What brands can learn about social media from Coco Chanel

When Coco Chanel said, “Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance”, I doubt anyone thought she was speaking about social media.  When pushing through the digital clutter, I think we all have wished, at one point, that brands would take a hint from Chanel and scale back.

 With more than 250 million tweets published each day, more than 7 million apps and websites integrated with Facebook and 48 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute – it’s no wonder that consumers are overwhelmed every time they log online. How can we ever get through it all?
 
 As you look to your social media strategies for 2012 –strive to take a note from this fashion icon who, if she were alive today, would have easily squished Charlie Sheen’s record of fastest time to a million Twitter followers and would pass Facebook’s own 56 million fan count with a flick of her jeweled finger.
 
Here are a few more words of wisdom from the world’s most elegant woman.
 
“Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions.” A post on All Twitter notes the #1 reason why no one follows you is because “you tweet too much”.  With feeds reloading every few seconds, one hardly has time to read tweets before they are bumped down the page. Therefore, when a brand is posting non-stop promos for their products, it gets tiresome. Although fans do want discounts and specials from brands, they also follow to get to know them better. This includes engaging with them (and getting responses back!), seeing their commentary on current events and getting insight into the inner workings of the company.  It’s all about proportions. 44% of consumers have un-liked a brand on Facebook because they posted too much; however, posting too little puts brands too far back in consumers’ minds. The social media posting game is about finding the right balance between consumer engagement and product promotion.
 
“Fashion fades, only style remains the same.” It is no secret that one-off promotions can boost brands’ numbers quickly, but Forbes captures the essence of fan loyalty and engagement; “The most successful Facebook investments are “programs” and not “campaigns” – in other words, they are ongoing communications that are fully integrated with the rest of the marketing mix.” Brands with “style” will be the ones left standing when the dust clears – with loyal fans who are committed to the brand and not to a one-time discount or fad.

When looking to 2012, skip the extravagant ball gown and don a more balanced social media strategy.  In the immortal words of Coco, “Elegance does not consist in putting on a new dress”; sometimes you just need to find the balance between grace and grandeur.