Luxury brands have a specific challenge in using social media: the need to retain the aura of exclusivity around their brands even as they embrace the inclusive, accessible nature of social media.
Here's the solution: luxury brands should use social media in a manner that awareness of the brand's promise is accessible while achievement of the brand's promise is exclusive (hat tip: Marci Ikeler, @marciikeler).
Here are four powerful strategies for how luxury brands should use social media to become accessible to fans but still remain exclusive for customers -
The four strategies are positioned along the accessibility-exclusivity continuum -
1. Create awards, magazines and communities to interpret luxury lifestyle, fashion and design with your brand's unique lens. Examples include LMVH Nowness, Thierre Mugler Womanity, D&G Swide, Wyndham Resorts Women on Their Way, BMW Mini Space and Rolex Awards.
2. Leverage your brand's desirability to create sharable digital artifacts. Examples include the Godiva virtual gift shop on Facebook and Hermes ties posters on Facebook.
3. Bring together designers, artists and customers to share how they interpret your brand. Examples include Burberry Art of the Trench, Mac Artist Tweets, Coach Design a Tote Contest and Sheraton Resorts Better When Shared.
4. Create a private invite-only social network like A Small World to underline your brand's exclusivity. Examples include the Generation Benz community.
For more, do read (and share) our comprehensive guide to how luxury brands should use social media to become accessible to fans but still remain exclusive for customers -