Business websites often tout the importance of social media for brand awareness, maintenance, and sales. But luxury brands have always been different. They don’t follow the same trends as all the other businesses because if they did, nothing would set them apart. Part of the allure of Chanel, Hermes, and Porsche is their inaccessibility. And so, luxury brands have tended to stay away from social media.
The danger in this tactic is that lack of exposure will lead to lack of awareness, rather than a rise in allure. Some luxury brands have foreseen this and are making their way to popular social platforms. But they’re not just creating a Facebook account and posting promotions. No, these brands are using social media to set themselves apart even more.
IWC, the high-end Swiss watch manufacturer is one of the brands that has embraced social media. Dominic Weir, head of digital for IWC summed up the problem quite succinctly: “If you are not in those social spaces, then somebody else will be, and they will represent the brand.”
IWC doesn’t just post about what’s going on in their factories and stores. They post pictures and stories about their products. They explore the company’s history. They post watch riddles on Wednesdays, and stories about the celebrities they endorse. IWC interacts with their followers by promoting brand-related pictures and statuses that have been posted. For IWC, social media is a great way to extend the reach of their message and keep in touch with their target customers’ wants and needs.
The existence and evolution of the hashtag is a testament to how useful social media can be to spread awareness. Focused on upscale real estate in New York, TOWN Residential created a social media campaign that could be effective across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. TOWN combined history and photography to take advantage of the city they’re based in. Over the course of 90 days, 90 images of New York City buildings were revealed along with a question that could lead readers to identify the building displayed. Readers could learn more about the history of New York and participate by taking photos of their favorite New York architecture, and post it to social media, using the hashtag #LookUpNY. Entries had the opportunity to be published in New York Magazine, an honor which was won by fireman Aaron Burns.
This was a great way to raise awareness for one of the top luxury real estate brands in New York by embracing something that already garners a lot of attention, the landscape of The City. Thousands participated, and the campaign was deemed a success. Undoubtedly bringing increased awareness of the TOWN Residential brand in New York City.
The lesson here is that no matter how exclusive your brand is, people still need to know about it in order for your business to be successful. Luxury brands not only need to establish customers, but establish people who desire their product. There is nothing people want more than something that others can’t have, something that sets them apart. The importance here is not to stay away from the platforms that non-luxury brands use, it is to use them in such a way that sets your brand apart even more.
At Concierge Auctions we put our amazing luxury properties out there on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, Instagram, Google Plus, Flickr, LinkedIn. We are on all the major social networks, because if we do not represent our brand, then, as Dominic Weir of IWC says, someone else will.
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