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During these uncertain times, when businesses all over the world are pivoting their marketing plans, Betabrand stands out as one of the most creative when it comes to their customer engagement efforts.Â
Since late last year, they began hosting a virtual event called âLive Interactive Shopping,â where the design team would launch new products every Friday. Throughout the live show, customers would chat with Betabrand employees, as well as each other. They would ask questions about the products, trade styling tips, and bond over their mutual love of fashion. Itâs become a great community thatâs spawned some genuine friendships.
Image: Twitter
When social distancing rules were put in place, the Betabrand team couldnât host their weekly show at their usual location. However, that didnât stop the show from going on â their lead designer and social media specialist hopped on a live stream and introduced new items as usual.Â
Based on the success of their WFH live videos, and to lift peoplesâ spirits, they recently unveiled a new event: On Wednesday, April 15th, 5:30 pm (PDT), Betabrand is hosting the worldâs first work from home (WFH) fashion show.
Image: Betabrand
Itâs basically a one-of-a-kind runway show thatâs fueled by warm fuzzies and professional women from around the world. If you own a pair of yoga pants (bonus if you have their famous Dress Pant Yoga Pants!), we want to see you strut down your hallway and strike a fierce pose.Â
If youâre interested in participating in Betabrandâs first-ever WFH fashion show, please send a 5-15 second video of you doing your thing down the ârunwayâ and send it to jared@betabrand.com by Monday, April 13th.
âIt was a quick pivot on our end,â says Stephanie Freidman, the Performance Marketing Manager at Betabrand, âWe asked ourselves: How can we bring people together? So we decided on a fashion show where our messaging is, âyour hallway equals our runway.â Itâs the first fashion show thatâs open to women around the world.â
And this isnât the first time Betabrand has emphasized virtual get-togethers. âLast year, we launched a closed Facebook group for our customers. It was another way to connect our customers with each other,â says Caroline Culbertson, Betabrand's former Director of Marketing. âWe wanted to provide a place where they can ask questions, post pictures, and get feedback for styling. All kinds of content can be found within those types of groups, and itâs especially important for these to be offered in an environment where everyone is virtual.â
So, what exactly are the benefits of virtual events? In many cases, they offer a lot of opportunities over offline and in-person meetups:Â
Here are some tips to ensure that your virtual experience can rival any offline event:
For further reading on virtual events:Â
As you can see from Betabrandâs brilliant pivot, now is an opportune moment to boost engagement rates by hosting virtually. Maybe even create a community via a dedicated Slack channel to host events with your followers. Donât hesitate to think outside the box â one of the biggest perks of virtual events is that they arenât restricted by costs for decor or food. For instance, an apparel shop might host a virtual sip-and-shop where 21+ audience members meet online to enjoy a shared happy hour while viewing the seasonâs newest trends. Before the event, they could run a series of promos to encourage potential attendees to visit the website.
Last updated on September 16th, 2022.