Creative Digital & Design Agency, London, Essex

For many years, the online market was saturated by high street and mainstream brands, making it the ideal market place for cheaper, faster-moving goods. But today, the Internet is equally equipped to cater for the needs of more affluent customers, with most of today’s luxury brands having some sort of online presence.

Not only do prestigious fashion, motoring, finance and health brands all have their own websites to sell or advise potential customers of their products and services, they have also started to integrate social network sites into their marketing strategies to provide their customers with 24/7 information and news about their brand.

An excellent case study of luxury brands using social networking to ‘touch’ their affluent spenders is Louis Vuitton. Before the rise of social network sites or even the Internet itself, shoppers had to spend a considerable amount of time visiting stores and attending fashion previews to be in the know about the latest products and trends. Today, however, these wealthier shoppers can keep up-to-date with Louis Vuitton collections via Facebook, Twitter and iPhone apps, all of which are just a click away.

No affluent male or female is without one of the leading Smart Phones, meaning that where ever they are in the UK or indeed the world, they can access the latest collections, releases, private previews and special offers via their pocket gadget. This constant source of marketing also means that one minute shoppers are seeing that a celebrity has been spotted wearing a Vuitton bag, the next they are buying it from one of the luxury brands retailers online; great for those who are always busy and on the move.

All these social marketing tools reach not only the brand’s dedicated affluent shoppers, but these tools also open up their brand to a broader fan base. This increasing accessibility to luxury brands boosts brand awareness, which will ultimately lead to improved sales figures.