http://www.apparelnews.net/features/columns/062812-Fashion-Schools-Embrace-Social-Media-and-E-commerce-Training
Fashion Schools Embrace Social Media and E-commerce Training
by Deidre Crawford, Technology Editor June 29, 2012
Social media is a core part of any good
marketing department, and recent college graduates looking for a job in
marketing are expected to be knowledgeable about trends in digital media
and e-commerce.
But it isn’t as easy as it looks, so training is important, said Los Angeles–based style blogger Kelsi Smith.
This summer, Smith is launching a new social-media marketing course at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles.
“I can’t tell you how many old-school marketers I come across in my day job that still don’t know what they’re doing with social media, so it’s good to have a new generation of graduates ready to go. That said, a well-rounded marketing background is most important. Social media only complements the traditional marketing avenues.”
Smith’s social-media marketing course will not focus on how to “share your style” or beauty tips, Smith said.
“This is a professional marketing program teaching students to use social media—be that blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube—as social-marketing tools,” she explained.
More than tweeting
FIDM is not the only fashion school enhancing its social-media curriculum.
When designer Christa Halby was looking to expand the online presence of her brand ChristaLouise, she turned to fashion student Faye Asido for help.
Asido is studying social media and e-commerce as part of her advertising and marketing communications degree at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. The courses are much more sophisticated than simply tweeting and blogging, and the skills she’s learning are not something she could learn on her own, she said.
“I don’t think students can learn on their own how to strategize a way to get the attention that’s needed. A lot of planning, editing and creativity is involved in social media and e-commerce because with so much competition you have to find a way to be different and stand out from the rest,” Asido explained. “You need to be very good at research and who is your appropriate target market. Not everyone will be interested in your product, so you have to find out how to target those who you think will benefit from what you are trying to sell. Otherwise, social media is pointless and your message will be difficult to come across.”
It was not long ago that leading fashion schools were where aspiring designers went to learn how to draw and design. Now, students are learning how to effectively position a brand online and manage a Facebook campaign, which are equally crucial skills, according to Gretchen Harnick, an assistant professor of fashion marketing at Parsons Fashion School at The New School for Design in New York.
But it isn’t as easy as it looks, so training is important, said Los Angeles–based style blogger Kelsi Smith.
This summer, Smith is launching a new social-media marketing course at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles.
“I can’t tell you how many old-school marketers I come across in my day job that still don’t know what they’re doing with social media, so it’s good to have a new generation of graduates ready to go. That said, a well-rounded marketing background is most important. Social media only complements the traditional marketing avenues.”
Smith’s social-media marketing course will not focus on how to “share your style” or beauty tips, Smith said.
“This is a professional marketing program teaching students to use social media—be that blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube—as social-marketing tools,” she explained.
More than tweeting
FIDM is not the only fashion school enhancing its social-media curriculum.
When designer Christa Halby was looking to expand the online presence of her brand ChristaLouise, she turned to fashion student Faye Asido for help.
Asido is studying social media and e-commerce as part of her advertising and marketing communications degree at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. The courses are much more sophisticated than simply tweeting and blogging, and the skills she’s learning are not something she could learn on her own, she said.
“I don’t think students can learn on their own how to strategize a way to get the attention that’s needed. A lot of planning, editing and creativity is involved in social media and e-commerce because with so much competition you have to find a way to be different and stand out from the rest,” Asido explained. “You need to be very good at research and who is your appropriate target market. Not everyone will be interested in your product, so you have to find out how to target those who you think will benefit from what you are trying to sell. Otherwise, social media is pointless and your message will be difficult to come across.”
It was not long ago that leading fashion schools were where aspiring designers went to learn how to draw and design. Now, students are learning how to effectively position a brand online and manage a Facebook campaign, which are equally crucial skills, according to Gretchen Harnick, an assistant professor of fashion marketing at Parsons Fashion School at The New School for Design in New York.
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