While fashion magazines look back on the best design pieces of this month's New York Fashion Week, we thought it's time to reflect on how savvy brands leveraged social influencers for NYFW involvement. Unless you are the hosting brand or a magazine editor, it is fairly difficult to gain access to fashion show events and create live content for your audience. Fashion and lifestyle influencers, on the other hand, usually receive front-of-row VIP passes to Fashion Week's most coveted shows. Therefore, partnership with influencers allows brands to showcase exclusive NYFW coverage in front of their social media fans, as well as to dramatically enhance their brand image by associating themselves with the ultimate trendsetters at NYFW.
Below, check out five ways brands collaborated with influencers to learn how you can apply the same strategies for the next big events in your industry!
1. Account Takeover
Giving influencers keys to your social media accounts is a common practice of influencer marketing, and this trick can prove to be even more effective for time-sensitive events like New York Fashion Week. Obviously, influencers can drive their fans to your social media profiles and help you gain followers. But the strategic benefit of an account takeover campaign is the spike in engagement level. From street shots to back-stage show snaps, influencers can tell the NYFW story through their eye and engage your followers with their creatively-curated content. Moreover, if the takeover period extends into a full week, your audience will be enticed to check your social feed constantly because they can't bear to miss any new updates from the influencer!
2. Live Show Coverage
Yes, your followers can recap fashion shows by checking out magazine articles, news articles, etc. to get the insider scoop on NYFW. But why can't you fulfill their curiosity and give them a sense of exclusivity by feeding them live show content? Influencers are usually invited to attend several shows during Fashion Week, so they are the perfect candidates to be your NYFW field reporters. From Snapchat live updates to Periscope live streaming, there are multiple ways for influencers to give your audience a taste of what sitting at the front row of the major runway show looks like. For example, Dream Hotels partnered with lifestyle and fashion influencer Marianna Hewitt who provided the hotel's Snapchat audience with behind-the-scenes looks at the Lauren Conrad Show.
3. Co-Host An Influencer Meetup
Influencers usually take advantage of their travel opportunities to get to know fans from different cities. With so many NYFW-themed events in New York City, a face-to-face with social media stars both unique and exciting. Co-creating an intimate gathering between influencers and their fans is almost like throwing an influencer marketing campaign offline: you pick an influencer whose style matches your brand identity and whose audience coincides with your target demographic, and then you have them promote your products in an organic and engaging way. For instance, boutique greeting card maker Papyrus sponsored a meetup event for influencer Marianna Hewitt by providing catering and venue; in turn, fans are given special gifts and a chance to experience the brand in person.
4. Product Integration
From what they wear to where they stay and how they commute, there are countless opportunities for brands to sponsor influencers' NYFW essentials. Kia, for instance, was the car that fashion influencer Jessi Malay drove to get around town attending shows. For fashion retailers, the benefit of product integration during NYFW is even more obvious. Influencers would rock out the most figure-flattering and show-stopping outfit to look their best at fashion's most prestigious event. Therefore, their picks during NYFW have way more trend-setting power than the clothes they generally wear in a generic Instagram post. After all, it is the "NYFW Look."
5. Feature Non-Branded Content
This strategy might sound a bit counter-intuitive -- why not flex all your muscles to have influencers endorse your brands on such an important occasion? Well, if your goal is to simply drive social following and engagement, featuring influencer-created content on your social media profile is good enough. For instance, Dream Hotels posted several photos of influencer sister duo Shea Marie and Caroline Vreeland trotting around NYC, without any brand mentions or product placements at all. Smart marketers realize that at the end of the day, it's solid content that attracts people, branded or unbranded.