Study: How do luxury brands fare on social media?

When it comes to promoting high-end retail and product brands on social media, different platforms suit different companies.



According to new research from Engagement Labs, on Facebook, high-end shoe brand Christian Louboutin ranked first with the highest overall proprietary “eValue” social media measurement score, as well as the highest engagement and responsiveness scores among luxury brands studied.



Christian Louboutin leveraged short posts and included professional photography accompanied by the hashtag #LouboutinWorld, which enabled the brand to generate the most likes and shares per 1,000 fans.



When Engagement Labs looked at the social media performance on Twitter, specialty jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. ranked first for overall eValue score and had the highest engagement and responsiveness scores. Tiffany leveraged a range of content including photos of celebrities purchasing its products, user-generated content from popular fashion bloggers, as well as promotions for new products. The brand’s most engaged tweets featured the #WillYou hashtag, in reference to its signature engagement rings.



On Instagram, Valentino placed first with an eValue score of 82.7 out of the possible 100, and had the highest engagement score. Valentino posted significantly more content than the other brands measured and had the most active user base. The content shared by the brand featured professional images of its products, user-generated content from well-known fashion bloggers, as well as images of celebrities wearing its products.



According to Engagement Labs research, luxury brands that were highly ranked in its eValue rankings did not have similar success in offline word of mouth. Instead, brands that ranked lower in eValue, such as Gucci, Coach and Ralph Lauren, secured the top spots for offline conversations.



“It is important for brands that score well on social media to understand that offline conversations are also a significant driver of sales, and to focus on strategies that can unleash the power of offline conversation,” said Bryan Segal, CEO of Engagement Labs. “Similarly, those that do well offline would be well-served by sharpening their social media focus. Top performing brands in today’s marketplace need to excel at driving consumer conversation both offline and online, as consumers today rely on both and move fluidly between them.”