Red Dress Boutique expanded its business with the help of social media. The husband and wife entrepreneurs started with a brick-and-mortar store, but their business grew exponentially when they launched a website. Now, online sales make up 90 percent of Red Dress Boutique sales.
The Red Dress website often shows items that have sold out and shows new clothes added daily. The founder, Diana Harbour, explained, “Scarcity breeds demand. I’ll order limited quantity. Girls want to know a hundred other girls don’t have what they have on. I get on social media and I hammer it. I was taking photos of the models in the fitting room in the clothes and uploading them immediately into Facebook so girls could see live time what just came in. It started a bit of frenzy. Social media has made it where you have to have the new, the next, the now. Every day.” Mrs. Harbour’s savvy use of social media helped turn Red Dress Boutique into a multi-million dollar enterprise.
For example, Red Dress tweets about four times a day about things ranging from motivational quotes to new products, specific looks, and when items are restocked. Red Dress has 17,000 followers on Twitter with 12,300 tweets, including retweets from their followers. Red Dress has an even stronger presence on Instagram, with 188,000 followers and over 7,000 posts. Red Dress also started its own hashtag, #rdbstyle, which allows users on Twitter and Instagram to tag posts when they are wearing Red Dress clothes. Red Dress then picks their favorite outfits from #rdbstyle and features them on their Instagram page. Red Dress has been holding weekly giveaways on Twitter and Instagram of certain outfits or gift cards for users who like the weekly photo, comment with their size, and then tag a friend to be entered in their weekly giveaways. My personal favorite, though, is Red Dress’ Pinterest boards. Their 44 different boards with over 20,000 pins range from looks for each season to lifestyle quotes, do-it-yourself projects, and even recipes.
This innovative use of social media allows Red Dress to reach customers beyond its Athens, Georgia home. The ease of online shopping also makes it easier for shoppers to find the latest trends and outfit inspiration. I especially love their fall college game day outfits and different looks with a fur vest layered over with knee high boots.
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI clicked on your post because I am also doing my blog on fashion and retailers around Athens. I think everything you said about Red Dress is spot on. Their social media presence is much stronger than anyone else in town. I hadn't yet heard about the #rdbstyle hashtag, but I think it's a really good idea. It reminds me of the #mumumondaygiveaway by Show Me Your Mumu. I think by providing an incentive (like a free product or a giftcard), the customer has a greater push to promote your brand for you.
Really enjoyed reading this!
-Caroline Weidhaas