Social media has served as more of an advantage than a disadvantage within in the fashion industry. As we are aware social media is all about connecting and has many great tools to market and bring awareness to consumers. Although when deciding to take a brand social that may come with some risk and challenges.
Some of the obvious risk are according to Jessica Ulrich of Social Media today are, “illegitimate pages and pornographic avatars to brand attacks of a political nature (Ullrich, 2014).” Depending on how large the company is these examples could damage a brands reputation. The one pitfall with social media is that it is an open space and for most brands keeping accounts public is how they reach consumers. If an account cannot be accessed or is limited this may turn people away.
Some other risk are not having control over how or what content is being shared. While the key here to employ a responsible individual to handle social media marketing, there have been numerous examples where users in companies have mistakenly sent offensive content that had nothing to do with the brand.
Another risk is you decide to roll out a huge social media campaign and you don’t receive the return you anticipated. While social media may come easy to some it does take time to create campaigns and you can easily run the risk of not being noticed on social media.
While there may be many other risk, the last risk I will mention is competition following and emulating everything your brand does. It was Oscar Wilde that said, “Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery”.
Some challenges that a brand may face on social media is a lack of consumer engagement. It would be ideal to have a large organic following that tweets and shares information about your brand this may not always be the case especially for brands just starting out.
Another challenge is deciding which social media platforms to implement. In the fashion industry as I have mentioned previously choosing a platform isn’t as complicated because almost all of the major applications are fitting. Although, it may be wise to pick one at first if you are starting out and gain a following first before joining multiple platforms. This may not be much of a concern to larger companies because they most likely already have a steady consumers and a fan base.
Overall, if you decide to go social the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. The important factor is to have a plan first and to be aware that challenges will occur but being prepared is what will set you apart from the competition.
References
Ullrich, J. (2014, October 30). Risk Management: Protecting Your Brand on Social Media | Social Media Today. Retrieved from http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/risk-management-protecting-your-brand-social-media
Sunsets and Sequins 
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I completely agree with you that when it comes to the fashion world, social media has come as much more of an advantage than a disadvantage. Social media has become a phenomenal way for companies to market the product and/or service they are trying to sell. Social media platforms are used to connect costumers to engaging businesses. Obviously when taking a brand public via social media, the risks will come with the rewards. For one, social media is public and expands extremely quickly. If a customer is in any way dissatisfied with a service or product, they can let multiple people know by one simple post spreading. Anything can be written and shared. On the other hand, if a customer is satisfied, the same applies. It is important when running social media platforms, to make sure to engage with customers who are reaching out with questions, comments, or concerns. The better companies are better at responding to posts or messages, the more likely customers are to tell people about the great service, but also continue coming back. Social media is also positive for fashion companies because it is another way to sell products to people. I follow a lot of clothing sites on Instagram with the link to buy right there. The platforms do so well because they are constantly advertising new products, discounts, sales, and specials. You are right that sometimes advertising social media takes time to gain a fan base and some companies may think at first they are failing. They need to remember to continue advertising social media platforms in any ways they can (in the store, online, ect) to gain a bigger fan base. All in all, utilizing social media is definitely an advantage for fashion organizations. Great post!
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It is true that having a social media presence does open a business or brand up to a lot of risks, but not having (or leveraging) social media is also risky (Marsh, 2014). The risks can be mitigated by first acknowledging them, having a true understanding of social media, and creating policies, procedures, and employee training (Marsh, 2014).
It’s also true that it takes time to gain followers and create successful campaigns. Trial and error still seems to be the best way for a company to figure out what “works” on social media. Every industry is different. Every company is different. Every follower is different. Social media is a way to build relationships, not blast information. Your followers can gain insight into your company’s values and you can gain insight into your followers other interests and find ways to authentically connect your brand/company with these interests.
The number of fans and followers you have is important. Lee (2016) says, “followers have a proportional impact on how far and wide your message spreads and the rate at which you get clicks and impressions.” If you get a chance, you should check out the “Big 10” list of ways to increase your followers that Lee created. My favorite is: “Make sure your content is shareable” (Lee, 2016).
References
Lee, K. (2016). Research-backed Tips to Get More Followers on Twitter, Facebook. Social. Retrieved from https://blog.bufferapp.com/get-more-followers-twitter-facebook-research
Marsh, E. (2014). 7 Serious Business and Legal Risks of B2B Social Media Marketing. Blog.hubspot.com. Retrieved from http://blog.hubspot.com/insiders/legal-risks-of-social-media-marketing
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