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By Marge Axelrad: Editorial Director

NEW YORK—Eyewear and optical’s involvement for some companies began way back when—two or three years ago.

But they are being joined by legions of other companies who today are finding that the opportunities for communication, novelty, messaging and research are being multiplied by the tools that social media offers.

In just this smattering of examples drawn from the universe of social media ideas and conversation, the tools underscore the ability to build connections with customers and patients in ways never seen before, rewriting old rules and creating new ones for marketing, sharing product information and professional insights, and dispensing critical customer service.

For the team at Ray-Ban, the Luxottica sunglass brand powerhouse that sought to reposition itself several years ago to a new generation of consumers, viral marketing and social media has been “integral” to the company’s approach, noted Erika Ferszt, group advertising director. She said, “Social media has been absolutely integral for us in our marketing strategy. This important tool has many objectives and advantages. It allows Ray-Ban to continually reinvent the conversation with its consumers yet stay absolutely true to its DNA, values, and brand positioning.”

 
Ray-Ban on YouTube

Ray-Ban.com’s Community section
She added, “Social media has allowed Ray-Ban to consolidate credibility as an absolutely relevant and cool brand with today’s youth. By creating content that opens conversations with our consumers, and amongst our consumers, it allows Ray-Ban to participate in consumers day-to-day lives in an active manner. It also allows Ray-Ban to continue to lead the category by consistently pushing forward its marketing and communication. Thanks to a willingness to experiment, Ray-Ban has been able to consolidate a solid positioning within these media while other brands, even outside of our category, are just beginning to enter.”

From lively videos to enabling customers to upload and post their own, to its music and film culture partnerships and other programs, Ferszt points out that Ray-Ban’s retail partners can “align themselves with the brand positioning and the brand’s activities. It creates a synergy that makes the total Ray-Ban voice even louder. This effectively makes the brand more desirable, increasing demand, and ultimately helping them move pieces faster.”

The opposite of a company with a heritage like Ray-Ban might be a brand new company and concept for whom social media has made their introduction on the scene a new type of phenomenon. Jim Schneider, director of purpose for Eyes of Faith, noted the company’s launch this year employed a Web site and the use of social media to build brand awareness and to gain acceptance. Said Schneider, “Acceptance is particularly important for a niche brand like Eyes of Faith. As is the case with any brand of eyewear or clothing, not everyone is going to like it or want to wear it. However, if we can show our retail optical partners that our brand will be embraced by their customers, they will accept and feel comfortable carrying it. For this reason, we posted our video from the Night of Joy launch on Facebook simply because the video features hundreds of people screaming, ‘I want Eyes of Faith!’ When you are battling for legitimacy in the marketplace, there’s no better endorsement than potential customers demanding your brand.”

Schneider also related, “Networking sites have helped us spark conversations among our fans and retailers. For example, we have made numerous calls to eyecare professionals to tell them simply, ‘Your patient is a fan of Eyes of Faith and wanted us to contact you.’ We were even contacted by a new retail partner who is prepared to carry our brand because he’s already had several requests from visitors of our Facebook page. And we had yet to ship a single frame at the time.”

 
The Eyes of Faith’s Twitter feed.

Eyes of Faith posted photos of a Sarah Palin
lookalike to its fans. She’s flanked here by
EOF’s Jim and Amy Schneider.
Schneider encourages others to make sure to be interactive with fans, and to set up very specific “become a fan” Web banners. He said, “For example, our ‘become a fan’ banners pop-up on pages of people who like Christian music, specifically Kari Jobe who endorses EOF on video. Or, we post pictures of celebrities we meet—Lisa Whelchel who played Blaire in the ‘Facts of Life’ and is now a prominent speaker with Women of Faith. And, some of our most popular posts have been quick videos.”

On another side of the industry, OptiSource, an optical suppy company, has embraced social media, the company tells Vision Monday—through VM’s own Facebook page. “OptiSource has placed itself in several social media channels in a position where our company exists as a consumer does. We post images, videos and things we find interesting on Facebook www.facebook.com/Optisourceint. We create tweets about random ideas, events and tips using Twitter www.twitter.com/optisourceint.

Optisouce also has a blog that features entries about its employees and products and allows its staff to contribute on any level they feel comfortable at www.optisourceblog.com. “Instead of blatant advertisements and sales pitches, we use subtle product placement in our videos and images. Instead of featuring just products, sell sheets and coupon sheets we intersperse new product launches and discount codes between interesting and fun entries,” the company said.

Optisource adds, “In taking this approach, we assume the role of our customers’ friend and guide to the industry. We are the optical geek that always tells them about the latest technology in blocking pads and the optical guru that teaches them to use a magnetic pad under their workspace to catch fallen screws. The best part of social networking is that for the first time in marketing, the conversation is bi-directional. With this new advancement we receive honest and immediate response to our marketing efforts and allow us to keep a finger on the pulse of the industry. This level of engagement is unmatched in marketing and may even rival a weekly face-to-face sales call relationship. We have blurred the lines between work and play and our customers have been extremely responsive.

“Although our social media initiatives are in its infancy, we have already received an overwhelmingly positive response from our customers. The
 
The OptiSource blog.
overarching opinion is that they appreciate our transparency and find value in the content being shared. OptiSource has always positioned itself on the forefront of new media platforms. We have extended this vision to becoming a pioneer of social networking in optical. The creation of a social media Website dedicated to optical professionals is also on the horizon.”

On yet another front, VSP Vision Care hosted a campaign last fall to educate patients about the value of vision and vision care with the launch of SeeMuchMore.com (www.seemuchmore.com), a lively graphic and info-packed Web site that points out little-known facts about eyes and sight during the open enrollment season for vision care. The new interactive sight uses social media and community features to link to VSP’s increasingly popular blog, Twitter and Facebook pages and other resources for finding VSP ECPs.

 
VSP’s Facebook page.
Explained Kate Renwick-Espinosa, VSP’s vice president of marketing, “Our goal through this campaign is to remind members and potential members how valuable their vision is in all aspects of their lives—personally, professionally and physically.”

The new Transitions Facebook guide, Putting Your Practice on Facebook, is one of many new resources developed to help ECPs leverage social media professionally and to stay top-of-mind with patients. Also recently debuted is the Transitions Lenses: Healthy Sight Professionals Facebook page, created for ECPs to stay up-to-date on the latest from Transitions and to provide a forum for peer-to-peer dialogue.

The guide includes a glossary to help eyecare professionals understand common Facebook terms, and a list of “dos” and “don’ts” to help them get started while avoiding the pitfalls that may come with sharing information on the Web.

“We are always looking for new ways to support industry professionals and help ECPs market their practices,” said Trish Boccuti, senior marketing specialist, eyecare professionals, Transitions. “Social media is a powerful communications channel and the optical industry should leverage it to spread the message of healthy sight, and boost business for eyecare practices.” Transitions Putting Your Practice on Facebook guide for eyecare professionals can be downloaded at www.transitions.com/fb. ■ ■
 
—maxelrad@jobson.com