The Ocean Agency

Interactive marketing and fashion are a natural combination. People who are into fashion love to talk about it and share their opinions with others, after all, and there are hundreds of social networks and thousands of blogs devoted to fashion, trends, and personal style. 

I’ll start with a personal anecdote – I started blogging about fashion five years ago simply because it was something I wanted to talk about.  At the time, I was going to college in Indiana and the height of fashion was flip-flops and a popped collar polo – it wasn’t exactly haute couture.  However, there was already a small community online of people talking about new designers and labels and DIY style, so I started a blog in order to participate in the conversation.  That blog led to a gig with AOL and trips to fashion week and more, and now I work in the interactive marketing field, so I know first hand how blogging can have real world benefits.

If I was launching a label or fashion-related initiative, the first place I’d start would be the social web.  Since fashion is so visual, video content and high quality images would be of utmost importance.  Producing a video doesn’t have to be complicated, either, just gather your team or some friends and tell your story.  People respond to authentic communication both online and off, and there are plenty of existing fashion communities that you can tap into (this list of “Fashion 2.0″ sites is a good start, and even more options have likely popped since I wrote it in 2007; I also recently wrote a more concise list that’s posted at Second City Style).

Start a Facebook page, open a Twitter account, and most importantly create a blog and use it to tell your story and interact with other bloggers online – once the fashion bloggers start picking something on something, it can spread like wild fire on the web and in the real world.

A few ideas to get you started – you could hold a giveaway where people have to write blog posts or submit videos about how they would wear whatever you’re giving away.  You could also do a user-generated style section where you readers can show off their style by posting outfits or Polyvore sets with pieces from your label or boutique.  Invite local fashion bloggers to come to your showroom or shop as well – you could hold a meetup for your Facebook fans, Twitter followers, or other social media connections.  After all, people who are interested in your brand are likely to have other things in common as well.  Make your boutique or label their social object that they interact around.  Give your blog commenters or followers a special discount or hold a member’s only sale that highlights the exclusivity of your community – make your followers feel special and you will be rewarded.