Attire Accessories - May/Jun 2019 (Issue 76)

SOCIAL MEDIA 95 WEB WATCH Attire Accessories is at the heart of the online accessories community. Here’s a quick update on what’s been happening… ATT I RE ACCESSOR I ES @AttireAccessories @AttireAccessories @AttireAccMag OUR MOST RECENT LIKES AND FOLLOWS: Instagram @ondarosaaccesorios @cwm_wedding @emmylondonofficial Social status Clare Elson, marketing and PR for The Healthy Back Bag Company, explains how social media has strong value in developing the brand internationally SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLE: Company name: The Healthy Back Bag Company @thehealthybackbag When did the company set up Instagram and Facebook accounts, and what prompted it to do so? We started up on Facebook in 2009 and on Instagram in 2014. We began using Facebook as a way of expressing our personality as a brand, to engage with our customers and to promote the activities of our retail customers through our Healthy Back Bag trade programme. The ability to geographically target on Facebook means that we can support our retail partners wherever they are based and help drive traffic to their stores. Facebook also means that our customers can engage with the brand, post pictures of themselves with our bags and comment on new designs and colours. Instagram is image-based so is a great platform for showcasing our bags and latest collections through product and lifestyle and brand images and videos. We also engage with third parties through the platform – when we spot a brand with similar values or a product that works well with our bags, we get in touch, and this often results in our third-party partnerships, such as with Catherine Tough woollen gifts and interiors, British Colour Standard homewares and Wacaco portable espresso machines. Has your business benefitted as a result? If so, how? It has helped us promote our brand values and establish a dialogue with our customers, which is always a good thing. A major benefit, however, is that it has enabled us to communicate and exchange information with our international customers and trade partners. We have a strong presence in Japan, for example, and they are great Instagrammers, so we share their content and vice versa without a need for language. Where do you see the future of social media going, and how can it continue to drive brands forward? I imagine that social media will become more and more effective at targeting specific audiences, which will help drive our brand to the right audiences. This, in turn, will enable us to support our trade and international customers even better. How often do you post, and what do you post about? We post around once a week – not too much, otherwise it can be annoying! What advice would you give to first-time social media users?   Start with one platform, look and learn to begin with and work out what it’s good for before engaging. Research and follow similar brands to see how they are using the media, and have a strategy in terms of content to ensure it is relevant, timely and represents your brand accurately. Take it one step at a time. Which accessories companies do you enjoy following on Facebook/Instagram?   We follow interesting, colourful, quirky brands, health and wellness-related companies and some travel and fashion accessory brands. THIS MONTH ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WE’VE MAINLY BEEN: • Giving you an insider’s look from the fantastic early-year shows • Getting retweeted by our fabulous contributors • Feeling smug and shouting about the lovely compliments on our new-look design Kay ’ s Top Tip The genius creation of the social media planning tools programme is a blessing to any social media marketer. Whether your business is small or large, there are a whole range of management tools available that help with bulk scheduling and analytics for multiple accounts. Using a planning tool can save oodles of scheduling time, which frees up time for interaction. Programmes like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Buffer, are well known for their user-friendly features. There are also several comparison sites available to help you decide which tool is best suited to your business. Check out the G2 Crowd’s helpful, unbiased software comparison at  www.g2crowd.com/categories/social-media-mgmt Twitter @ACID_tweets @giftfromthegods @azunilondon