, we can instantly connect with a broad spectrum of audiences.

#3: Social media is used as a forum for followers to inquire about the availability of individual products, product lines, or just general customer service oriented support. In the following images, you can see the exchange of questions and answers, if provided by the retailer. It is important to note that these types of exchanges facilitate brand awareness and fatigue, as those who inquiry expect a quick response. If a timely and effective answer is given, consumers are more likely to trust and continue purchasing from the retailer.

Being able to acknowledge and understand the reasoning and benefits behind each post type is a crucial element to dominating each social media outlet. Consumers want a variety of content that can engage their interest and satisfy their needs. Instagram provides a diverse selection of features that can assist retailers in entertaining and intriguing their followers, such as, the ability to connect posts to previous conversations and trends to help create a holistic and

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historical record. Even with all of these helpful features, it is still up to the retailers to provide content that will engage its audience and maintain a connection with them. Paying extra attention to followers by answering their questions and concerns, will help maintain our position as a seller who is dedicated to fulfilling the needs of its buyers. The above primary research findings are just some of the efficient and effective strategies of successful social media practices. We will continue to discuss other strategies for beginning and sustaining a positive social media presence throughout this proposal. Secondary Research Summary & Key Takeaways

Social media platforms serve as instant access to observe patterns and trends. While our primary research served as a great starting point, combining secondary research, sources that can back our claims with educated studies and evidences, creates a more sustainable and efficient recommendation. Here are some of the key takeaways that we gained from our secondary sources and the reason behind their importance:

#1: Customers can possibly base their apparel purchase on company advertisements and/or the models/celebrities who wear the clothing items. Fortunately for us, research by authors Philine Cao, Dr. Sandra Meister, and Dr. Oliver Klante documented their findings on this very subject in the journal article, “How Social Media Influence Apparel Purchasing Behavior.”

The authors - who are well educated in marketing and strategic sourcing - conducted an experiment in Germany to see the level of influence social media has on women’s shopping behavior and preferred methods of purchase: online versus in-store. The authors categorized consumers’ decision making process into the following five phases:

The authors conducted an online survey using a five-point rating for each of the phases. The sample included 194 women with at least one social media account; some women were college students or professionals. Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest were chosen as the social media platforms. After the data was collected, the authors discovered that “social medias are significantly more relevant for activities during the stages of need recognition, information search, and alternative evaluation than for commenting on others’ clothes.” This article also found that a women’s reactions to clothing is strongly influenced by the person who is wearing the clothing. This type of advertising by bloggers/celebrities have the potential to bring more recognition to our company’s brand because consumers may be more inclined to purchase from a company that one of their favorite celebrities endorses. Communication through social media from us to our happy clients is key to our company’s sales. #2: As seen in our primary research, the hashtag is a powerful social media marketing tool with multiple functions that can be used to expand our brand’s area of influence. Hashtags are used to represent and cross-promote the company and its values. Secondary research articles confirm our initial findings on the importance of hashtags: In the Business.com article entitled,

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“7 Ways to Harness the Power of Hashtags,” Andy Beohar recognizes a hashtag’s importance and gives seven tips on how to use them effectively. According to Beohar, the seven ways to using hashtags have the potential to do the following: start conversations, cross-promote across social networks, crowdsource the company’s content, provide feedback, narrow audiences down to certain locations, go live at events, and keep up with and stick to trends. The ultimate result of using hashtags should be to “make people stop and read,” which will give our company visibility and bolster profits.

#3: To have social media as an essential part of our company’s marketing strategy is good, but it is more important to know how to use it effectively to help our business grow. John Rampton, an entrepreneur and self-proclaimed online influencer, provides several strategies on effective harnessing the power of social media effectiveness in his article, “10 Effective Strategies To Leverage Social Media For New Customers.” If we were to follow along with the strategies he proposed, we could engage with our customers via social media by finding out what they like best about our brand and what we could do to improve our service. Rampton’s other strategies include customer discounts or free offers and quick responses to inquiries made on social media. Ultimately, our company should use social media to grow our customer base while successfully holding on to the customers we already have. Strategy for Implementation

To simplify our recommended implementation, we have included a 6 month schedule of activities on how we intend to implement our social media strategy. This model can be enhanced in future endeavors, since it includes planning, implementation, effective analysis, and revisions.

Phase Activity Description

Phase 1: Strategic Planning (1 month)

Create an Instagram account

Establish a strong company hashtag

Contact influential social media personnel

Simple and catchy username

Unique & representative

Encourages collaboration, brand awareness & recognition

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Create a post schedule with at least 2 weeks of content

Set a customer interaction guideline

This will help with creating a stable and active feed

This will be used in P3 to measure media effectiveness

Phase 2: Implementation (3 months)

Implement planned activities; closely monitor and determine how often to post new information Include temporary promo codes in posts

Keeps us engaged with our followers by promoting clothing trends in accordance to our strategic plan Gives customers reasons to stay connected with our company’s page by providing discounted purchases and free items

Phase 3: Inquiry Follower Base (1 month)

Survey followers on all activities implemented; provide incentives to followers for completing the questionnaire

Inspect customer satisfaction

Query on the effectiveness of current posts

Examine what items are most popular to produce, sell, and promote these items more

Determine what followers want to receive from our retailer

Phase 4: Continuation of Strategy with Revisions (1 month)

Use data from survey to improve or switch strategies in branding Create a post schedule for the next 2 weeks, incorporating the findings

Continue with current strategy or revisit strategy to address survey results and make additions/improvements

Making changes can be difficult, establishing a strong schedule will relieve pressure and help our retailer find our strategic rhythm

After Phase 4, the process starts again at Phase 2. However, the necessary changes need to be taken in the schedule to accommodate newly incorporated topics/findings.

Duration of each phase can be increased/decreased depending on the capacity of the social media strategy team.

As we continue our social media campaign, this model can be used to strategically plan for additional social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. Similar steps will be taken to begin our exposure in each social media platform when deemed necessary.

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Conclusion

Social media is a powerful tool that transfers information faster than ever across the globe, bringing with it a wealth of opportunities for individuals to hear and be heard in a whole new way. Our company would do well to adapt to the changes that come with the ever-evolving methods of online communication. Using an Instagram account and incorporating effective hashtags will help to give our company more visibility to the public, thus increasing our customer base and ensuring that we remain responsive and aware of what our current clientele wants and desires from us as a brand. More importantly, our company can avoid becoming outdated and unaware of current trends, which will make our company less competitive with other clothing companies, resulting in loss of market share. Being available to effectively interact with our customers shows our commitment to providing the best customer service we can offer. We must go to our consumer base. Instagram is a direct outlet that will allow us to penetrate a new area. In doing so, we will be more profitable because we will be marketing our brand and products on a level easily accessible to our consumers.

We hope you take our research and strategic recommendations into consideration and that you approve our proposal. Please do not hesitate in reaching out to our team in regards to questions or concerns.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.