Welcome to the world of media. Today’s society has captured a virus containing every social media platform you can think of. I, for one, am obsessed with all that social media has to offer. Social media is growing at rapid speeds and it isn’t going away anytime soon. So is social media destroying our society, or is it giving us endless opportunities? Does it matter if your profiles are on public or on private? Well here is an article to help you answer some of these questions.
From big to small, all brands want to be noticed. How do most get recognition? You guessed it right: they use social media. Check Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or any other social media platform, and you’ll see an advertisement for some brand out there. One brand in particular has really grown recently. It has managed to stick around for about 28 years. Actually, they just had a huge birthday sale this last weekend. So happy belated birthday Aéropostale. Yes, that same Aéropostale from your middle school days; it’s back in the running and coming up strong. They’ve got new collaborations and have found some amazing interns to get the latest trends and get back in the fast-fashion game.
For one, Aéropostale’s social media has been flourishing. They have over three million followers on Instagram alone. That’s not to mention that they have a very active Twitter account and have spiraled to the top with their Tumblr posts. So how did Aero get to this point and how did they find a way to reach out to a different age group? The answer is with the help of all of us (their followers); but one intern in particular has really helped the company out. Gina Cangemi is now a Kent State student studying fashion merchandising, but was once just working as a sales associate in a mall in her hometown. Aero found her through tags on her own Instagram page. They contacted her and gave her a six month contract to promote Aero’s brand. Gina is now what many of us call “instafamous,” she’s at a whopping 12k followers on her instagram. She has now become Aero’s social media specialist and is now on her third year of working for Aéropostale’s coporate office in New York City during the summer, and a full-time student in the fall and spring. Talk about a dream come true. I had the chance to sit down with Gina and go more in depth about what it’s like working with Aero and how the job has changed how she uses her own social media.
Gina, of course wearing a cute Aero outfit, sat down with me yesterday and we chatted about her journey:
Me: “Does Aero give you any requirements when it comes to posting some of their stuff on your Instagram?”
Gina: “There are some, yes. They just want me to tag them and they love when I post random stuff about them. However, if I take a picture for them and they buy that particular photo from me, I cannot post it until after they do.”
Me: “So as I stated earlier, you started off as a sales associate at your nearby Aero, can you go into more detail on how they found you?”
Gina: “Yeah, I started off as a sales associate and from there they loved how I posted ootd (outfit of the day) pictures on my own Instagram and tagged them or hashtagged them. They contacted me from that and now, three years later, here I am helping them find content for their social media platforms.”
Me: “That is so amazing. So I know that Aero does have many younger followers so what is some of your advice you’d give out to them about their own Instagrams? Would you say stay private or go public and why?”
Gina: “I never have had my Instagram account on private. My advice for younger users that want their Instagram to showcase their style or certain lifestyle would be to have their account set to public. Yet, when I post pictures, I never give out too much information. I try to maintain a stylish theme but nothing too personal. I keep my private life private.”
Me: “So what about how this has furthered your future? You are going to school for fashion merchandising, how has this helped you with your career choices?”
Gina: “Social media is crucial in the fashion world. Brands pick up how you brand yourself on your Instagram and what not. It has helped shape my own style and I’m grateful for such wonderful opportunities Aero has given me.”
Gina really has a great head on her shoulders and is definitely going places. She is also a blogger and vlogs her adventures on YouTube. If you want to follow her adventures, check her out on Instagram or Youtube.
Although brands are the ones scoping out what social media has to offer, so is the blogging world. Welcome to the land of CollegeFashionista. CollegeFashionista is aimed at the college-age people of the fashion world. In an article by the Huffington Post, they said, “Since its launch in 2009, the site has grown to cover 500 campuses and has developed a network of over 600 style gurus.” And they aren’t stopping there. CollegeFashionista has taken the social media world by storm and they have continued their blog site while helping other brands promote their products. Though this isn’t a a fashion label, CollegeFashionista has definitely branded itself. They have created a huge following on all of their social media platforms.
Not only does CollegeFashionista have bloggers, but they also have their brand ambassadors. What is that, may you ask? These brand ambassadors are college students who have a huge following on their social media platforms (like Gina). Brands like Steve Madden have worked through CollegeFashionista and have gotten their name thrown around the exact target market they are going for becasue of them.
Through the use of things such as Instagram and Twitter, or any other social media platform, brands and bloggers have found professional ways to express their products. With the help of product placement and brand ambassadors, the new way to promote any brand is through social media. While growing in the social media world can heighten your presence in the fashion industry, you must use it in a safe way. If you want your accounts to be public, make sure you follow what Gina said and keep your private life to yourself. Having your account on public can come with benefits, but just be cautious becuase once you let something out there, it’s hard to take it back. Keep on building up your social platforms in a positive way and it’ll pay off. Happy posting!