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How did the project start?
Spoiled Brat initially approached Visualsoft to develop the online presence of their shop. The company had a previously unsuccessful attempt at eCommerce and with greater experience and a clear idea of requirements, Spoiled Brat chose Visualsoft as their web partner going forward.
The website is a hub of designer celebrity fashion; contemporary and stylish, the site boasts the latest trends and must have garments. The website quickly became a success, drawing in visitors based on clever SEO and the company’s undoubtedly profound knowledge of products and designer labels. Working closely with Spoiled Brat, it was clear that there was great potential in taking advantage of opportunities in social networks and a plan was developed to exploit the opportunities.
Key aims through integrating the website with Social Media included:
• Developing Spoiled Brat as a highly regarded expert in fashion, trends and style amongst relevant social groups.
• Build and retain a client base which serves to market products through encouraging discussion and sharing of products/ styles.
• Funneling traffic towards the Spoiled Brat eCommerce website to increase sales.
What options did you consider?
Integrating social media was a natural progression in the Spoiled Brat website and therefore the task to implement the technology fell with Visualsoft. Celebrity fashion is highly searched and recognizing this from the outset had already allowed the website to take on an almost magazine like nature. This included instantly editable promos, shop by celebrity options and wish list facilities allowing shoppers to share ideas and trends.
Alongside the developments by Visualsoft, Spoiled Brat would utilize PR in magazines to drive relevant traffic to the website. Ideally, those who chose to browse and not to purchase could become enveloped in the social media aspect; sharing ideas and viewing the trends of other like minded individuals.
What help and expertise did you receive?
Although not generally associated with social media/ networking, Visualsoft recognizes the relevance and potential in running various social groups around a central eCommerce platform. Although no third parties were consulted on the development of social links, a number of key staff within Visualsoft are highly experienced in social networking even to the point of maintaining industry and social blogs.
Working closely with Spoiled Brat, new social media accounts were established through Facebook, Word Press and My Space. Sharing of products would be promoted through an advanced book marking system, which allowed specific pages to be shared through over thirty different social networking groups.
Product pages were also further modified to encourage interaction, including product reviews and send to a friend features. A strategy was devised to ensure traffic flow through the site, which included distributing discount vouchers through forums and social networking applications. This also ensured a natural growth of marketing through people sharing and copying discount vouchers throughout social media networks.
Did you face and challenges or learn any lessons?
There were a number of unknowns in developing the solution; especially as the site was exposing itself to user content which could act in a negative as well positive manner. Also, it is one thing, being popular and receiving traffic from integrating with social networks; understanding quality of traffic and effectiveness of different types of individual campaigns was equally essential going forward.
Visualsoft introduced Google analytics which could trace traffic sources and plot their movements through the website. Also, tagged voucher codes were issued specifically to social networking sites to build impulse sales, but also to add traceability and place a value/ return on time invested on campaigns.
The Spoiled Brat website was also further developed to cater for the much broader spectrum of customer entering from social networking sites. Multiple currency features allowed greater conversion on site.
What are the outcomes and how has it improved your business?
The outcomes of the Spoiled Brat website throughout 2008 have been exceptional and far beyond all expectations. Through exceptional growth in sales and activity, the site has grown to meet demand, now stocking over 100 brands. With a constantly fresh outlook, the site draws upon an ever increasing volume of visitors, which in turn drives further social activity.
The Spoiled Brat website is a shining example of the potential in social media as a low cost, long term form of marketing. The social aspects break down barriers between the website and the user, promoting greater communication and exchange of knowledge. As a result, sales through Spoiled Brat have grown month on month, making the site and brand highly recognizable in fashion circles throughout the UK.
The success, however, has also brought about problems. The current site was built to be highly scalable, but the growth of traffic, sales and product range has grown at a completely unpredicted rate. Product filters and navigation needs to be redeveloped to cope with the huge leap in brands and products and further gear the site towards a social media driven audience.
What are your plans for the future?
The next stage in moving forward and further growing the site is currently in progress. The front end of the site is being completely redesigned with a focus on:
• Providing greater prominence to celebrity based articles and spotlights.
• Providing a wealth of product sharing options via a range of social media.
• A more detailed level of search to allow more refined results and more focused cross selling.
As a result, the site aims to integrate even more closely with social media; forming a resource for celebrity style and culture and further refining the direction of marketing towards a heavily social media centred campaign.
The success of the website has been much greater than anyone could have imagined. However, it is the fact that there is so much more opportunity for growth through social media channels which has all parties excited about the future and looking forward to further embellishing the online experience for the fashion shopper.
