Sunday, December 11, 2016

Retail Marketing: Macy's Holiday Display

Hi! This blog post is for an assignment for the Fashion Industry Essentials online certificate program I'm taking through Parsons School of Design and Teen Vogue. The assignment is to go to a store to look for an engaging display and write a blog post about why it works. I looked in a lot of stores for this assignment, and the display I thought was the most compelling was one I saw in Macy's.



One reason I think this display is compelling is its placement. It is in the center of the walkway right near one of the store entrances, so it's probably the first thing most shoppers look at when they come in the store through this entrance. Another reason I think this display works is that it has a unified festive appearance for the holidays. All three outfits have red in them and are for colder weather. Also, there are red ornaments hanging and a red striped backdrop. These features work together to catch the eye and create a welcoming environment for customers so they'll feel excited for the holidays and want to shop.

Another reason I think this display is engaging is that it follows the visual merchandising rule of three because it has three mannequins. The rule of three is that arranging products in a group of three keeps the customer's eyes moving so that customers continue to look around, ultimately increasing sales. I also think this display works because it has color (the red in the outfits, ornaments, and backdrop),  patterns (the buffalo check shirt and the stripes in the other two outfits and backdrop), and shine in the ornaments. The color, patterns, and shine give interest to the display, which engages customers so they'll want to look around the store.

It was good to learn about visual merchandising through this assignment. Visual merchandising is important because it impacts sales, and I think it is a fun way to make stores appealing to shoppers.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

My Social Media Audience

This assignment for the Fashion Industry Essentials online certificate program I'm taking through Parsons School of Design and Teen Vogue is to write about my social media audience. All of my social media accounts (my blog, Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest) use my brand name Prism of Style. I don't have a Facebook page or Twitter account for my brand as of yet.

I'll start with this blog. My blog only has six posts (including this one) up to now. My blog has had 522 views altogether since I first started it in May, and there have been 107 views in the last month. There was only one view yesterday and one view today. The audience, in descending order of views, comes from the United States, France, India, and Russia. The highest percentage (43%) of views comes from visitors using the web browser Google Chrome. The next highest percentage (31%) of views comes from visitors using Safari, followed by Firefox (18%), and then Internet Explorer (6%). The number of views of each of my blog posts increases with how old the blog post is. None of my posts have comments on them. One way I could try to increase traffic is by posting more. I'd like to make posts about outfit ideas, craft ideas, and topics in fashion or art I come across that interest or inspire me. Another way I could try to expand my blog audience is by adding meta tags, which include keywords in the HTML code of the blog that describe the content to search engines so that the blog will be more visible on them, increasing the chances that people will visit the blog.

My Instagram account only has five posts, and it only has one follower. I have gotten likes and/or comments on four out of five of my posts though; four of my posts have likes, and two of these posts have comments, all of which are thankfully positive. I use hashtags on each of my posts, which I think is how I've gotten the likes and comments on my posts. The post that has the most likes and comments is a picture I took of a hanging crystal decoration at the store Bergdorf Goodman in New York City: it has 12 likes (one of them came from the fashion designer Amanda Uprichard, which I was especially excited about because I like her designs...I have an Amanda Uprichard top) and two people left comments on it. The other post that has comments on it is a flat lay picture I took of a top with iridescent paillettes and accessories: two people left comments on it and it also has three likes. A two photo collage of me in an outfit with the top worn two ways has eight likes. A picture I took of a hot pink rose has two likes, and another picture I took of yellow mums doesn't have any likes. So my style posts seem to get more likes and comments than my flower posts. The follower I have is a health and fitness coach, but she has some style posts. A lot of the people who have liked and/or commented on my posts also make style posts and/or have an art, design, or fashion related profession. Some are fashion designers, style bloggers, photographers, or makeup studios or brands.

My Tumblr account only has eight posts, and it only has one follower. I also use hashtags on my Tumblr posts, but using them on my Tumblr hasn't seemed to attract as many likes as it has on my Instagram. My only post that has a like is a photo from the Internet of an Adeen snapback cap.

My Pinterest account has more content than my Instagram and Tumblr accounts, but it doesn't have any followers. Some people have saved or liked some of my pins though. I have nine Pinterest boards, but three of them only have one or two pins. The people who have saved or liked my pins are a mixed group, but some of them pin art and style related things. Also, the four pins of mine that people have saved or liked are a mixed assortment. One person liked and two other people saved a photo of a beach scene by Matt Crump that I pinned. The artist Takashi Murakami liked and another person saved a picture I took of a colorful abstract piece of art my cousin made. I was also especially excited that Takashi Murakami liked my picture because he is one of my favorite artists. I think he saw my picture because I mentioned his name in the description of the picture. Another person saved a picture I took of my headphones and iPod, and another person saved a picture I took of my bamboo plant.

To attract visitors, all of my social media accounts could use more content. Another way I could try to grow my audience on my social media accounts is to advertise them more. I could tell people I know to check them out and to spread the word about them to people they know. I could use my personal Facebook page to let people know about my social media accounts. I could also advertise my social media accounts through each other by having links to them on each other.