Apparel brand Free People created a local Instagram account for its Rockefeller Center location, promoting an upcoming expansion and connecting to the local consumer.

The flagship store makeover is scheduled to be finished in time for the summer season on June 10 and Free People will be holding events through the warmer months that will be advertised on the Instagram account. The social media account advertises various merchandise featured in the store to draw in consumers on a local level.

Instagram revamp
The location has remained open during renovations and the Instagram account promotes merchandise with images of apparel from the store. The social media accounts of the brand focus on creating hashtags specific to Free People such as #FreePeople, #FRPC and #FreePeoplestateofmind to generate buzz around its products.

Clicking on the hashtags on the Instagram posts brings users to a list of posts related to Free People. Creating unique hashtags exclusively for Free People merchandise makes it more likely for apparel to be effectively promoted. 

While at the same time the brand uses other popular hashtags such as #tgif and #summer in order to cross promote its Instagram. 

The Free People Rock Center Instagram page offers a regional take on marketing

The new design of the Rockefeller Center location is highly important to the brand as it is its flagship store and is introducing collections previously available exclusively on the retailer?s Web site. Holding summer and promotional events advertised through the Instagram page helps Free People increase the chance of a successful opening. 

Mobile fans
Free People is highly focused on mobile and social media, knowing the importance that these platforms have in connecting to users. Its recent marketing efforts in the mobile sphere generate a secure bond with consumers creating true fans.

The brand showed that it knows how to effectively time push-notifications to drive sales for current collections available on its application (see more).

Recently, the brand hoped to turn around dropping mobile Web conversions and page views with a revamped site boasting bigger and more visuals, off-screen navigation and a streamlined checkout while simultaneously reducing code volume to minimize the impact on performance (see more).

The combined effort of Free People?s hashtags and mobile application are all pieces of the brand?s overall goal of engaging and attracting its consumer visually as well as authentically.

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer