Most often, addressing the complaint trumps the original incident because community/social member are so impressed by the brands listening. It also prevents larger flair ups or negative reviews in the future because they know the brands are listening.

@YM is also correct that there is very little overlap in social communities. So having and actively engaging in 5 targeted spots broadens your customer base and draws in new customers to the brand. People trust people, that’s the basis of social media. So if a friend recommends a brand to another friend, that person’s likelihood of becoming a customer is three time greater than if they found the site on their own with no information.

In current retail times, revenue is important. Social media marketing is hybrid PR/marketing tool that should be strategically integrated into a brand’s overall marketing plan to drive continued brand awareness, build relationships with customers and drive sales revenue.

IMHO, not participating is actually more hazardous to your brand than participating. People are going to talk about you regardless of whether you are on Twitter, so you might as well join the conversation. You absolutely need to be listening and monitoring first. If there are quality issues, your customers will let you (and 1,000 of their closest friends) know, so you better be there to acknowledge and remedy or debunk (if information is false). But please please please, listen before you speak: social platforms aren’t simply a one-way broadcast system (like a TV), they are conversation platforms and long-term relationship building.

I agree with the 3 starting points the author makes. Just make sure that listening is a huge part of it. And if you need hep with all of this, hire a community manager, at least a part-time one – to help you deal with the chatter, understand trends, manage your own community and participate in external ones.

@Dahlia, Not all social media is the same. It’s an umbrella term, but a site like Kaboodle is completely different to a site like Twitter, which is nothing like YouTube. While it’s important to select the social sites where you participate, I have to disagree with the risk. If you’re present in the social channels, your company has an opportunity to address criticism immediately and directly – not to mention to a wider audience than most magazines offer.

Particularly in challenging times, to rely so heavily on third party communicators is at least an equal gamble.

Dahlia is right that social media outlets do not have rules and the brands, as well as the artists, in the fashion industry need a platform that is somewhere in the middle.

MyFDB.com is a new site that is in private beta, but they seem to have created an environment that brands and artists might be interested in working with. They credit all the artists and companies that take part in covers, editorials, and campaigns in magazines. The visuals are great and you can get lost in site, which I love….

Fashion brands like to control their image, and with fashion magazines for a time, they knew that the content published to consumers was edited in a way that only flattered their image. But with social media, there are no rules, there is no control. You only need a handful of influential social media gurus to say one bad thing and their reputation takes a huge hit. In this recession, fashion brands need all the support and “fans” they can get to keep their profits afloat, so to go “social” is a huge risk.

I think why fashion has been so slow in adapting to new technology is that technology itself moves at an exponential rate, mega fashion companies are putting a lot on the line and to constantly keep up with the technological changes on the internet, I would think it would be very difficult to implement and adapt at the same rate, thus explaining why they’re only catching on much later.