Italian apparel and accessories label Marni is expanding its social media presence just in time for Milan Fashion Week with new Twitter and Instagram accounts.

The brand used its first posts to build excitement for its Marni Flower Market happening this month. Launching social media platforms during a large event can help a brand draw followers with rich content.

“A single social media account may not be enough to move the needle when social presence is in its infancy,” said Kelly Cooper, marketing campaign manager at Moz, Seattle. “Most likely, since both Twitter and Instagram are highly engaging channels that draw users in with video and beautiful imagery, plus the fact that other fashion houses are successfully using both platforms to promote their brand and products, it makes sense that Marni would launch with a concentrated effort in both.

“With multiple social media accounts, Marni is creating the opportunity to engage with their most loyal customers and increase their overall reach,” she said. “With a focus on quality content and a channel specific approach to content promotion, Marni will no doubt build presence in these channels.

“An active, engaged social audience is a very covetable thing that can help spearhead campaigns, spread messages with unbelievable rapidity, provide valuable customer feedback and help brands keep their finger on the pulse of what their customers want.”

Ms. Cooper is not affiliated with Marni, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.

Marni did not respond by press deadline.

Curating content
Marni first tweeted on Aug. 29, greeting Twitter and then taking the opportunity to highlight its presence on the red carpet of the Emmy Awards. Comedian Sarah Silverman wore a dress by the brand for the event.

Following, Marni also highlighted a YouTube video of its men’s spring/summer 2015 show presented in June.

Tweets from Marni

The brand then took time away from the social platform, returning to tease its Marni Flower Market on Sept. 9. “Fashion and art lovers” are invited to attend on Sept. 21 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Milan.

In between highlighting its pre-fall fashions and fragrance line, Marni shared more teasers of its #MarniFlowerMarket, including a shed filled with a mixture of plants and crafted items.

Tweet from Marni

The Marni Flower Market is the start of Marni’s 20th anniversary celebration.  Marni will benefit from the extra stylish foot traffic in the city because it is hosted during Milan Fashion Week.

In addition to selling souvenirs, there will be free children’s workshops by the Museo dei Bambini Milano. The museum’s headquarters are located in the Rotunda della Besana, where the Marni Flower Market will be held.

Promotional image for Marni Flower Market

Marni’s Instagram covers similar topics, but with different imagery. Videos posted to Twitter as embedded YouTube content are shortened to fit the platform.

The label also used the opportunity to share more images of its pre-fall collection, and a throwback photo of the launch for its first fragrance in 2013.

Instagram posts from Marni

Marni posted more than 20 tweets and more than 40 images to Instagram before promoting its accounts to its existing Facebook audience of 136,000 followers. Giving consumers a better idea of what they are signing up for before asking them to follow a social account gives them more incentive to add a brand to their feed.

“For maximum business impact, social campaigns should be inline with broader marketing campaigns,” Ms. Cooper said. “This multi-channel approach will increase the frequency at which an audience is exposed to marketing messages, helping them stick.

“Launching in tandem with a larger marketing campaign can benefit a social launch by drawing a larger audience and subsequently, increasing fans and/or followers,” she said. “However, if brands choose to time social launches to big events, it is important that the social team is well equipped to succeed.

“For example, guidelines set around social response best practices, training on the platforms themselves, a firm understanding of brand voice and identity, a social posting schedule, and team members who are empowered to make key decisions in real-time are all aspects that can help a social team start off on the right foot.”

Drawing attention
Marni has previously driven foot traffic through special projects.

During home furnishing trade show Salone del Mobile in Milan, Marni, along with other luxury fashion brands, used the event as a platform to showcase their interior collections.

Marni teamed up with a group of Colombian women on a limited edition line of furniture and animal sculptures, which the brand designed the frameworks for, according to the Telegraph. Marni’s “Animal House” was on display at the brand’s store in Milan during the same timeframe as Salone del Mobile (see story).

When adding new accounts, brands typically focus on one account at a time.

For instance, Italian menswear label Brioni expanded its social media presence beyond a solitary Twitter profile with a new Instagram account.

Brioni timed its Instagram launch to Salone del Mobile, for which the brand had a window display, in order to have compelling visual content to gather followers. Even though Instagram is an important platform for fashion brands, Brioni may want to consider spreading out further, since different social media platforms have different audiences (see story).

As luxury brands embrace social further, it is important for them to keep up worthwhile content that fits with the image they have created.

“There are a few key things that are important to note when crafting your social media strategy,” Ms. Cooper said. “It is not about having a presence on every single social channel, it’s about investing time and resources into those that make the most sense for your business.

“Find the channels where your customers are most active, engage with them and start building your audience there,” she said. “That being said, where your customers spend their time online is in constant motion, so be sure to always keep an eye out for new opportunities to test and learn.”

Final Take
Sarah Jones, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York