Social media and the Internet is just a part of daily life for most people. We get online either at home or on our smart phones all of the time. Though, have you ever stopped to wonder just how social media has changed certain industries? Like for instance… the fashion industry?
At the young age of 26, Erika Dellatorre is co-running a highly successful fashion blog with two of her closest friends. The blog is called “Piece of Chic” and is for anyone interested in fashion, beauty, and all around lifestyle tips.
The blog is easy to use and highly accessibly, with tabs at the top categorizing the site, and tabs at the sides letting users know where to find the blog on all other social media platforms. Dellatorre designed the site and is known along friends as a “social media guru.”
She sat down with me to explain how social media has completely transformed her life and the fashion world for good.
“I started blogging in 2008 as a creative outlet from my extremely technical nine to five. Little did I know, I was building a portfolio for myself. I was able to attend New York Fashion Week and The Victoria Secret Fashion Show due to the popularity of the blog. As a result I landed a role as Fashion Editor for 614 Magazine in Columbus, thus allowing me to change career paths and leave behind a job I hate,” said Dellatore.
She mentioned just how much social media affects every aspect of her professional life and how it keeps fashion and the arts thriving.
Dellatore noted this when she said, “I think the internet has made the fashion industry more accessible. Now-a-days, almost every major fashion brand streams their fashion week shows online for anyone to view. Before this, one could only hope to one day attend a Marc Jacob’s show. Also, brands are able to interact directly with their customers and have real conversations via social media,” she said.
While noting that being able to communicate with customers is one of the biggest advantages that come with social media, she also pointed out a few other advantages of social media.
“For editors it’s like getting having a cheat sheet for a test. Social media gives editors a clue-in as to what bloggers and their target demographic are already buzzing about, and thus giving them story leads. Also, many editors look to street style bloggers for inspiration for emerging trends on the ‘runway-to-real life’ front,” said Dellatore.
Obviously, Dellatore is a huge fan of social media and what the internet has done for fashion, it is her entire career. Although, she did mention a few disadvantages that come from blogs getting too popular and social media in her field.
“With more and more bloggers being paid to wear and represent larger brands, some personal style blogs are losing their true authenticity,” Dellatore stated.
While blogging is not considered a social-networking site in the technical sense, Dellatore uses the most popular social networking sites to promote her blog.
“I use WordPress to blog and Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to promote my blog. We predominately use Instagram above all other social media platforms. It’s the fastest growing and drives the most traffic to our blog,” she said.
The blog is updated daily, and is promoted multiple times a day through social networking sites. Dellatore mentioned that she spends about three to four hours a day on social media.
As the blog continues to grow and gain more followers, Dellatore continues to believe in the power of social media and the Internet. She noted that blogging can completely change someone’s life, whether you are creating it or simply visiting the site.