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Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Style Eyes Listed in Top 30 UK Fashion Blogs
Last week our blog Style Eyes Fashion Blog was included in the Wikio Top 30 Fashion blogs. The ranking for the most influential blogs in the UK and Irish blogospheres is updated on a monthly basis. A really useful list if you are interested in engaging with UK fashion bloggers (there are separate lists for other countries)
Friday, March 5, 2010
Style Sample Magazine
Issue 6 of Style Sample Magazine, the magazine for bloggers, is now out. It is full of fashion features, tips, advice and fashion bloggers features including coverage of fashion blogger events, fashion blogger profiles and technical discussion.I thought I would mention it, not only as it is such a great read, but also I have an article featured in this issue. Enjoy!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Independent Fashion Bloggers Evolving Influence Conference
I was going to write about the IFB Evolving influence bloggers conference today. But then I thought to myself why re invent the wheel. In addition to the IFB coverage of the event, there are so many other blogs posts about the conference, I thought that it would be easier and more interesting to provide a list of the links (copied from IFB)
- picture - Bryan Boy, Tavi and Susie Bubble from IFB - photo by Dustin Fenstermacher
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Topshop's Blogging Workshop
Yesterday afternoon, Topshop held a bloggers workshop instore as part of their London Fashion Week events. The workshop entitled 'How to blog' was run by three well known bloggers Disney Roller Girl, Coco's Tea Party and Oh Elle and included advice and leaflets for anyone wanting to start their own fashion blog. Some of the advice offered by the leaflets given out included
- Think carefully about the name you chose for your blog as you'll have it forever. We prefer short and sweet!
- Blog about what you love, otherwise it will become a chore. Only write about what you're truly inspired by, not because you're being paid to
- Stay true to your personality, opinions, likes or dislikes. Hits aren't everything.
- Make sure you link back to where you get your content from.
- Be patient.It takes time to develop your own blogging style
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Some considerations for your online fashion marketing plan
Online sales are a growth area particularly in the fashion sector. For most fashion businesses that want to increase sales, online marketing is one of the best options and an area that has huge potential. If you don't already have an online marketing plan, you should write one today and start putting it into action. The focus of your online efforts will depend on what you want to achieve, how you want to achieve it and the time scales. Here are some key areas of online marketing to consider including in your online marketing plan.
Website - Almost every company with any online presence will have a website of some kind, ranging from a simple blog to a fully functional e commerce site. It is possible to have an online presence without a website by using Facebook, Twitter or ebay but the benefit of your own website or blog is that it will become the focal point of your online marketing, it can very clearly communicate your brand and key information about the company, it can be integrated with many other platforms including social media channels and is also easier to optimise on the search engines. It sends the message that you are a legitimate and established company. One of the key considerations for a fashion website is that of appearance over function. It is important to strike the right balance between how good it looks and how quickly the pages load.
Blog - a blog is a type of website but is particularly useful for online marketing for a number of reasons. It is a great way of communicating with customers and potential customers. It can be updated regularly and this combined with the huge volume of relevant content usually ensures that a blog usually ranks well on search engines for relevant keywords. A fashion company blog is easy to set up but can be time consuming to keep up to date. It is well worth the time as a well written blog is a great marketing tool and also can be automatically linked into so many other social media channels.
Newsletters - once a customer has bought from you once, they are the most likely people to buy from you again. A newsletter is the perfect way to remind them of who you are, give them updates on new collections and and keep them informed of special offers. Try and provide some useful interesting information in your newsletter that they will look forward to reading rather than just a sales pitch.
Social Media - This is an important and fast expanding area for fashion marketing and PR. The great thing about social media is that is a two way communication, sharing, commenting and voting all contribute to make social media hugely influential especially in fashion where peer influence is so important. There are so many different social media channels that it would be difficult and costly in terms of time to utilise all of them. Before embarking on a social media campaign, take a little time to research the options available and work out which best suits your target audience, the message you are trying to communicate and the way you work. The most popular are Facebook and Twitter. Google has now confirmed that social media updates are used to rank websites on search engines making your social media efforts even more worth while.
Search Engine Optimisation - SEO describes the methods used to increase the traffic sent to your website from search engines in terms of quantity or quality. In order to get both quality and quantity of traffic you will need to choose the right keywords and then optimise your website for these keywords. Whether you choose to optimise your website yourself or use an SEO professional will depend on how many of your sales you hope to get from search engine traffic and how quickly you want to improve this traffic. If using an SEO professional, it is a good idea to use one with a knowledge of the fashion industry, to ensure that SEO activities also communicate the right message for your company and brand.
Advertising - This is a great way to get traffic to your website and sales quickly. There are all sorts of options available from search engine marketing to banner advertisements on niche sites. The great thing about online advertising is that it is possible to monitor the results. You should always carefully analyse the return on investment of any advertising activity to ensure that it is profitable.
Online PR - whilst not strictly speaking advertising, there is a significant amount of overlap between online marketing and online PR. Getting your brand or products featured on fashion websites and blogs, not only results in greater brand awareness and sales, but will also generate links to your site which will also help with search engine optimisation. There has been lots of talk recently about the influence of fashion blogs and it is well worth your while considering programmes to engage with bloggers and get some coverage. More information on the influence of the fashion blogger.
Affiliate Marketing - this is another way if generating traffic to a website and sales by referrals. The affiliate marketer gets paid based on the number of clicks or a percentage of sales referred. You can set up an affiliate marketing program yourself which can be more costly but gives you more control or use a network. More information on affiliate marketing.
Website - Almost every company with any online presence will have a website of some kind, ranging from a simple blog to a fully functional e commerce site. It is possible to have an online presence without a website by using Facebook, Twitter or ebay but the benefit of your own website or blog is that it will become the focal point of your online marketing, it can very clearly communicate your brand and key information about the company, it can be integrated with many other platforms including social media channels and is also easier to optimise on the search engines. It sends the message that you are a legitimate and established company. One of the key considerations for a fashion website is that of appearance over function. It is important to strike the right balance between how good it looks and how quickly the pages load.
Blog - a blog is a type of website but is particularly useful for online marketing for a number of reasons. It is a great way of communicating with customers and potential customers. It can be updated regularly and this combined with the huge volume of relevant content usually ensures that a blog usually ranks well on search engines for relevant keywords. A fashion company blog is easy to set up but can be time consuming to keep up to date. It is well worth the time as a well written blog is a great marketing tool and also can be automatically linked into so many other social media channels.
Newsletters - once a customer has bought from you once, they are the most likely people to buy from you again. A newsletter is the perfect way to remind them of who you are, give them updates on new collections and and keep them informed of special offers. Try and provide some useful interesting information in your newsletter that they will look forward to reading rather than just a sales pitch.
Social Media - This is an important and fast expanding area for fashion marketing and PR. The great thing about social media is that is a two way communication, sharing, commenting and voting all contribute to make social media hugely influential especially in fashion where peer influence is so important. There are so many different social media channels that it would be difficult and costly in terms of time to utilise all of them. Before embarking on a social media campaign, take a little time to research the options available and work out which best suits your target audience, the message you are trying to communicate and the way you work. The most popular are Facebook and Twitter. Google has now confirmed that social media updates are used to rank websites on search engines making your social media efforts even more worth while.
Search Engine Optimisation - SEO describes the methods used to increase the traffic sent to your website from search engines in terms of quantity or quality. In order to get both quality and quantity of traffic you will need to choose the right keywords and then optimise your website for these keywords. Whether you choose to optimise your website yourself or use an SEO professional will depend on how many of your sales you hope to get from search engine traffic and how quickly you want to improve this traffic. If using an SEO professional, it is a good idea to use one with a knowledge of the fashion industry, to ensure that SEO activities also communicate the right message for your company and brand.
Advertising - This is a great way to get traffic to your website and sales quickly. There are all sorts of options available from search engine marketing to banner advertisements on niche sites. The great thing about online advertising is that it is possible to monitor the results. You should always carefully analyse the return on investment of any advertising activity to ensure that it is profitable.
Online PR - whilst not strictly speaking advertising, there is a significant amount of overlap between online marketing and online PR. Getting your brand or products featured on fashion websites and blogs, not only results in greater brand awareness and sales, but will also generate links to your site which will also help with search engine optimisation. There has been lots of talk recently about the influence of fashion blogs and it is well worth your while considering programmes to engage with bloggers and get some coverage. More information on the influence of the fashion blogger.
Affiliate Marketing - this is another way if generating traffic to a website and sales by referrals. The affiliate marketer gets paid based on the number of clicks or a percentage of sales referred. You can set up an affiliate marketing program yourself which can be more costly but gives you more control or use a network. More information on affiliate marketing.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Fashion Marketing Opportunities with Heathcote Communications
We regularly have requirements for freelance specialists that are passionate about fashion and experienced in the following:
Fashion Bloggers/ Writers - creative, a good knowledge of the latest trends and fashions, attention to detail, the ability to tailor your style, voice and tone of writing as required and write to deadlines.
Online Fashion PR - Amazing communications skills, a great knowledge of fashion blogs and websites and a the ability to engage with bloggers in creative ways.
Social Media Experts - Experience of using key social networks to create a buzz around fashion and related brands, websites and products.
SEO Professionals - Proven results in driving traffic to fashion websites. Experience in both on and offsite optimisation with a particular knowledge of link building from fashion websites.
We are currently looking for Interns and fashion marketing/ promotion students who would like work experience or to complete projects in any or all of the above areas. We can offer
Fashion Bloggers/ Writers - creative, a good knowledge of the latest trends and fashions, attention to detail, the ability to tailor your style, voice and tone of writing as required and write to deadlines.
Social Media Experts - Experience of using key social networks to create a buzz around fashion and related brands, websites and products.
SEO Professionals - Proven results in driving traffic to fashion websites. Experience in both on and offsite optimisation with a particular knowledge of link building from fashion websites.
We are currently looking for Interns and fashion marketing/ promotion students who would like work experience or to complete projects in any or all of the above areas. We can offer
- A variety online fashion marketing/ writing experience
- Complete flexilibilty in terms of hours and location
- The benefit of our experience and knowledge and constructive feedback.
- Invites to fashion events (when available)
- Written references
- The potential/ possibility to work with Heathcote Communications in a paid role (following a successful internship/ project).
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Fashion Bloggers in the Spotlight
So what does this all mean? Is fashion blogging really going to take over from traditional fashion journalism or is the whole fashion blogger thing just completely overhyped? I don't really know the answer to these questions, but I know that the very fact that fashion bloggers are getting so much attention, suggests that they have a significant influence in the fashion world and perhaps the offline publications are just a teensy weensy bit worried.
Have you considered engaging fashion bloggers as part of your PR strategy?
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