Blog - Facebook

Fashion Week has descended upon New York City, and that means we've been following the Tweets, Facebook updates, and blogs of some of our favorite fashionistas and writers.

While reading the updates from Zandile Blay (fashion market editor of Paper Magazine, editor of the Blay Report, style editor for the Huffington Post, and one of Collective-E's fave fashion insiders) we caught an interesting update:

"Blaynistas [her blog followers] this is the year of the blogger! I swear! they are getting front row like mad!"

Come to think of it, we've been following Zandile, and her partner in crime Julee Wilson (fashion editor extraordinaire at Real Simple magazine and  Real Simple Twitter gal ) throughout Fashion Week, and there they are at the hottest shows in and out of the tents, meeting with some of the hottest designers!

So what does this mean for us? 

Firstly - Times truly are changing! The power of the blogger is getting stronger than ever, and thanks to the advent and exponential growth of Twitter & Facebook their messages and updates are transmitted instantly worldwide.  If you are a blogger, there is no limit to what you can do.

Second:  The fashion world, business world, and media in general are recognizing the power of these bloggers!  The designers inviting these bloggers to shows know that endorsements from people like Zandile & Julee can impact their brand.

Third:  YOU should be educating yourself as to who the most influential bloggers are in your industry.  Neglecting pitching the blogs is a big no-no for your pr campaign.  Sure magazines and television are important to focus on but you also have to be sure that you're sharing your expertise, products, and stories with bloggers who can instantly share it online in both their blogs and their social media links.  This can start a viral buzz that can spread like wildfire. 

** please note:  really do your research when checking out blogs.  Check their rankings, but also how long they've been around, other stories they cover, and verify their legitimacy before working with any blog.

It's also inspiring on another level, as it shows you that a strong message, a computer, and hard work can land you exactly where you need to be to make an impact - whether it's the front rows of Fashion Week or whatever is best for your brand!

I'm sure these bloggers never underestimated their power - learn a lesson from them!

Want to check out the very latest from Julee & Zandile ?

Follow Zandile's blog at www.theblayreport.com and check her out at Zandile on Twitter!

Follow all of Julee's tweets at Real_Simple on Twitter!

More on the Facebook land grab for URLs, where you can make your name part of your link to your Facebook profile page, like www.facebook.com/katiehellm.uth:

If you have a business page, aka a fan or supporter page, you may claim a URL now if your page had over 1,000 fans by May 31, 2009. If it did not, you will need to wait until June 28, which is when Facebook will allow pages with smaller amounts of fans to protect their names. This is most likely an effort to prevent squatters from squatting on just any name, but even with these restrictions, there will probably be several issues we haven't imagined yet. Our lawyer, Quinn Heraty of Heraty Law had this insight on the matter:

"I think this is a pro-active effort by Facebook to avoid the mess that Twitter found itself in: that of impostor Twitterers, trademark infringers, and your run-of-the-mill squatters. Twitter has been named as a party in several trademark infringement lawsuits, and I'm sure Facebook would like to avoid that."

On her Free Advice Friday's blog segments, Quinn posted a great article about trademarks. In addition to the reasons she mentions in her post about trademarks, she says: "Pro-active programs like this is another good reason to register your trademark."

Mashable.com did a great URL review and pressing of Facebook for more information on the under 1,000 restriction, and will continue to keep a good eye on it.

Facebook created some URL Page FAQs that may answer several of your questions, including: "Will generic names like "flowers" and "pizza" be available? (answer: no)" or "What should I do if someone's username infringes on my rights?"

If you have a trademark already, which would mean you have that satisfactory sealed registration certificate with a Registration # on it, you can apply to protect your brand by preventing the registration of a username. Click here to submit your trademark and registration number to Facebook. Here is what the form will look like - you would fill in the information for your trademark, as we did here:

Once you have submitted it, your request will go into a rotation and be looked into by teams at Facebook. If you think someone has infringed on your intelectual property on Facebook, you can submit a claim here. If you need a lawyer to register a trademark for you, which is a good move to prevent future Office Action letters challenging your application, we recommend Heraty Law.

We'll see what happens as June 28th gets closer, and if more restrictions will come into play based on how the personal URL grab goes, but stay tuned.

If you happened to be on Collective-E (or my personal) Facebook or Twitter pages today, you may have heard our buzzing about three great brands featured on Gossip Girl :  Gemma Redux, Kara James Bags, and Lust4Luxe handbags.

I will be the first to admit openly and honestly that I do not watch Gossip Girl (or 90210, or Privilege or the many other hot teen programs), I do understand it's power to change a brand overnight.  Here's a quick lesson on why product placement is important, how to handle it, and great news for members who want their own chance at Gossip Girl!

WHY CARE?

I've had people say to me - "I never watch teen programming, why should I care if my brand is on?"  After I catch my breath and get over my shock I let them know these reasons:

#1 It validates you like crazy - here are a few places that will be interested:

* Weekly Magazines & Blogs:  Fastest way to great celebrity magazine press (Us Weekly, Star, etc) is to have a tie to what shows are hot and what actors and actresses are the most sought after.  Check out your local newsstand and see who they feature regularly - those are the shows and celebrities you want to be seen with or on (your product that is).

* Trendsetters:  Though we may not watch some of these shows, the trendsetters, editors, and fashion personalities who you need to impact often follow them - all it takes is one person to see your brand and you could find yourself in the pages of Glamour's next issue!

#2  It can lead to sales and purchase orders

* Sales & National Stores:  I was recently at a trade show talking to a major department store buyer, and when I inquired about what they needed to see in a brand in order to take a meeting there were some basics I've heard before:  get the major fashion magazines, get product placement in a major program or movie, and high profile celebrity interest, to name a few.

#3 Stylists will get to know you

*Whether the costumers on the show, their friends, or those who follow the fashion focused programming, they will be watching, and they will take note.  We've even had clients who had orders placed from the set after their products caught the eye of network stylists.

#4 You can toot your own horn on and offline

* Placements on national television allow you to toot your own horn as you should!  Tweet, Facebook, Digg, and spread the word!  People get excited about exciting and challenging things, and this is a great way to share your success and open the door to people visiting your website.

* Add it to your media kit - screen shots, show notes, logos, front and center - this will surely attract editors and buyers like we mentioned before!

HOW WILL IT WORK AND HOW DO I PREPARE?

* When you send your product to a wardrobe department be prepared for it to sit there for months.  At times they need the piece immediately, but  normally until they know you and what you have to offer, they will keep it there until it works with an actor or actresses ensemble.

* Don't stalk or ask when it will be returned or used.

* Be prepared to act fast - at times we hear weeks ahead when it will air,  other times (like today) we heard the day of, an hour before it went to air.

* Get a clip!  Call Video Monitoring Services and they will help you get a clip - even an e-clip, quickly that you can use to leverage your placement.

* Write a press release (short and sweet with a link to your product) and send it to the weeklies and fashion magazines asap.  You want some buzz!  If you can get a screen shot too, go for it!  This is a great reason to PING your  favorite outlets you've been building a relationship with.

* Include the news in your newsletter and if you feel up to it, use a promo code for the product that was featured. 

* If it looks like the hit will be huge, prepare sales wise!

* Send a handwritten thank you note after the email you send the moment it airs.  You want the department to reach out to you in the future.  I would also send Fretzels, Sweet Muse, or Gourmetibles ; )

POT OF GOLD AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW:

Are you a Collective-E member?  We're pulling soon for future Gossip Girl tapings and would love to find some hot new fashion brands to showcase.  Stay tuned to find out how you can submit!

Oprah - we all know that even when I tell you to stop focusing on her program you won't, so I figured I'd give you a few pointers....

I was talking to one of the executive producers at Harpo yesterday, and she let me know that they are currently working on their April programs so first of all, know that they are only about 3-4 weeks ahead in lead time at the moment....so if you are pitching, pitch accordingly.  Other pointers that will work?  Take some notes from our playbook!

* Go online and check out what the producers are looking for:  A show like the Oprah Winfrey Show creates amazing programming because they have outstanding producers creating it, and if you want a quick and easy sneak peek (and a chance to submit your brand for an appropriate story) just go to their website to see what they are working on next:  http://www.oprah.com/tows.

* Think seasonally, 3-4 weeks ahead, and big!  Pitching a product will most likely not get you a segment.  They may hold it for a future gift guide, or if it's appropriate for a different topic show, but you should really be thinking about how your story fits into a larger concept, and perhaps even bring a few more brands in on the pitch.

*  Remember that Oprah is now doing Hot Topics a la The View.....if you have a cool product or are part of a hot topic, this would be a better place to pitch.

* At Oprah there are actually groups of producers who are working on things in teams.  They have a schedule that shows what their specific shows are that they need to fill, as well as what other teams are working on.  If you create a great relationship with one, they can often find out who to pitch if they are not your best bet.  Want to get to know the teams and their styles?  Join them on Facebook!!  Read the Producers Blogs in the show's Facebook Group. 

* Watch the show!  Sounds silly I know, but if you haven't watched since you were in college you really don't know the current style and content.  Want to be an even better detective?  When you see an episode that is similar to content you cover, watch to see who produced it....this is the producer you should target for your pitch!

FINALLY....the more press you get in other outlets and in other venues, the more likely the producers will see you or hear about you and have you in mind for another segment!

Go get em!