At the very heart of our social media strategy is the desire to develop relationships with our customers, and to provide value that goes beyond our core product offering. On Periscope, this means visual storytelling that is intended to engage and entice.
In mid-October, we went live for the first time, and have produced near-weekly broadcasts ever since. Our goal is simple: to inform our viewers about trends and products in a way that is authentic, interactive and insightful. Whether we're showing clever gift-wrapping hacks from our creative director, festive place settings from our visual team or how-to tutorials with our personal stylists, we take great care to ensure every broadcast meets these basic tenets.
Planning
We take an editorial approach to concepting and scheduling our broadcasts. Each month, we partner with divisions across Anthropologie to develop content that is guided by customers' interests, reflective of the current season and reinforced by our product assortment.
We also recognize that the best way to create relevant content is to ask our followers directly, and regularly take to Twitter to encourage users to submit their questions and ideas. When multiple users expressed interest in learning how to style a tulle skirt, for example, we partnered with our personal stylists to create our "One Tulle Skirt, 5 Ways" broadcast, showing the versatility of this of-the-moment style.
Promotion
Periscope's integration with Twitter makes the social media platform a natural resource for promoting broadcasts and capturing new followers from our existing user base. In addition to the tweet that is generated when we go live, we promote each broadcast shortly beforehand, shortly thereafter and the next morning, before it expires on the app. We often cross-promote broadcasts on Instagram, where our 1.9 million followers are encouraged to join the fun and watch our latest Periscope.
In addition to driving users directly to the app, we've also made it easier to "shop the 'scope" by creating unique pages on our site that house every style featured in the broadcast. Though broadcasts live for but a short moment in time, these pages can be accessed again and again, and include everything from getaway essentials for an upcoming vacation to festive tabletop styles for the holidays.
Execution
Much like its parent company, Periscope's off-the-cuff nature means that our broadcasts are neither formal nor forced. Instead, we take a conversational approach to production and let the personalities of our team shine through.
Using Periscope's live commenting capabilities also means that we can engage with viewers who have questions or requests, and provide real-time answers directly within comments or as part of the broadcast. If someone would like to see the shoes our model is wearing, for example, we'll pan closer to the product for a better look. These interactions often serve as barometer for the success of each broadcast, and provide vital feedback and insight into our viewers' needs.
In the nearly four months since our launch, we've grown to over 23,000 followers and pull in up to 1,900 viewers per broadcast. We've also seen an uptick in demand for the styles featured in our broadcasts—we've seen up to a 78% increase in sales, as measured by units sold four days prior to and four days following each broadcast.
