One furniture brand is singing the praises of social media’s impact and outreach. Fine Furniture Design, most recently in the news for the LAUNCH of its collection with men’s mag Esquire, has reported that its recent speed-painting event created a dramatic spike in social media engagement during spring High Point Market.
“We have seen nearly a 110 percent increase in our follower base on all of our social media platforms since launching our new campaign,” said Anna McGaha, marketing director for Fine Furniture Design. The campaign asked participants to engage with social posts in exchange for the opportunity to win original artwork by Dale Henry, a “speed painter” who created three pieces during the company’s ESQUIRE HOME COLLECTION event, celebrating the collaboration’s launch of its first-ever furniture line.
“These results demonstrate the power and reach of social media and its effect on how users interact with, shop and view brands,” says McGaha. “The new strategy has also resulted in an overall increase in likes, shares, comments, mentions and retweets, resulting in significant engagement with our brand on all platforms by nearly 200 percent.”
The brand launched its new social media campaign in mid-March, and also sought to draw attention to its updated product images as well as video content, which “has gone through a major [overhaul] over the past two years,” it explained.
Molly Jackel, of online furnishings retailer Perigold, was chosen at random as the grand-prize winner of the artwork. She selected a portrait of Frank Sinatra from the three pieces, which also included Mick Jagger and Marilyn Monroe; runners-up received an Esquire grooming kit and a copy of the magazine’s handbook How to Be a Man.
“The timing of the contest around Market was a great way to not only attract new followers to our pages, but also give consumers an exclusive look into our activities at High Point Market,” said McGaha. “Based on its success, we plan to continue to incorporate similar strategies into our social media plan going forward.”
Fine Furniture Design is not the only brand to dip its toes into the social media pool. Hooker Furniture also hosted a social media contest during Market, and experienced a big uptick in social media engagement. The North Carolina–based brand asked retailers, interior designers and consumers to vote for their fave Hooker Furniture, Sam Moore or upholstered chair via Facebook or Instagram; those who participated were entered to win a debuting chair. The brand reported that 808 submissions were received in one week.
“This is the first Market we have opened up our social media contest to consumers, exposing them to what goes into the design process of some of their favorite pieces,” said Johne Albanese, vice president of corporate marketing for Hooker Furniture. “The results were astounding—they truly demonstrated the power of social media and that our consumers and followers are eager to engage and explore our brands even further. We look forward to next Market and continuing to grow our social media program within the industry and to consumers.”
