Behind every great luxury blog, you will find a great story. Luxury bloggers are real people, not machines, and to successfully work with them, we recommend you get to know them a little better. Through our years at LuxeInACity, we have talked, collaborated and exchanged ideas with dozens of great bloggers from around the world.
Since bloggers rarely talk about themselves – they tend to talk about everyone else instead – we hope to showcase their skills, expertise and opinions in this blog series.Get to know them, learn from them and hopefully you will find an innovative way to collaborate with them.
Today’s blogger is Ryan Clark, the founder of the Luxury Branded. The creative mind of this marketing genius is behind the bespoke experience that the brand delivers. He has extensive experience in building brands, which has helped him gain an insight into the myriad aspects of the luxury industry. Social media success is also one of his specialties.
Read on to find out more about this expert from the field of luxury branding.
Every blogger has a different story on how they got started blogging. What is yours?
My foray into blogging started when I noticed a lack of a certain type of content within the industry and I felt I could fill that void. 10 years later and I’m still here spouting words down in this digital landscape and I haven’t looked back.
Like most successful bloggers, you probably received hundreds of emails per month from luxury brands who want you to share their story. What makes you decide to work with a brand over the other?
I look for a company that provides something else no other brand does in their space and that will excite my readers because that’s my number one concern. The thing that makes me really want to work with a brand is when they actually have read my work and appreciate it. This leads to not only a business relationship but a more personal one that will extend well into the future which should be more than mutually beneficial.
What is your take on press releases? Do you like receiving them or do you simply discard them?
I love getting them as it gives you a slightly quicker jump on the other bloggers in the industry. I won’t publish them word for word, but rather write my own words and provide my perspective which hopefully gets noticed.
If a brand wants to reach you, what channel should they use? Do you prefer email, social media or another means of communication?
I like it if I notice some social media engagement from the brand leading up to connecting. I would want the luxury brand to legitimately be proud of what I do enough to want to work with me and my readers. From there if they’ve hunted me down via email I know they’re quite interested in working with me and have spent some time looking over what I’ve done and how I work.
In your mind, what makes a successful blogger outreach program? Is it the incentive, the brand itself or the relationship you already have with the brand?
For me it’s all about the brand relationship first as they provide products and services I respect and love, and from here I can know that my heart is in it and my readers will respect that.
Of all the social media channels you engage on, which one do you prefer and why?
I would have to say Twitter. It’s a great way to share your thoughts and expertise as well links to your content and others you respect in your follower base. Twitter for me is also responsible for building hundreds of amazing relationships over time which has lead to both business and real friendships.
In your opinion, what does it take to become successful on social media?
Become a leader with a voice that is heard because you provide thoughtful insight and new ideas that get people talking. Social media is about real people interacting online and you need to cut the fat by not being like everyone else. If you can stand out you will without a doubt rise as an influencer in your industry and this will lead to amazing opportunities for you and your followers.
Do you monitor your Klout score on a daily/weekly basis? Do you think this social ranking is of any real value to luxury brands?
I don’t think I’ve checked it since the day I’ve signed up but I think services like Kloutand Wefollow.com are invaluable tools luxury brands can use to their advantage. How? Well, they give you a quick and easy look at who’s an influencer in your vertical and that’s priceless.
Apart from blogging, do you offer additional services to luxury brands who choose to work with you?
I offer what I like to call “next level” training to luxury brands to elevate their social media game. I see a lot of the wrong interaction taking place in a brand’s social media streams and too many companies treat it as a place to only push a product. A lot of luxury brands also don’t seem to have a specific strategy in place like targeting and building relationships with influencers and how to get more shares of their content.
Do you manage more than one blog? If so, which ones?
Besides the Luxury Branded Blog I run LuxuryBC.ca on the side for fun, not profit. It is the only blog in British Columbia covering the finer things of life here in Western Canada and I have a blast doing it. I am so thankful and proud to be from this amazing part of the world and I’m doing my best to share the best of the best so I’m not the only one enjoying it.
If you had to mentor a new blogger, what is your go-to advice to become successful?
To me the most important factor is providing content people will want to read and share. The biggest problem I see in the luxury industry is regurgitation of the same news all over the place when an event or product comes out. My top advice would be to get people talking socially, if you can do that you’re in for a lot of success.
Don’t hesitate to connect with Ryan on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Google+. You can also email him at ryan@luxurybranded.com or reach out to us for an introduction.
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