Fashion lovers | Gonzalez Sarah Social Media Site

This week I received some love from a featured, and favorite brand of mine, Steve Madden who directed me towards their company blog. My recent post on Steve Madden was a description of their social media efforts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. After taking a look at what Steve Madden was posting on the SM MAG blog I realized that creating a post specifically for their blog would be a great way to continue my social media analysis. Plus, I usually structure my posts around Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram so I thought just looking at the company blog would be refreshing.

My first reaction to the Steve Madden blog was not only the aesthetic beauty, but the unique vibe of the page. In my opinion, the Steve Madden brand has a very vintage, LA, New York style and caters to an audience who can appreciate this specific style. The SM blog is linked directly from the company website under the tab SM MAG and has loads of content. Since the blog is packed with many fabulous ways SM is making audience connections it was hard to figure out where to start my personal analysis. I am going to try to cover as much ground as possible to give my honest opinion on their social creation.

As far as social strategy, the blog is on top of everything the Steve Madden audience is concerned with such as, fashion, music, and staying up to date in each area. The blog has seven sections in their blog including tabs like fashion, music, about, contributors, and shop. Immediately when you enter the home page of SM Mag blog you are greeted by a huge Steve Madden logo and pictures paired with the top three most recent blog posts. The home page is dedicated to a little bit of everything from every section of the SM mag blog. The home page also has links to all the social media platforms Steve Madden utilizes. Under the words “follow us” is a row of icons that links you directly to each page, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I also noticed, under the Twitter icon, there was an update saying that Steven Madden recently changed their twitter handle. I thought this was a cute way to update their audience about recent changes within their social media accounts. The company also has several pictures showing their recent activity in the social space. There is a picture from their most recent pin on Pinterest, numerous recent Instagram pictures, and Twitter pictures of Steve Madden shoes with the hash tag #SMOOTD (Steve Madden outfit of the day). Blog posts and a video using the new Vine app for Twitter flow through the middle column of the page and balance everything out.

The Fashion section of the blog is dedicated to all things Steve Madden fashion. The most recent post if a how-to by Kitty Pryde, who decorates her Steve Madden kicks and “puts the twinkle in her toes” and links directly to Kitty Prdye’s blog page. This link to a blogger shows Steve Maddens knowledge of the blog-world and how effectively they have been able to integrate their mission into this social space. The music tab has links to a page about music, rather than shoes. There is an artist that is highlighted on this page with an introduction, music video, photos, and album information. A banner above the music page informs audiences to await new artists of 2013. Following the music page there is an about tab that specifies what the blog offers audiences. The about tab is a clever way to clarify the collection of findings within their blog. I am very impressed with the about section within the blog because it sends the message that SM wants their audience to fully understand their page. Following the description of the blog’s intentions there is a section for the blog contributors. This is a great way to prove authenticity by including the audience with the faces behind the computer.

Overall the SM blog effectively connects to their targeted audience through many different ways in their blog. From their multiple social media outlets like Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest to their blog posts on fashion and music. They have a variety of hashtags used throughout the page like “SMOOTD” (Steve Madden outfit of the day) and #bts (behind the scenes). They have effectively incorporated usage of the new Twitter app Vine onto their page showing they are up-to-speed with the social space and have an account with every major social media platform. The Steven Madden blog is sophisticated and filled with content to connect with a variety of audiences who are all shoe-obsessed. The blog is a great example of how a brand can uniquely and creatively create a page that strays from the specific product but continues to uphold the brand image necessary for the brand.

After taking a look at the excellent social media campaign ran by Whole Foods I decided to continue on with another brand I value. Despite the variety of available shoe stores, I am compelled to take my shoe-addiction to the shelves of Steve Madden. A company and a shoe-maker that never fail to create a trendy shoe to my standards. Steven Madden is active in their social space and utilizes their brand presence with Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. Both are actively monitored and offer their audiences a promotional, yet personal opportunity to interact with the brand.

The Steve Madden Facebook account is liked by some 702, 032 profiles, with some 36, 709 people talking about the brand on Facebook. The account is proactively updated with relevant shoe links to events such as The Oscars, sales promotions, and style guides. Although, I wasn’t able to find any direct conversations with their audiences through Facebook comments, they do update daily to initiate these type of conversations. Yet, their Facebook page includes other interactions like linking their shoe-loving audiences to original fashion bloggers, and a competition for designing shoes. According to Steve Madden shoes are relevant to any given situation. Among holidays like the recently passed Presidents Day sales event and promotions that link their shoes to the Oscars. Steve Madden is able to pair their shoes with any occasion on Facebook.

The Twitter account for Steve Madden is home to 2, 391 tweets, 27, 566 followers, and following 2,030. The background to the account is a few pairs of their newest shoes, and an original account bio that links the actual Steve Madden shoe maker’s account. It is widespread knowledge that company twitter accounts are not ran by the CEO or founder themselves, and Steve Madden is classy about how it portrays this fact to its audience. The separate accounts not only give audiences another channel of interaction with a part of the brand, but also continue to uphold their authentic image. Steve Madden’s tweets include promotional messages, retweets, contest links, sale information, tweet prompting, and hashtag interaction. The shoe brand has found a way to make shoes highly relevant in trending topics as well. Hashtags, such as #Reasonsiunfollowedyou, are linked to tweets like “because your shoe game was ratchet.” This tweet shows how the brand is able to promote its messages without sounding commercial while speaking directly to its demographic. Steve Madden is completely aware of who they are speaking to in their Twitter space.

Steve Madden is also up-to-date with the use of Instagram, which seems to be a new space for most big brands still. The Steve Madden Instagram account is home to 905 pictures, 286,084 followers, and follows about 1,328 profiles. The photo posting website has pictures that give its shoe-loving audience a visual look into the brand. Among the 905 pictures in the account there is visual documentation of brand photo shoots, new shoes, fashion blog photos (with Steve Madden shoes), quotes, and pictures relevant to it’s demographic interests. My favorite aspect of the Steve Madden Instagram account is how they incorporate pictures of the corporate employees throughout the day at work with a new shoe. This brief glimpse into the work-life of the Steve Madden employees makes the brand very personal to audiences, and in my opinion contributes to the 5,000 to 20,000 likes every picture post receives.

After looking at all the social media accounts ran by Steve Madden, I journeyed to their website to look for any other connections. The company website is geared towards digitally displaying what the brand offers the consumer, ask selling their shoes. However, each Steve Madden product allows customers to read and write reviews. This option adds to the authentic company image the brand maintains. Despite the fact that Steve Madden is killing-it in the social media space, a company blog would continue to facilitate connections and conversations with audiences. The more connections formed the most authentic audiences, like myself, will view the brand. Despite my biased love for shoes and Steve Madden, I am thoroughly impressed with how high they raise the bar for other brands in the social space. They have a clear understanding for their audience on Instagram, great retweeting and hashtag efforts on Twitter, and a variety of daily posts for Facebook. The social media space can be a huge outlet for brands, as Steve Madden has proven. This company has created a brand message that is central to its target audience, and because of this is able to effectively manage all their social media accounts. I just love it when brands get it right. Until we meet again….