Twitter & The Effect Of Social Media on Fashion Brands & Retailers at the 140 characters conference.

July 1, 2009 in Fashion 2.0, Social Media by Yuli Ziv | No comments

Last month @macala and I spoke at Jeff Pulver’s 140 Characters Twitter conference about the subject I’m most passionate about: Fashion + Social Media. In a regular Twitter fashion, we were given a limited time (only 10 min!) to share our insights. Enjoy the video and please let me know your thoughts.

Social Media vs. Free Media.

June 3, 2009 in Social Media by Yuli Ziv | No comments

As social media continues to evolve, the lines between PR and advertising continue to blur to the point where social media marketing is considered a new form of free advertising on the web. Often users are seen as the free man power creating the new types of UGC driven marketing campaigns for billion dollar brands. Brands that succeeded in getting millions of free impressions on blogs and social networks pride themselves in cracking the secret code of social media.

Bloggers, as influencers, are positioned high up in this game, because they are trusted sources to spread the information down the influence chain. Brands need their readers to push the message out and convince the masses. Bloggers often rewarded with prizes of their own (Kmart), free trips (Hanes), landed cars (Ford Fiesta) or by the prestige itself of being included with other influencers.

As a blogger, more often I get PR pitches that are pushing the limits of “free advertising’. From posting about brand’s sweepstakes, to advertising a special sale - some of the attachments sent with those pitches often look like an oversized ad banner. My personal filtering process is very simple: I usually ask myself if Harpers Bazaar or Marie Claire will post this “ad” for free. In most cases, it’s a “NO”.

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Fashion 2.0: Internship Interview Tips.

May 26, 2009 in Fashion 2.0 by Yuli Ziv | 3 comments

In the past few weeks I’ve been on a look out for the perfect interns to spend the next few months with MyItThings.com, covering some of the hottest events in town (including NY Fashion Week in the fall!) as well as helping to manage our growing community of contributors and the amazing content they create. I was very lucky to find not one, but two perfect people for the role and decided to post some of the comments I had for those who didn’t make the cut, so hopefully it will help those who are still hunting for internships at these gloomy times. These are the most important qualities by the order of their importance I was looking for while interviewing candidates:

1. Be excited. Your energy level is probably the most important thing you can offer, especially when lacking experience and skills. Get excited about the company, position, product, even about the interview itself. Remember - excitement and positivity are contagious, so hopefully the person who interviews you will feel the same about you.

2. Dress Memorable. I know, it’s tough to dress fashionably when you can hardly afford the NYC rent these days, so go for one statement piece that will make you memorable. Whether it’s a vintage jacket, “it” bag or fabulous pair of heels - go for something memorable and forget everything you read about the typical interview outfits. Those rules simply don’t apply in the fashion industry.

3. Don’t be a fashionista, be an expert. Many girls sat in front of me talking about their passion for fashion, but when were asked specific questions about industry leaders or brands, got confused. The love for shopping and putting together outfits isn’t enough to make it in this industry. You must be knowledgeable about the field and the main players in it. Keep up to date with the latest fashion news via industry publications such as WWD and don’t be afraid to show your knowledge.

4. Get a blog. Fashion blog is almost a must requirement for anyone who wants to get into fashion publishing these days. If you want eventually make a career as a fashion editor/writer, why don’t start it now? A blog eliminates the need to send writing samples, and gives an impression of your personal style. You don’t have to update it every day, 5-10 posts could be enough and serve as your portfolio.

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Marketing 3.0: Brands Just Want To Be LOVEd.

May 8, 2009 in Fashion 2.0, Retail, Social Media by Yuli Ziv | No comments

At the beginning, there were TV commercials, interrupting our favorite shows for 30 seconds - the most intrusive forms of marketing imaginable.

Later, there were banners, the less intrusive form of marketing, because at least readers could disregard the screaming piece of graphic and try to focus on the content they wanted to consume. Of course, there are still cool commercials out there, the best of them are celebrated at the annual Superbowl, but let’s admit - most of them are just desperate screams for customers’ attention.

Then the whole “Social Media” phenomenon was created. Agencies told brands they could possibly stop screaming and interrupting their customers and instead, interact and engage. “But how can we measure this?”- Brands asked their agencies, and the agencies replied: “How can you measure LOVE?”

Oh, the sweet promise to be LOVEd. Isn’t it all everyone wants, while socializing online? (Note - some want FAME and MONEY, but this often comes from even larger deficit of LOVE).

On Twitter LOVE is measured by  Read the rest of this entry »

Style Coalition Avelle 5th Anniversary Campaign Launch.

April 28, 2009 in Fashion 2.0, Social Media by Yuli Ziv | No comments

Last week marked a very exciting event for Style Coalition - we launched our first major campaign for a AVELLE (the new Bag Borrow or Steal). I’ve been personally following this brand since the day they launched 5 years ago, and was excited for their Sex and The City success (BBOS was integrated into the script). Needless to say how excited we were to work with their marketing team on a very innovative social media campaign celebrating brands 5th anniversary.

The Avelle campaign is one great example of the vision we had when founded Style Coalition - help brands engage in the social media in a way that would be authentic, ethical and, of course, measurable. By working directly with the group of publishers in the fashion vertical (Style Coalition) Avelle’s marketing team could create a promotion which was aligned both with sites content/demographics and their overall marketing strategy.

As part of the campaign, 9 fashion sites ( Second City Style, College Fashion, SheFinds, TheCoveted, Gala Darling, MyItThings, Trend de la Creme, StyleBakery, StyleObserver) were asked to make their own favorite picks from Avelle.com. The sponsored posts featuring these products run across the sites during the 2 weeks period, unveiling new content every day. Read the rest of this entry »

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