Who’s at your social media party?

Sephora is known to many retailers as a shining example of companies engaging with and leveraging social media. So when company SVP Julie Bornstein and VP Bridget Dolan walked attendees through how the company uses social media to interact with its customers, there was a lot of furious scribbling.

One of the most interesting components of the presentation came as Dolan outlined who is coming to this virtual party that Sephora is throwing through various social networks. While Sephora’s percentages are likely different than many retailers, getting a sense of your own virtual “attendees” and determining what percentage you have in each category would undoubtedly be a valuable exercise for many retailers.

Here’s who is attending Sephora’s social media party:

• Sephora is the hostess.
• Socialites - Sephora social media super-users. Some of the examples Dolan used were incredible. The socialites “don’t just speak to us – they speak to each other, they answer questions,” she said. “They interact in a way that we didn’t expect.” One socialite says good morning and good night to all fans – every single day. One dyed her hair pink because she was so inspired by the look of a model in the company’s new catalog. Most recently, Sephora socialites created a TSP – a Traveling Sephora Package – where one person starts a box of 30 unused products and samples, sends it to the next person who takes out 15 items and adds 15 more, and the package moves on. There’s no denying that these socialites are incredible brand advocates who are championing Sephora without any company interaction necessary – just the communication platform, of course.
• Rave Reviewers - People who love Sephora and are sure to tell others about it.
• Ms. 20 Questions – People coming for product advice.
• Wallflowers – People who become fans but don’t participate in any discussions, ask questions, or leave comments. Understandably, this is the largest percentage of Sephora’s 400K+ fans on Facebook.
• Party hoppers – Tweeters who have a lot to say about all things beauty. They’re not Sephora loyalists, necessarily, but are part of the discussion.
• Party crashers –The social media version of spam. These are people who aren’t affiliated with Sephora and want to get their message out. “Hop on that and pull those people down,” said Dolan, but then shrugged it off: “They’re going to come with any party.”
• Party poopers – People who are getting angry. But there’s a plus side, Dolan says. Connecting with the company through social media gives Sephora a public forum to “address their issue and trying to make that situation better,” adding that being so transparent about issues – and then fixing them – “can really create loyalty among customers who would have normally walked away and never come back.”