Sunbrella Engages Consumers via Social Media

-- Home Textiles Today, 5/24/2010 12:00:00 AM

Glen Raven, N.C. —

Performance fabric brand Sunbrella is deploying social media to boost consumer interest and retailer support, as evidenced by its recent use of Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook fans of Sunbrella were given access to behind-the-scenes images and outtakes of a recent product photo shoot, while the brand used Twitter to get viral expansion of the news about its fabrics and rugs being featured in a Restoration Hardware outdoor catalog.“Until recently, marketing was mostly a one-way dialogue between a company and its audience,” said Gina Wicker, design and creative director for Glen Raven, Inc, makers of Sunbrella fabrics. “Social media tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, encourage conversations and help establish deeper, more meaningful relationships between the Sunbrella brand and its most loyal followers.”

The company said it has added these web fan-agglomeration tools its initial cyber offering, the Sunbrella blog, lives since early 2009.

“The Sunbrella blog engages readers with information regarding upcoming events they can attend as well as special projects and ideas that invite them to experience the Sunbrella brand for themselves,” Wicker said. “We look forward to the reader comments we receive on the blog as we are constantly seeking new content and topics to cover.”

The company uses Facebook and Twitter in different ways.

“Twitter introduces us to people who use our product and allows us to follow and respond to their conversations in real time,” Wicker said. The Facebook Sunbrella fan page is used for more in-depth participation. For instance, fans are encouraged to submit images of their projects using Sunbrella fabrics, the company said.