One of the most valuable marketing tools employed by Rent the Runway, an online dress rental platform, is “Our Runway”, a collection of customer-submitted pictures of themselves wearing dresses rented from the website.  Indeed, peer-to-peer reviews and recommendations are one of the most valuable tools online retailers use to drive conversion and generate sales.  

Many other brands, particularly in the fashion space, are trying to take advantage of the communities of loyal customers and followers that have sprung up organically and effectively serve as brand advocates.  Enter Olapic. 

Olapic is a New York-based start-up that searches and aggregates user-generated images via hashtags posted to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and integrates them directly into the e-commerce sites of its clients.  So far, a number of well-known fashion companies have signed on as clients, including Coach, New Balance, Nasty Gal and Lululemon.  Olapic-powered user-generated image campaigns have lifted conversion rates by an average of over 30 percent, according to data provided by the company.    

I think this is a fascinating concept that harnesses the power of social media communities to further these brands’ storytelling and drive deeper engagement with their customers.

Source: http://mashable.com/2013/07/30/olapic-5-milion-series-a-retail/