E-commerce fashion retailer beats out multichannel rival by adding 500,000 fans in six months

E-commerce fashion retailer beats out multichannel rival by adding 500,000 fans in six months

Pureplay retailer ASOS has come out top in the social media league tables for 2011 after adding more followers to their Twitter and Facebook account than any other fashion brand in the latest social media benchmark from eDigitalResearch.

The study found that, while Topshop remains at the top of the Facebook leagues, ASOS has dominated the social scene in 2011, adding nearly half a million followers to their Facebook account in just six months.

As a result it now tops the Twitter tables' after attracting more new users than any other retailer. The study said that a variety of interactive Facebook features have kept users interested and intrigued, while its down-to-earth Twitter personality has encouraged users to get involved and participate in the business.

Integrated social media campaign

After being the first to introduce a Facebook store earlier in the year, ASOS’s social media campaign is integrated across all social touchpoints. This includes their own website, maintaining customer relationships, broadcasting products and promoting the brand to a larger online audience.

Brand of the year, John Lewis, has also seen some of the biggest growth to their social media accounts over the past six months. The study said it cleverly integrates successful marketing campaigns into pages using bespoke search features, competitions and videos.

Derek Eccleston, head of research at eDigitalResearch, said 2011 has been a huge year for social media. A staggering 2.6 million new followers joined the top 20 Facebook pages in the last six months alone, while an additional 400,000 Twitter users are now actively following top retail accounts.

"As social networks become more commercially friendly, especially with the introduction of Twitter and Google+ brand pages, it is important for brands to take advantage of the opportunities sites like these are offering them in terms of increasing their customer base and strengthening relationships," Eccleston commented.

Keeping pace with fanbase

"However, with changes often comes a shift in consumer behaviour," he added. "As social media trends continue to evolve, it is important that brands re-visit their strategies and make the necessary changes to ensure that users remain interested and engagement levels remain high.”

The 18-month eDigitalResearch study has also been documenting the rise of Facebook commerce for the last twelve months. Six out of the top 20 retailers are now running a Facebook store, while all but three in the league tables are actively using the site to sell directly to users in one way or another, an increase of 25% in just six months.

Interestingly, the results also found that eight of the Top 20 Facebook retailers are already using Google’s latest venture into social media as another way to reach a larger online audience.

The eDigitalResearch benchmark is available to download after complete short registration survey here.