The Power of Pinterest (and Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) for eCommerce Brands.
The Loopy Mango brand is comprised of a lifestyle boutique in New York City and an eCommerce shop that features one-of-a-kind yarn and knitting/crochet tools. You may recognize Loopy Mango’s oversized knit blankets, giant needles and Big Loop yarn trending across Pinterest.
“Big Loop is the thickest yarn available on the market today. It is 100% domestic – Loopy Mango develops and produces it in USA. Big Loop yarn production is labor intensive and each ball of yarn is hand crafted by our artisans.”
The unique nature of their products is especially suited to social, as evidenced by the Pinterest phenomeon behind their Big Loop knit blankets.
Curious about how social media has helped propel their business, I had the pleasure of interviewing Anna of Loopy Mango to dig into the unique brands’ social media strategy. I think you’ll find her answers both interesting and inspirational–not to mention useful in crafting your own social strategy!
Q: Where do you find inspiration for social media content?
A: We find inspiration everywhere – our store, our product, knitting with our Big Loop Yarn, people on the street, fashion trends on the runway, other designers, our daily life.
Q: In your role managing social media for Loopy Mango, what’s one thing you’ve done that you’re extremely proud of?
A: Customer engagement – content that we post is relevant to our followers and they respond to it. Our posts are personal and are something that anyone can relate to. We don’t just push sterile product shots – every post is about telling a story, being passionate about what we are doing and sharing our experiences with our audience.
Also social media gives us a unique opportunity to make a personal connection with people that we haven’t even met before or to connect on a more personal level with customers outside of the retail environment.
Q: Many brands struggle to connect with their audiences from a visual standpoint, but Loopy Mango shines thru with compelling, on-brand photography.
Can you describe this planning & posting process a bit?
A: We post on social media daily so that we can keep that connection with the followers. Another key factor here is our product itself. It’s visual, photogenic and unique. So even someone who is not a knitter they can still appreciate and engage with our product. We also love to re-post pictures of our product from our customers and always get a great response to them.
Q: What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered managing social media for Loopy Mango, and how did you overcome them?
A: Our biggest challenge was growing the number of followers. We overcame this challenge by learning more about different features and aspects of different social media channels – for example, using hashtags on Instagram and Twitter. Also tailoring content for different social media channels – since the mindset of people on different channels is different and they respond in different ways to the same content.
Q: What’s your favorite social media platform and why?
A: It’s Instagram. Our product is visual and Instagram makes it very easy to upload pictures and videos. It also allows better ways for instant and easy communication with followers. And it allows us to attract new followers with hashtags. It allows for people to commend or like posts even if they are not your follower.
*All images c/o LoopyMango.
With Loopy Mango, as with other eCommerce brands, we find that regular (daily) posting, high quality visuals, re-sharing user-generated content, and tailoring content to each specific platform is key!
Which other eCommerce brands are using social media smartly? Tweet us to tell us – @TheSocialLights – they could be featured in our next installment!
