The brand is a legacy, certainly — it was referenced heavily in Cary Grant and Doris Day’s That Touch of Mink 50 years ago, and is a favorite of Carrie Bradshaw’s in Sex and the City today – but not the kind of company you would expect to be on the cutting edge of technology.

The brand, though, has indeed found success in engaging digital fans — here’s how it does it and how your brand can replicate its success beyond industry lines.

Pieces in the Puzzle

Bergdorfs’ content strategy includes an active presence on multiple platforms. To start, Bergdorf’s blog is updated up to five times each day with high quality visuals often tied to internal content, such as the concepts behind the store’s latest storefront windows.

Its Tumblr nearly matches the blog in output, but is focused almost entirely on Instagram snapshots and quick images.

The ease of sharing on Tumblr comes into play for Bergdorf content — some of its posts have been re-shared more than 100 times.  Both strong content and topical influence account for this level of engagement.

Finding the Brand’s Voice

Finding the voice of a clothing brand — or any other brand for that matter — doesn’t need to be a difficult task.

It is important to note that the mind behind Bergdorf’s content is 20-something Cannon Hodge, who previously worked with the company for more than five years in trunk shows and special events. She explained in an interview, “We didn’t have a ‘This is what the voice is going to be like’ conversation.”

For Hodge, being the voice of Bergdorf is a full-time gig, beginning at 7 a.m. when she wakes up to check the brand’s channels and sometimes posting to Bergdorfs’ Twitter when she sees someone playing good music on the New York subway.

Having one person fully committed to Bergdorf’s outlets preserves the voice of the brand and also allows for its immense volume of content. Because Hodge knows the brand’s tone intimately from her time spent with the company, she is able to bring Bergdorf to a new generation of fans and potential consumers.

Going Where the Fans Are

Bergdorf bases its social activities on where its fans already are — Twitter and Facebook are the home bases, as for most large fashion brands — but the retailer isn’t afraid to branch out and try new platforms.

Bergdorf posts about 30 tweets each day, covering everything from fashion and beauty trends to office gossip and partying. Since Bergdorf only has one storefront, located on Fifth Avenue in New York City, local content makes sense. So, the occasional party or store pics don’t really alienate followers.

Bergdorf even takes risks with experimental inspiration sites like Pinterest. For example, Bergdorf has a pinboard of all things red — red shoes, lipstick and apparel from its own site, as well as other visually stimulating red items such as a case of apples.

Staying Relevant and Fresh

Bergdorf Goodman keeps its brand relevant with the digerati through its social media efforts. You can tell just by taking a look at its Twitter stream. But a deeper dive illustrates that this brand innovates quickly and adopts new social platforms into its strategy, based on how its audience is using those platforms and what type of content it can bring to the table.

Image courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman

The Content Strategist is a daily magazine for forward-thinking publishers and content marketers, sponsored and created by Contently

However, with more than 3 billion videos viewed each day on YouTube, making your brand’s video content stand out is even more of a challenge. In addition to capturing consumers’ attention, videos should make your content and brand memorable.  The following brands used video not just for great content, but also to serve as a medium to create a unique experience.

Some brands see how amateur video content can become a viral sensation (see: Double Rainbow, JK Wedding Dance, every OK Go music video) and try to figure how to emulate or work with them.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile is infamous for its viral video campaigns that serve as homages to the most memorable online videos.  Creating such videos such as the very timely T-Mobile Royal Wedding Video helps build buzz, awareness, and an edgy perception for a brand competing with the likes of AT&T and Verizon.

Jose Cuervo Gold

Jose Cuervo Gold’s new campaign #shotcast involves a partnership with the band OK Go, whose videos have created a viral sensation throughout the years.  Together, they have created an online experience where footage of the band’s videos have been pixelated with Facebook and Twitter avatars from fans. Go to the Jose Cuervo Gold site for the full experience.

Lanvin

While some brands are perceived a certain way to mainstream audiences, the Internet can allow experimentation and the ability to reach younger audiences. Some brands want to appear more contemporary, and that often means creating video content referencing other cultural touchstones.

The Fall 2011 campaign for Lanvin shows how fashion doesn’t have to be so stuffy. Warning: you might find yourself replaying this video over and over again.

FiberOne

FiberOne surprised many with this faux trailer for Cheech & Chong’s Magic Brownie Adventure, which is designed to reach alternative audiences who may need a different sort of magic now that they are older.

Burn Notice

Making a video is easier than ever, but utilizing tools such as annotations can create an interactive game experience.

USA’s Burn Notice has cultivated a large following, but when you are a show on a cable network, you are always looking to find new audiences to tune in.  The Burn Notice Think Like A Spy game uses annotations not only as a great way to engage current fans, but to introduce the show to possible new fans.

Bergdorf Goodman

When you’re a retailer, your number one objective is sales. Creating an interactive video experience can lend itself to a selling opportunity. Once you have a viewer’s attention, why not drive them to buy?

Bergdorf Goodman leverages the holiday season and the fact everyone loves puppies to its advantage and created Unleashed: Shop the Video, where you can hover and click to buy items as you help puppies find the perfect present.

StyleMint

Every month StyleMint hosts a contest called T Moment, where Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen create a video sharing how to enter the contest. While each video is engaging, the October T Moment video was an annotated game where a discount code was revealed.

While the keys to success for video content appear to be puppies, dancing, and shock value, brands need to make sure their content creates a unique experience, catches attention, and has an overall purpose.  Once you grasp someone’s attention, how are you going to leverage it for your brand? These videos are great, but they also drove sales, increased awareness, and changed perceptions. Start with your objective, then order the puppies.

The Content Strategist is a daily magazine for forward-thinking publishers and content marketers, sponsored and created by Contently