Violet Mae Lim

If you haven’t already heard of Hayden-Harnett (other than now), you will soon. Hayden-Harnett is a mid-end accessory and apparel brand based in Brooklyn, NYC. The handbags range anywhere from $200-$700 and $200-$500 for apparel. Hayden-Harnett has been featured in many women’s magazines including Marie Claire, Lucky, Elle, InStyle, O, Bust and a wide range of international magazines. They have a standard e-commerce website where consumers can shop online, locate local stores to buy products,read the press they’ve been featured in and join the mailing list. What’s the big deal? As a mid-end fashion brand they are rapidly building an online presence.

Hidden in the “about us” section is a link to their blog (mind you, active since September 2005, a steady pattern of blogging since March 2006). Toni and Ben, founders of Hayden-Harnett blog about the newest Hayden-Harnett products and engage their fans by having contests. Furthermore, Hayden-Harnett has a MySpace profile, Facebook page and many adorable sets of outfits on Polyvore.com. As soon as I got word that Hayden-Harnett had joined Twitter, I quickly followed the brand. I was thrilled. Not because I am a fan of this particular brand (this may change) but rather because I fancy brands who humanize themselves on the social web and engage with their communities. It is refreshing to see a non-technology based brand, actively interacting with their fans- especially since I wouldn’t call Twitter mainstream just yet (yes, I am fully aware that the Britney Spears team is on Twitter). Not only is Hayden-Harnett on Twitter but the brand is utilizing Twitter properly (2-way communication stream with a fair mix of chatter and self-promotion and a great follower/following ratio, among other things). Hayden-Harnett also recently had sample pre-sale for  specifically for Twitter followers. Bravo!

Hayden-Harnett is definitely on the right track, however I do have some strategies on how the brand can further utilize social media:

Humanize Thyself:

• For starters, I would suggest Hayden-Harnett further humanize themselves on Twitter by either using a real picture or a real name. In reality, people don’t talk to brands, people talk to people. Even though I follow Hayden-Harnett on Twitter, I can’t figure out who is behind the Twitter stream. Is it Toni? Ben? Their assistant? Hayden-Harnett? Based on what I can tell, Hayden-Harnett is the name of the brand and Toni and Ben are the people behind it, If I can’t tell, others surely won’t be able to. Transparency is key here. A real name and picture on the Twitter would fix this problem.

If you have a blog, promote it:

• The Hayden-Harnett blog should be featured on the front of their website. I had to dig through their site to find their blog. Keep in mind, I was specifically looking for a blog. Most people aren’t going to dig around with the intent of finding a blog. What good is a blog if no one knows it exists?

Tag and Share:

• Last but not least, I notice there is a delicious.com bookmarklet button on the website for people to bookmark the blog. Having this is dandy, but just “having it” isn’t doing much. I’d like to see a link to the Hayden-Harnett delicious.com account.

Anyhow, I’ve got plenty more where that came from, but I won’t bore you any longer. Prior to this, I don’t think I’ve browsed the Hayden-Harnett site for more than 2 minutes at a time, nor was I interested in any of their products. Now that I see they are actively engaging in the fashion community and expanding their online presence on the web, I have Hayden-Harnett in the back of my mind. The next time I realize I need a new purse or coat, I just may turn to Hayden-Harnett.

Qwitter is a new web application that is creating a stir among Twitter. The concept is simple: sign up for Qwitter and it will notify you when one of your Twitter followers unfollows you. Qwitter also claims to show you the specific tweet that caused the tragic unfollowing. I won’t get into the technicalities, but this is not entirely accurate.

I signed up for Qwitter to test it out (how else would I get the research I needed for this post?!) and I have to say I’m not too impressed. People want different experiences from their use of Twitter. Thus, you shouldn’t be offended or take it personally if someone unfollows you. They may be unfollowing you for different reasons that have nothing to do with your tweet (another post for another day). What is the point of knowing who decides to unfollow you? Will you hunt them down and ask them why they unfollowed you? Will you cry into your pillow at night? Will this affect what you tweet? Will you stare at your following/follower ratio and contemplate life in 140 characters?

Ask yourself one thing when you tweet: are you tweeting for yourself or to please others? I am 100% myself on all the social networks I’m on. If someone wants to unfollow me or unfriend (defriend?) me through a social network because of something I said, we probably wouldn’t sit down for a cup of coffee offline anyway.

From an outsider’s perspective, I can understand why social media is a difficult concept for brands and corporations to grasp. I can also understand why it can be overwhelming and confuse people. Brands hear about “this new thing called Twitter”, become intrigued with “the power of communities” or even see a competitor on a social network and want to jump on the social media band wagon. I’ve heard some clients say that traditional media is no longer as effective as it once was and now they need “something else”. They never quite know what they need, but they know they need to try new methods of marketing or advertising.

This is almost a paradox. They understand they need something new, they hear about social media and then shy away from it. Why? Ultimately, the answer is, “I don’t have the time”. They say they want to understand social media, but when push comes to shove, they don’t have time to blog or regularly engage with their online community. They want the interactive marketing agencies or the social media consultants they hire to write for them, post on the forums for them, tweet for them and ultimately, BE THEM. It can be frustrating when clients do not understand this and do not engage with their community as they should. At the end of the day, the agency or consultant is at fault because afterall, “they are the marketing people, aren’t they?”

I can understand why they feel this way. Let’s be frank- social media, engaging and interacting with communities and writing meaningful content that is relevant to the brand and their space, takes time. Social media is nothing like traditional banner ads, media buys or advertising. Making one video and praying it goes “viral” also isn’t social media. Signing up for a twitter account and pushing news headlines or self-promoting links isn’t social media. The interactions and relationships that are built from social media take time. Simply put, social media isn’t for the lazy. I always advocate social media consultants and agencies to teach and inspire their clients- show them the ropes, hold their hand and then wave from afar like a mother does to her child on the first day of kindergarten.

Since social media is very complex and still growing (that’s what makes it exciting), I’m sure I will be coming across more and more people who want to use social media without completely understanding all the implications and time commitment that comes along with it. That’s ok with me, I’m a patient person.

As more brands begin to humanize themselves on the social web, I find myself not only expecting brands to engage with their customers, consumers and communities but also appreciating the brands that do. One brand that has crossed my mind multiple times is Rebecca Minkoff. Rebecca Minkoff purses range anywhere from $300-$700 and can be seen on celebrities from Lindsay Lohan to Lauren Conrad and everyone in between. Rebecca Minkoff is a New York based purse designer who is using the social web to her advantage.

Rebecca is ahead of other purse designers as she has an online presence on the social web. She has accounts on mainstream social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook and niche forums that cater to women obsessed with handbags and fashion. I am an active member of these niche communities and I’ve “seen” Rebecca leverage the power of these communities. In one instance, members of a forum begged and pleaded for her to hold a sample sale in Los Angeles. She said if X amount of people were interested, she would have one and she kept her word. I attended the sample sale and it was crazy as crazy gets: women lined up 4-5 hours before the event, eagerly awaiting their turn to purchase a new purse (let it be known, that there were some women who bought 3-4 purses at the sample sale).

Rebecca is personally on these forums and I have communicated with her regarding new products and sample sales. She also has a handful of customer service reps on these forums answering customer service questions and engaging with the entire purse-fanatic community. These forums are a way for her to monitor conversations about her brand, understand her target audience, understand the customer demographics, collect market research, humanize herself and a method of CRM. She has created a groundswell around her brand just by joining the conversation that was already happening online.

I first read about Rebecca Minkoff online and instantly fell in love with her purses. The first time I bought one of her purses was online, through a fashion community. I own two Rebecca Minkoff purses, one of which she helped me pick out. Yes, SHE helped me pick it out. I’ve also met her in person at a sample sale she held in Los Angeles and she is a doll. She is digitally-savvy and understands the power of the social web… I can’t say the same about many other mid-end/high-end purse designers. Although I have many other ideas on how she could further increase her presence and leverage her community, I think she is off to a great start. There is something very different about actually being able to engage and meet with the designer of the purse you are carrying versus buying a purse from a department store and never speaking with the designer.