Manchester’s most followed fashion brands

We take a rundown of Manchester’s most popular clothing brands on Twitter. To be eligible for the list, all these brands have originated from the great city that is Manchester (or Greater Manchester – were not too fussy), they also have to be own brand clothing and are all fantastic additions to Manchester’s fashion scene.

We caught up with a few of our social media savvy brands for some of their tips on the winning the twitter war.

(figures correct as of 21/03/2014)

10. Paige Royal

First on our list is Stockport based Paige Royal. With a high gloss website and luxurious looking garments, we were expecting a lot from Paige Royal’s twitter page. Whilst it doesn’t completely integrate with the look of their website, it’s not awful.  Content is primarily plugging their dresses and sales items, with the occasional competition for followers and of course plenty of retweets from happy customers. Whilst this account is not as mature as some of the other contenders, it does have a decent following for its relative young age. But Paige Royal certainly are on the up (if you can find them that is, they’re surprisingly difficult to locate on the internet sphere) and their dresses are becoming more and more popular.

Stats: Followers 8,815, Tweets 312, Following 314, Handle @PaigeRoyalUK

9. Gorgeous Couture

It’s no surprise Gorgeous Couture takes one of Manchester’s top spots, with a huge celeb following they are extremely popular with TOWIE-loving, celeb spotting, fashion addicts. They pride themselves on their beautifully hand crafted, made-to-measure garments and quality Italian fabric. Their tweeter feed is populated with images of proud customers, follower privileges and behind the scene exclusives.

We spoke to Niki Procter, Head of PR and Development about the twitter strategy herself and Amy Bithell have crafted.

“We take a proactive approach for our twitter account; we plan many things in advance, but always make sure we’re reactive to trends and unexpected surprises. We don’t always know when a celebrity will wear one of our pieces, if we suddenly see it on the red carpet and have to spring into action!

We make sure we convey a warm and friendly tone through twitter, it’s important that our followers find us approachable. Our twitter strategy is about listening to our customers, providing them with the content they want – behind the scene exclusives, celeb gossip and special discounts for our loyal followers.

However we don’t just use twitter to keep in contact with customers, we use it as a tool for our business. We know exactly who are followers are, where they come from, their age and their gender, and that information is really important for our marketing campaigns.

We’re always interested in what our followers have to say as well. Last month, we took it a step further and asked our followers what they thought of the GC brand. After collecting their responses we have developed a fantastic new re-branding strategy. We’re determined to make an even brand for Gorgeous Couture for our customers.”

Stats: Followers 10,064, Tweets 2,863, Following 2,202, Handle @gorgeouscouture

8. OMG Fashion

OMG Fashion have become spectacularly popular in the last 12 months. Husband and wife due Haley and Andrew have literally sprung from nowhere.

Their success is evident in the sheer number of twitter followers they’ve managed to stack up in their short operating time. Key to their success is targeting the right people. They know their customers, know the styles they want, and the price their willing pay for fashion.

We spoke to Haley Mellor, owner of OMG Fashion for a few words on their twitter strategy.

“Our main strategy on twitter and on all our other social channels is to engage with our fans, we always retweet and have conversations with our followers, gives them a sense of we are actually human rather than a computer.

We retweet a lot on a daily basis, we engage in conversations, we use twitter as part of our customer service, we post discounts on there, and a lot of behind the scene pictures from in work and events we do.”

“Being 8th place in Manchester is great as Manchester is definitely an up and coming city for fashion with a lot of brands out there so that’s great to know we are 8th.”

There’s a lot of hype around OMG Fashion, especially with young fashion bloggers. Having a look over their twitter content, I think there’s plenty of room for more of their own content. It’s great retweeting happy customer and should always be done, but followers are also interested in the people and personalities behind the brand, and I think that should start coming through as they become a little more twitter literate.

Stats: Followers 12,638, Tweets 5,625, Following 8,495, Handle @OMG_fashion

7. Lavish Alice

Lavish Alice are all over their twitter page, providing followers with their daily dose of celeb spotting and daily inspiration. Their newsfeed strikes the perfect balance between promoting the Lavish Alice brand and showing the world what the Lavish Alice team is all about. A great account to follow for fashion lovers and social media addicts. On top of that their branding is seamless throughout all of their online platforms – a great accomplishment from the Lavish Alice team and their agency. We have no doubt this account will continue in popularity and climb the social stakes.

We had a little chat with Sophie Allen, Senior Fashion Assistant to see what she had to say about their twitter.

“Our social media platforms offer a destination for our most loyal fans, where they get unprecedented access to all things Lavish Alice! As Lavish Alice insiders, they’re the first to know about our new collections, inspirations and adventures, as well as invites to our most exciting events. Our fans are able to really get under our skin and learn how we do what we do. There might even be the odd freebie or exclusive discount.”

Stats: Followers 17,115, Tweets 9,502, Following 764, Handle

6. Jacamo

And finally we have our first male clothing brand featured on the list! Jacamo is one of the sub-brands of JD Williams – a true Manchester brand through and through.

Understandably their feed has a very ‘Lads lad’ feel to it. And it’s working great for them.

Having spent time studying twitter accounts and the strategies they employ; Jacamo’s stands out. Jacamo’s twitter feels real, what most brands are looking to achieve through social media, these have hit it straight on the head. There’s absolutely no footprint on any ‘corporate’ person behind the screen, just honest, genuine content. For us, this is why it stands out, Jacamo seems like a lad, your friend, your beer-cracking, gym-going friend. And for that reason – we love it!

Stats: Followers 21,937, Tweets 9,903, Following 3,011, Handle @Jacamo

5. Pretty Little Thing

As the second love child of the Kamani family, this was bound to be a huge hit in Manchester’s fashion scene. And that it certainly has been.

Their twitter is spot on. We have bunny’s in pockets, eggs in bacon cupcakes, blogger competitions and the latest on-trend OOTD’s . Fashion followers could not ask for more. PLT have well and truly stepped up the twitter ante. If you’re looking for twitter ideas, even baking ideas, this is account to take note off. They offer followers more than an additional sales channel, they create value and give the brand and identifiable personality.

It’s fun, fresh and completely up-to-date.

We got in touch with Pretty Little Thing, but unfortunately their press office didn’t respond.

Stats: Followers 22,807, Tweets 4,985, Following 729, Handle @OfficialPLT

4. AX Paris                                 

We were really impressed with AX Paris’ social media, from their Facebook, to their YouTube channel and of course their Twitter – all integrated seamlessly into one another.

Followers can expect a daily dose of male beauty, life inspiration and of course some very colourful garments to brighten up your day.  Their posts are light hearted, slightly comically and all around delightful.

And we love the fact they have an AX Paris Foundation, raising money for some fantastic cause around Manchester.

Based on their marketing and social media expertise, there seems to be a great deal of business development set ahead for the AX Paris team.

Stats:  Followers 27,812, Tweets 7,226, Following 1,618, Handle @AXPARIS

3. Simply Be

Sliding right into third position it’s another one of JD Williams brands -Simply Be – with perhaps a larger following than most would expect.  But we love the fact that it’s up there knocking on the doors of Manchester’s most followed brands.

A firm favourite with fashion bloggers, and exclusively providing clothing for 12-32 they know their market, and know exactly how their social media should reflect the brand and reach out to their audience.

Stats: Followers 47,980, Tweets 15,117, Following 4,462, Handle @SimplyBeUK

2. Missguided

Pulling right away from the competition our runner up is Trafford’s own Missguided, with a massive 130K+ following. Their phenomenal rise to fame amongst young fashionistas has been enviable.

With 78,000+ tweets Missguided are masters of twitter. Providing everything young fashion addicts want from a brand. Exclusive blogger competitions, style diaries and life inspiration.

Stats: Followers 131,442, Tweets 78,040, Following 1,517, Handle @missguidedcouk

1. Boohoo

At number one spot, its Manchester’s very own Boohoo. Now an internationally successful brand and even a public company you can grab a slice of for yourself. Customer engagement is at the heart of Boohoo’s twitter strategy. Their marketing team take twitter to the next level, resembling more of a brand community than a twitter feed.   Followers are encouraged to join in on #boohoobeautytips, engage in retweeting competitions and read Boohoo’s own Stylefix Magazine. Everything is set up for the benefit, entertainment and enjoyment of their followers. As a business on twitter, creating value in this manner, is what all brands should be aiming for.

Stats: Followers 331,839, Tweets 12,078, Following 2,682, Handle @boohoo

(Not to mention BoohooMan stats:  Followers 17,818 Tweets 1,819, Following 702, Handle @boohooMAN

– See more at: http://www.foreveragency.com/manchesters-followed-fashion-brands/#sthash.LkAURGi5.dpuf