Social Media Best Practices For Luxury Brands

Aldi Sky Wungkana CEO and Chief Strategy Officer
Dinda Amelia Head of Digital
Gabby Evitho PR Strategist
SOCIAL MEDIA BEST
PRACTICES
for LUXURY BRANDS

Content Strategy Optimization
Proprietary & Confidential. © 2014 BLACKSTONE Digital Agency All rights reserved. / 2

SUCCESS WILL BE
DEPENDENT ON
DEVELOPING
STRATEGIES THAT
ADDRESS THE NEW
BEHAVIORS OF THE
modern
consumer
online while
appreciating that
luxury brands in
social media must
remain just that,
LUXURIOUS.

With over 75 percent of wealthy Internet users actively using social
media, the question is no longer if luxury brands should utilize the
web as a luxury market, but rather a question of how to do so. The
dynamics of the online marketplace continue to shift with the
exponential growth of social media platforms. Consumer behaviors
and expectations have changed.
The modern consumer demands more from brands—especially luxury brands—than
what they have traditionally delivered for the past fifty years. The days of captive media
audiences are coming to an end. As social media establishes itself as the premiere
venue for information exchange, the conventional methods of messaging favored by
many organizations will become decreasingly relevant. Although luxury brands face
unique hurdles, they also stand to reap significant rewards by embracing social media.
Social media is still a relatively uncharted frontier for luxury brands, and the early
adopters will have a large advantage moving forward. Success will be dependent on
developing strategies that address the new behaviors of the modern consumer online
while appreciating that luxury brands in social media must remain just that, luxurious.
introduction

IMPACTFULTURN-KEY SOLUTIONS SUCH AS PROVIDING VINTAGE PICTURES OR
LINKING TO OLD NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS HELP
CONSUMERS APPRECIATE
THE SIGNIFICANCE AND
HISTORY
OF WHAT THEY ARE BUYINGProprietary & Confidential. © 2014 BLACKSTONE Digital Agency All rights reserved. / 5

Social Media Best Practices For Luxury Brands

Help Your Consumers Appreciate the Significance and History of What They Are Buying.

LUXURY BRANDS DISTINGUISH THEMSELVES
THROUGH SUPERIOR QUALITY
From the actual product itself to the in-store experience to the cachet of
the brand. Purchasing a luxury good is akin to making an investment.
This is why luxury brands take pride in every step of the process, from
design conception to production. Social media can help demonstrate to
consumers the level of craftsmanship that goes into production and can
serve as a powerful way to showcase the luxury difference. Impactful,
turn-key solutions such as providing vintage pictures or linking to old
newspaper clippings help consumers appreciate the significance and
history of what they are buying.
the luxury difference

While social media has empowered consumers with deeper insight, it has
also had an unintended consequence for luxury brands. In the past,
communications from luxury providers to consumers were provided through
tightly controlled traditional media channels (print, television, direct
marketing, etc.) to influence the conversations of the elite. For the most part,
only those with the means to purchase luxury goods had influence on the
desirability of particular goods and services. Simply put, luxury consumers
made purchase decisions based on other luxury consumers.
Social media has opened doors to give more consumers access to both information
and products previously unavailable to them. With respect to luxury brands, what is
desirable or undesirable is no longer the sole purview of the traditional luxury
audience. While portraying that image remains crucial in social media, the reality is
that even non-luxury consumers can now have an impact on the success or failure
of luxury brands. When providing their “two cents” online, a suburban teenager in
Jakarta is on equal footing with a socialite from Paris. Over time, a crowd of relative
unknowns can create a tipping point for a product’s success or, if they so choose,
failure.
the luxury dilemma

Many of the qualities that luxury brands are built
on such as tight quality control and immersive
shopping experiences, may seem contrary to the
nature of social media communications.
Certainly, the use of social media inherently trades some control for
increased engagement. The reality is that discussions about brands are
happening already and will continue to flourish with or without the direction
of the brands themselves.

Challenge Online

Creating an
online
experience
that meets or exceeds brand
standards and consumer
expectations.
Relinquishing some control to give consumers a sense of
brand ownership via user generated content.
Devoting the
appropriate
amount of
resources
to make social media a
priority as part of an
overarching marketing
strategy.
Adopting a social media
mindset and participating
in two way conversations.
Recognizing that luxury brands require a more
sophisticated social media presence than other brands.

“
”
The reality is that discussions about
brands are happening already and will
continue to flourish with or without the
direction of the brands themselves.

Luxury brands
face a choices:
be drawn into
the fray through
less desirable
circumstances
engage and
influence the
conversations
Blogs and social network platforms like some luxury brands have, for better or worse, opened up access to luxury to a larger audience.
Luxury brands can no longer afford to differentiate purely on higher price points and claims of quality. Brands need to prove their worth
online in other ways.
✔ ✖

an inadvertently tacky sponsorship
a dead social media profile
a semi-functional website✖
A luxury brand requires stringent attention to the qualities that
make the brand what it is. To maintain that level of quality online
requires a commitment of both human and financial resources.
Corners cannot be cut just because it is the internet. Cheapening a brand’s image online
has the same negative effects as it would in the real world:
✖
✖

All can be the factor into a brand’s downfall. Due to the fickle nature of brand
equity, any social media marketing done without a well-researched approach
and full scale commitment is highly risky. Social media marketing shares a
fundamental similarity to other marketing efforts: with a well-developed strategy
and good execution, brands stand to gain in the short and long term.

Social media for luxury brands is no longer an optional marketing consideration. The
definition of a luxury consumer and of luxury itself has changed.
LUXURY BRANDS MUST DELIVER BRAND
EXPERIENCES ONLINE TO SEE CONTINUED
SUCCESS.
With a deep understanding of how these new tools can be used appropriately, brands can harness the power of social media
to directly communicate with their audiences, promote their brands and further their brand equity.
roadmap

✖
✖
✖
Empower consumers
Identify and expand audiences
Adapt business practices to the online business model
Translate unique brand elements to social platforms
Manage customer relations
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔

/01
Translate Unique Brand Elements To
Social Platforms

Treat the web and social
media as an extension of
your brand because that’s
how consumers view it.
Make sure that aesthetics
and functionality are
consistent with the
brand’s offline image
Identify qualities that define
the brand and ensure those
traits manifest themselves
across all online offerings,
from the brand website to
social media profiles.
Cohesion is paramount to
success.
Establish objectives,
benchmarks and metrics
for all social initiatives.
This often means
scrapping ideas that—
while fun and
innovative—are not
conducive to a brand’s
long term success.Do not try to
simply re-create
the in-store luxury
experience online,
expand on it! Give
the consumer
incentives to visit
you online and in-
store.

Case Study

“Online, well-designed user interfaces
and ease of use are reminders of a brand’s quality.”
Often, brands that are new to social media make the mistake of constructing web and social media properties at odds with the
core brand image because they try to do too much. Cartier, one of the most famous luxury watchmakers in the world, fell into
that very trap. While digital tools are diverse and powerful, the key to success on the web is often about narrowing its scope.
For a luxury brand, that means figuring out the must-have list of brand elements and making sure that they come across online.
Cartier put in small copy on their website that “the brand is proud of its technical excellence... and reputation as a master
watchmaker.” The Cartier site, however, has been the opposite of technical excellence and obfuscates one of the more
compelling aspects of the brand—its storied history and reputation. Online, well-designed user interfaces and ease of use are
reminders of a brand’s quality. On Cartier’s site, the fascinating pieces of content that do exist have been served in a way that
aggravates the user. Oftentimes, a user will click a featured link expecting to learn about the brand and instead be delivered a
heavy dose of flashy marketing.
For would-be and current consumers of five to ten thousand dollar watches, the Cartier website should not be used as a cheap
opportunity to hawk watches in bulk. Cartier should have used its web properties to communicate its brand narrative and speak
to its consumers in a way they would not be able to through traditional media. Integrated film, archival footage, and a
personable blog are all options that Cartier should have explored. Cartier should focus on the qualities that define its brand, like
timelessness and attention to detail, and create web properties that reflect those principles.

Case Study

“Tiffany & Co. continues to set the standard for luxury,
even in the digital and social space.”
The quintessential American luxury brand, Tiffany & Co. built its name on a legacy of associations with American institutions
and icons like the White House and Jackie Onassis. As one Tiffany & Co. fan put it: “what woman doesn’t swoon at the sight of
the signature Tiffany blue gift box?” Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” remains one of the most familiar images in the
history of American cinema. It is with those sentiments that Tiffany & Co.’s brand proposition moves beyond sales of sparkling
diamond necklaces, to selling glamour that carries historical and cultural significance.
On the web, Tiffany & Co’s strategy has been twofold: create a simple yet stylish shopping experience, and remind the
audience of its standing in the cultural upper echelon of America. Although the Tiffany & Co site has had a stylized editorial
feel, the overall shopping experience is straightforward and intuitive. The focus of the site is clearly on e-commerce and
shopping is made to be reminiscent of the in-store experience, with jewelry arranged by price, designer, collection and gem.
Featured on the brands storied history are sprinkled throughout the site but do not distract the user from shopping. Overall, the
succinct messaging and clean design of the web property have created a shopping experience that is as effortless and
sophisticated as anything you would expect shopping in-store.
While the website has been primarily focused on e-commerce, Tiffany & Co’s has used Facebook as a content-provider that
speaks to the brand’s relevance in exclusive parts of society. Facebook is a choice platform for providing consumers with
snippets of a brand’s narrative. In this case, Tiffany & Co’s profile is filled with pictures of celebrities wearing Tiffany pieces, as
well videos of Tiffany & Co. galas and parties, which all feeds back into the brand’s importance to elite American culture.

Tiffany makes true love tangible with user-curated
photo gallery.
Tiffany's 'What Makes Love True' is the
new reality for selling luxury.
Jeweler Tiffany & Co. is bringing true love to life in the latest installment
of its What Makes Love True microsite and application where
photographers and eventually consumers are uploading candid photos
that signify what true love means to them.

Tiffany & Co. has also made it
easy to take a slice of the brand
experience on the go by
creating a free iPhone app that
allows its users to browse their
famed line of engagement rings.
The app contains tools to help
purchase online, down to
choosing the carat size and
sizing the ring. The high quality
app carries the same simple
elegance that Tiffany & Co
exudes in all of its marketing,
and offers a valuable tool for
anyone investing in a Tiffany
piece.
Tiffany has successfully
repurposed its historical and
culturally significant brand
experience online across all of
its web properties, and as a
quintessential American brand,
Tiffany & Co. continues to set
the standard for luxury, even in
the digital and social space.

/02
Adapt Business Practices To The
Online Business Model

The principles of marketing
in social media often fly in the
face of traditions that have
defined luxury brands for
decades. Social media’s
democratizing nature is a
particular challenge for luxury
brands, since much of the
luxury cachet historically
comes from controlling
access. In the physical world
access can be synonymous
with brand dilution. In social
media, access is the currency
itself.
Don’t force
traditional media
campaigns into
social media. Start
from the planning
stage and identify
the insight or the
core message that
needs to be
communicated.
Every brand has an
ethos that can be the
centerpiece of
messaging in social
media, whether it is
impeccable
customer service, or
a commitment to
innovation.
Digital consumers are
savvy enough to
differentiate between
PR/ marketing material
and authentic content—
give them the latter.
To decide what
type of content to
offer online, find
what continues to
draw your brand
loyalists, and
expand on it.

Case Study

“The Ultimate Driving Machine.”
BMW TV, which has its own YouTube page as well as its own microsite, has been a perfect adaptation of a brand message
onto a social media platform. To hear it from Forbes.com: “There are three reasons why the BMW brand scores so highly:
consistency, patience and a simple, upbeat message. It has been beating the drum for years that BMW offers customers the
ultimate driving machine. “BMW is very, very consistent in providing the product line that echoes what the brand is all about...”
(Forbes.com, The Best-Driven Brand) BMW, which has driven this message home through traditional media and event
marketing, has smartly recognized the importance of continuing that strategy on the web.
In creating BMW TV, BMW sought to speak directly to their brand loyalists—the luxury performance car enthusiast. BMW has
used its insight into its consumers—educated, early-adopters of technology, appreciative of education about car-racing and
tuning— to deliver content that supplements as well as reiterates the brand message. BMW did not skimp when pouring
resources into video production to make high quality videos that look and sound professional. The videos range from
interesting and innovative advertising clips to mini historical documentaries on the cars and brand. BMW TV rewards
enthusiasts by letting them feel “in the know,” ensuring that this group will continue to back the brand.
The selection of online video as a platform was likewise deliberate: videos on YouTube and bmw.tv are embeddable in blogs
and message boards, which are the main web properties used by online car enthusiasts. Importantly, both the page and the
content have carried the trademark look and feel of the BMW brand—a nod to the brand’s willingness to devote resources to
maintaining the brand proposition. The BMW TV content has allowed both existing fans and curious potential consumers to
learn more about “The Ultimate Driving Machine” in an intellectually honest way. Consumers appreciate BMW for not speaking
down to them.

/03
Identify and Expand Audiences

“Audience building is not always about breadth—it can be about
narrowly targeting the audiences that know how to leverage social
media on your behalf.”
Once a brand has successfully translated its core traits online, it must find the corresponding digital spaces that coincide with
its marketing strategy. Despite the trend of brands impulsively joining the largest social media sites, the “one size fits all
approach” is not appropriate for luxury brands. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are called “social” networks because they
foster relationships. Consumers look to form connections with brands that have personality.
When a brand uses a social network as another venue for press releases, like Chloé has on Facebook, consumers lose
interest in engaging with the brand. Just like any aspect of the luxury business, establishing a social media presence requires
detailed and extensive planning. The reckless use of social media to increase exposure can hurt the brand in the long term.
Even though the possibilities for interacting with online communities are immense, any attempt to do so must be done with the
same care and commitment that a traditional communication would command.
For luxury brands, the challenge is in harnessing digital and social media to promote the brand while still cultivating an aura of
exclusivity. One way of doing so is targeting influencers, such as prominent bloggers who sway the consumption desires of
their readers.

Create individual
strategies to
target particular
consumer
segments based
on how they
behave online.
Identify the online
spaces and social
media platforms
that best fit what
and how the brand
wants to
communicate.
Discussion boards
are not for every
company.
Don’t be average in
many social media
platforms; be
excellent in one or
two by allocating
resources
efficiently as
opposed to
spreading them
thinly.
“ ”
The new “era of customization” presents a prime opportunity for
luxury brands to strategically offer unique and exclusive experiences
to targeted subsets of consumers.

Case Study

“For the consumer, a favorite bloggers endorsement of a
brand or product can carry equal weight as a friend’s
recommendation, strongly influencing purchase decisions
and brand preference.”
In partnering with geo-location platform Foursquare, Jimmy Choo creatively turned the metaphorical pursuit for its products into
a physical one. Jimmy Choo’s 2010 “Trainer Hunt” helped the brand reach new audiences by offering the general public the
opportunity to win a pair of its new trainers (aka sneakers for those of us on the other side of the pond). During the campaign,
clues were left online so that anyone following on Foursquare, Twitter or Facebook could chase the shoes around London,
trying to find and win them. The trainers smartly “checked in” to trendy locations such as the members-only Morton, synergizing
the trendiness of the visited locations with the shoe brand itself. It was precisely Jimmy Choo’s decision to highlight the allure
of the brand as well as offer a tangible incentive that made the initiative such a success.
As the first brand to check in an object—instead of a person—on Foursquare, Jimmy Choo innovatively used social media to
create desire for a new product. The promotion ultimately increased sneaker sales by 33%. For everyone who followed the
hunt in real life or digitally and did not win a pair, the time investment into Jimmy Choo primed future purchases. The brand’s
decision to do a one-off, highly entertaining and interactive campaign on social media created buzz that had a lasting
impression on consumers.

Curiously, the “Trainer Hunt” had its own Facebook and Twitter pages, which was a missed opportunity to centralize all
traffic and fans onto corporate Jimmy Choo web properties that would live on after the campaign. Once the promotion ended,
any new audiences who connected with the brand were lost as the Trainer Hunt’s pages lost their relevance. Furthermore,
driving traffic to the corporate web properties would have been an opportunity to deliver non-Trainer Hunt content to a
receptive audience. Since online attention spans are short, it is unlikely that many fans took the additional step of connecting
with the corporate properties. In fact, several months later the Trainer Hunt still has fans and followers of its own, although
the accounts are inactive.
Despite the immediate success
of the “Trainer Hunt”, the
company still overlooked its
ability to retain its new audience
and build the brand long term. It
is important for luxury brands to
think about the after effects of a
campaign, including how to
keep the audience and goodwill
that was created.

/04
Empower Consumers

“Brands can harness this genuine advocacy by creating interactive platforms
that weave consumers’ experiences into the brand communications.”
Deepen the brand consumer relationship by becoming
part of the consumer’s online status and identity. Allow
them to flaunt the brand to their friends.
Humanize your brand by directly communicating with
followers and letting the brand’s personality shine.
Reply to comments and answer questions that will be
seen by other consumers.
Bring the consumer into the brand narrative through
creative marketing initiatives that incorporate user
generated content, such as encouraging photo uploads.
Deliver content that provides new perspective on the
brand. Obscure historical facts and glimpses into a
brand’s archives add to the lore of the luxury brand’s
narrative.

Case Study

“Burberry continues to reinvent its approach to luxury marketing”
157 years after its founding, Burberry continues to reinvent its approach to luxury marketing. For this project, Google worked
with Burberry to re-imagine how brands can deliver beautiful, emotional experiences across devices and screens. The brief
was to create an emotional connection between the Burberry brand and Millennial consumers through the lens of beauty
products. And, in doing so, capture the romantic view of the world that threads throughout the British brand.
Burberry Kisses explores the universal theme of love through the kiss, one of the most iconic and personal symbols of human
emotion. The idea was to send messages sealed with your real kiss. It was sparked by experiments in facial recognition
technology that can detect the outline of a user's lips through their webcam. We then created an immersive experience around
this concept, using modern web technologies such as HTML5, WebGL, CSS3 and WebP. To add a further personal touch to
every letter sent, Google used location data. For example, as users see their messages travel to their destination across a 3D
landscape, they can see local landmarks and StreetView images reflected into puddles, further bringing the experience to life.
By creating a personal yet shareable experience that appeals to everyone, Burberry campaign built a connection to the
Burberry brand without feeling like a traditional ad. Burberry were able to deliver a magical, creative experience at scale in a
true “build once, run everywhere” fashion. Browsers like Google Chrome enabled a beautifully designed, rich experience to run
across devices, both as websites and as ads. The results: 253k+ search results for "Burberry Kisses" on Google.com, more
than 13k cities sent a kiss within first 10 days, and 109 million miles traveled by kisses.

/05
Manage Customer Relations

“The aspirational cachet of a successful business leader remains strong, and
this can be capitalized upon in social media to benefit the brand.”
Devote enough
resources—financial,
manpower, attention—to
maintain a social media
presence, especially
when it comes to
customer relationship
management (CRM),
which is 24/7.
Don’t sound like a
PR shill. Leave
the marketing
speak for press
releases and
investor relations.
Social media is
about authenticity.
Acknowledge
consumers—both
the happy and the
disgruntled. Show
that someone is
listening.
Verbalize efforts to
consider the
changes they’ve
proposed/actions
requested.
Consider breaking
news to social
media
simultaneously
with the press, or
even before it hits
main-stream
news.
Set rules and
guidelines before
engaging in
social media,
making sure that
all employees are
on the same
page.

Case Study

“For customers and fans, a company or brand that reaches out to
them directly carries goodwill that goes beyond the 140 characters
of text in a tweet. And, the opposite can also occur.”
The Marc Jacobs brand’s experience with social media demonstrates the dichotomy of social media consequences. The Marc
Jacobs Intl corporate Twitter account has been regarded as one of the best Twitter accounts for a luxury fashion brand. The
people behind the account give insider access to day-to-day happenings, converse directly with followers and write with an
edgy honesty that fits with the brand voice. Followers of the Twitter account feel a vested interest in the brand’s activities and
actively engage the brand by participating in informal contests, following live-tweets of fashion shows and commenting about
fashion.
The other side of the coin reared its head when CEO Robert Duffy used his personal Twitter account (not the corporate Twitter
account) to publish risqué pictures of Marc Jacobs after-parties. The tweeted pictures, which showed the designer allegedly
inebriated and unflattering pictures of partygoers, ignited a wave of criticism. Duffy responded by shutting down the account.
Overnight, Duffy’s Twitter went from being a heralded example of social media use to being a black mark on the brand. Duffy’s
Twitter account gave followers a (possibly) false sense that the company was unprofessional. That could have been avoided
had a social media strategy been established beforehand.
Most likely, the company never established a clear set of rules and guidelines for its employees. While executives and
customer representatives obviously will have different leeway with regard to social media, a baseline of conduct should apply
to everyone. The guidelines should also govern employees’ personal accounts, as a way of preventing the kind of negative
exposure that happened in Robert Duffy’s Twitter account. Ultimately, not all press is good press.

Case Study

“Four Seasons clearly offering experiences
of exceptional quality.”
While many companies dabble in using social media as a customer relationship management tool, the Four Seasons Resorts
and Hotels Group has fully committed to it. The company has devoted the resources—financial, human, and otherwise—to
create and maintain a full-fledged social media presence. The company’s strategy and management has allowed their content
to be locally focused and relevant.
Instead of coordinating boilerplate messages across all of their hotels globally, the individual hotels’ communications teams
interact with their local populations, their current visitors and other local businesses through social media. Four Seasons not
only has corporate Facebook and Twitter accounts for the brand as a whole, but has maintained Facebook pages and Twitter
accounts for each individual Four Seasons location. The corporate Facebook page boasts over more than 253,000 fans and
acts as a hub, providing easy access to its local properties. Additionally, Four Seasons has offered special deals to its
Facebook fans and has an app that allows them to plot out their travel experiences (and aspirations) on a map, catering
directly to and grooming brand loyalists. Four Seasons also created an iPhone app which allows patrons to book rooms, spa
appointments and a host of other travel and accommodation-related features.
Four Seasons clearly understood that a comprehensive social media presence was best for their brand proposition—“offering
only experiences of exceptional quality.” The company strategically structured its social media offerings to mimic what they
offer the consumer in person—courtesy, dedication and exceptional service. Four Seasons understood that the modern day
traveler stays plugged into the web throughout the day and needs more capabilities than a simple call-center can provide.
Luxury brands are reminded to be cognizant of the specific needs of their consumers and be the ones to offer solutions.

The Hunger Game
The Mask
#VR46
#27NuhatArema
Super Moon
Congrats Arsenal
#haru27uara
#motogp

/06
Conclusion

“Consumers will only identify with a luxury brand that brings value to
their own personal brand.”
Luxury brands that improved their online experience grew
their traffic by 52 percent while brands that ignored their web
properties saw growth of only 8 percent. The improvement of
a luxury brand’s digital presence translates to measurable
gains in the number of people who interact with that brand.
The luxury audience has fully embraced the internet as a
resource, communication vehicle and e-commerce platform.
Luxury brands would be remiss not to do the same. Although
the fundamental goals for luxury businesses have not
changed, the most effective and efficient methods for
reaching them have. Companies must now use social media
to build relationships and directly communicate with their
audiences.
To succeed online, luxury brands must translate their
essence to the web and leverage the unique capabilities of
the digital space to reach consumers in new and exciting
ways. Consumers will only identify with a luxury brand that
brings value to their own personal brand. Luxury businesses
who have embraced this are seeing results across the board
from consumer connections, to the creation of brand
ambassadors, to online sales growth. As the consumer
continues to spend more time online, a strategic approach to
social media and digital marketing will prove critical.

/07
The Players

Mainstream Media & Blogs
The mainstream media, which now includes blogs and industry
trade journals often helps to shape the conversation online. Although
the mainstream media continues to be a very important player, the
conversation it fosters is a one way dialogue. When communicating
with the mainstream media the consumer is a recipient of
information, not a participant. Social media is interactive by nature,
allowing users to become part of and even lead discussions in a way
that they cannot within the mainstream media.
Mobile
Mobile Device applications popularized on phone operating systems
such as the iPhone and Android are increasingly replacing time
spent on computers. Apps is on the rise today. The advantage of
apps is that the maker of an app has almost full control (subject to
restrictions by the operating systems’ mobile app stores) with
regards to content, functionality and branding. Brands have used
mobile apps to mirror their e-commerce sites, deliver creative
content, make product suggestions and provide a host of other
functionalities.
Forums and Message Boards
While the mainstream media and blogs help seed the topics of the
day, message boards and forums are often the resulting location for
discussions. Forums and message boards are open discussion sites
for users to converge on common interests. Users create topical
pages dedicated to conversation on specific subjects and participate
in these conversations by posting replies. Popular forums that have
dedicated communities of people reviewing products, discussing
brands and conducting e-commerce amongst themselves. These
forums are frequently seen as a source of expertise and trusted
opinion about various luxury brands.
After Google and Yahoo!, the web property that reaches the most
affluent consumers is Facebook. Facebook presents a particularly
important opportunity for luxury brands through its ability to run
branded applications and promotions in tabs. Applications are tools
that allow users to “opt-in” to games, quizzes, contests, news feeds,
and so on. Organizations can use these to actively engage with
consumers and offer unique content. For the user, Facebook has
become a branding tool, allowing him or her to cultivate and publicly
display an identity. Frequently, consumers mention brands on
Facebook as a form of personal brand-building through wall posts,
“likes” and sharing of information.

Twitter
The mainstream media, which now includes blogs and industry
trade journals often helps to shape the conversation online. Although
the mainstream media continues to be a very important player, the
conversation it fosters is a one way dialogue. When communicating
with the mainstream media the consumer is a recipient of
information, not a participant. Social media is interactive by nature,
allowing users to become part of and even lead discussions in a way
that they cannot within the mainstream media.
Video Hosting Platforms
Video hosting platforms like YouTube and Vimeo have allowed
social media users to become broadcast channels. Videos have the
ability to rapidly circulate the internet, garnering millions of views in
a matter of minutes. Luxury brands have the ability to create their
own branded media channels on YouTube or Vimeo, as well as use
them as hosting services to serve content on their own web
properties. The ubiquitous nature of these platforms has essentially
created a new content standard on the web.
Geo-Location Platforms
Geo-Location services like Foursquare and Facebook Places offer
brands an alternative opportunity to engage in social media without
“abandoning” their brick-and-mortar business. Geo-location adds a
wrinkle to social media in that it incorporates real, physical location
interaction to social media platforms, which have traditionally lived
100% online. Geo-location platforms allow consumers to “check-in”
to a virtual location when they visit a physical location, creating a log
of activity. These locations—usually businesses—can incentivize
check-ins with tangible rewards. For brands that worry that their
online presentation does not come close to their in-person
experience, geo-location provides an innovative outlet.

lets talk
Aldi Sky Wungkana
Chief Executive Officer
@aldisky
Dinda Amelia
Head of Digital
Gabby Evitho
PR Strategist

fb.com/BlackstoneIndonesia
@BlackstoneID
021-8323-1400, 021-4622-0056
info@blackstoneindonesia.com
http://BlackstoneIndonesia.com
BLACKSTONE is a full-service agency that transforms the way
people interact with brands. A commitment to design, technology,
strategy, and innovation defines BLACKSTONE’s continuing legacy
as an iconoclast in the world of strategic intelligence,
communications, marketing and high technology. With a range of
holistic offerings, including both online and offline services, along
with specializations in brand development, mobile, retail, social
media, digital marketing, public relations, live event, alternative
advertising and tech venture BLACKSTONE’s agency model is
adaptable to the ever-changing needs of consumers in the digital
landscape.
Our aim is simple.
We formed ideas and help build brand into profitable business by
delivers meaningful impact in everything we do.
info

W W W . B L A C K S T O N E I N D O N E S I A . C O M

Social Media Best Practices For Luxury Brands

More Related Content

Social Media Best Practices For Luxury Brands