The trend started in early 2009, when new bloggers started appearing in the first row of fashion shows along high-stake buyers and fashion magazine editors. Bloggers like Bryan Grey-Yambao, the founder of BryanBoy.com (@bryanboy) and Scott Schuman creator of the Sartorialist Blog, (@sartorialista) were quickly able to demonstrate the power of social media with impressive reach and engagement. BryanBoy.com alone gets 215,000 unique visitors a day. Compare that to alternatives like, say, the British Vogue magazine, which sells just over 200,000 copies a month.

While it appears that the luxury fashion industry is continuing to embrace social media slowly but steadily, here are three reasons why smart high end marketers should fast track their social media efforts:

Fashion is innately social: Luxury fashion audience tends to be passionate about the products they buy. And they are more loyal to and more engaged with brand. And being passionate, loyal and engaged is what social media is all about. Diane von Fustenberg, (@insidedvf), who seems to have been focusing its effort on Twitter has now over 68,000 followers. In 2009 both Dolce & Gabanna and Louis Vuitton live-streamed their fashion shows on their website, giving the public instant access to their new collections.

The elite crowd you seek may already be on social media: According to Nielsen’s Q1 2010 Consumer Confidence Survey, 75% of the active U.S. Internet households now visit a social networking site. More importantly, 96% of Generation Y, the next generation of luxury consumers, is using social media according to Facebook statistics. Twenty-seven percent of these people also claim that their purchase decisions are influenced by information gleaned from these sites, according to a study by Hill & Knowlton. The Oscar De La Renta Resort 2011 collection that was live streamed on Facebook, (@oscarprgirl) in June 2010, reached over 35,000 fans.

Social Media offers a low cost way to grow the customer base: Social media happens to be a low-cost way of launching ephemeral new products in a tough economy. It shortens the cycle between launch and reach to their audience which normally averages 3 to 6 months. Diane Von Fustenberg has seen its web-traffic increase by 13% and a noticeable upward jump in sales. Oscar De La Renta, is more focused on diversifying their audience when using social media. In their own words – “We’re a family-owned, relatively small business competing against big players (…) We have to constantly be looking for ways to get an edge, to punch above our weight”.

While major players like Chanel, Gucci and Kenneth Cole are noticeably absent on the social media scene, we expect them to come up with their own spin in this new and emerging channel. Mainstream brands are already embracing social media as a viable and measurable channel and it is only a question of time before luxury brands figure out how to make it work for them. Will these high end brands lose their luster of exclusivity by going social? Will increased revenue offset the loss of luster? Let us know what you think by leaving your comments.

This is an intensely personal case study from yours truly company- Sprinklr. Read on, this is why every brand needs social media presence. And if you don’t build your social capital before you need it, it becomes too late.

In a scenario that has been played across many companies for many years, when an associate’s relationship with a firm ends, there is always a possibility of outbursts. I have personally heard accusations being screamed out as the person leaves the office, at least a couple of times in my career. However, in the traditional world (sans social media), the person leaves the building and it just becomes only an unpleasant day to remember.

Fast forward to the day of Twitter and Facebook, an unhappy associate can amplify these and even threaten to use the social loudspeaker as a way to try to force the company into paying them, well, let’s just say, a lot of money

Our counsel forbade us from revealing any details but rest assured that all is well.  Sprinklr isn’t against green (actually we are so pro-green). We aren’t violating any laws either and are committed to upholding all of our contractual obligations. We expect our associates to do the same

And BTW there aren’t any issues with our security infrastructure. In fact, I’m proud of our security team that caught the abuse with a demo account within 30 minutes, early this week. And they were able to shut it down right away even at 4AM .

If you think you know someone who might have been misguided with wrong information, please retweet or repost this. And for all those clients and prospects who have been tweeting about how you love the platform, I’m sorry that some of this noise is going to drown your compliments.

Long live social media! And in the new world, truth comes out loud as the medium inherently amplifies it.

Cheers,

Ragy

PS: If you are a client or prospect or strategic partner or former employer that has been presented with suspect information, please feel free to contact me directly – rthomasATsprinklrDOTcom