I’m a writer, of course, which means I’m drawn to story in the way that a bird is drawn to open sky. With story, there is limitless potential, which makes the sky metaphor all the more apt.
Photo by Daniel Lincoln on Unsplash
Warby Parker’s Brand Story
Warby Parker’s story is about imagining a different way to do business. In doing so, they revolutionized the way eyeglasses are purchased, manufactured, and shared.
The company’s founders were able to picture the limits of the traditional eyeglass market—the need for scheduling and traveling to appointments, as well as expensive price tags—and see a way to move beyond them, positioning themselves to offer a lower-cost option that consumers could try in the comfort of their own home.
And the best part? They are able to pay these benefits forward, giving away one pair of glasses for every pair purchased.
That is some serious Social Good.
Seeing is Believing
Do you remember the first time you saw a Warby Parker commercial? I sure do. I watched it on TV, and it stopped me in my tracks. Here is their first commercial, in case you haven’t seen it:
It was so different, this thought that one could order prescription glasses online! Having worn glasses most of my life, I was unsure, but I also enjoyed the way Warby Parker seemed to emphasize value and craftsmanship, as demonstrated in subsequent ads.
I have never ordered Warby Parker glasses—at least not yet. Even so, I associate positive feelings with their brand image because I respect their story. Let’s take a closer look at how Warby Parker engenders this feeling of respect through its interactions with audiences, especially online.
Transactional Communication: Speaking to Today’s Audiences
Online audiences feel real ownership of their content, and rightly so. As users of social media, we take pride in our profiles, follow our favorite friends, aunts, and celebrity crushes, and share the content we find interesting and/or want associated with ourselves. We also use social media to scope out everything from restaurants and books to clothing and—you knew it was coming—eyewear.
These brands often come to feel like online friends, with (hopefully) real humans on the other side of the digital conversation. As such, we expect brands to engage with our questions, comments, and complaints.
In return, brands should respect this level of access to audiences and use it for everyone’s benefit.
Warby Parker’s Strategies on Social Media
Here are some ways Warby Parker has successfully used social media to win over audiences:
- They reduce cognitive dissonance
- They utilize a socially conscious business strategy
- They perform transactional communication over linear advertising
- They encourage user-generated content
#1: Reducing Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is the feeling of disconnect audiences might have in response to whatever it is you’re selling; something just doesn’t make sense, and these feelings are often aligned with our previous experiences and how we view the world.
With Warby Parker, that dissonance is one I can speak to directly, because I experienced it the first time I saw their commercial. How, I asked myself, does one go about purchasing eyeglasses over the internet?
Don’t you need a doctor, and a room full of frames?
Warby Parker took to social media in order to effectively and consistently respond to consumer comments and questions. The company also used social media to promote their “Home Try-on Campaign” which allows consumers to pick out five pairs of eyeglasses, which they then receive through the mail; once they’ve selected their favorite pair, they send the other four pairs of glasses back at no charge.
Warby Parker encouraged consumers to share pictures of themselves wearing their new frames to their social networks on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. This user-generated content helped expand Warby Parker’s reach through word-of-mouth marketing while at the same time decreasing dissonance that potential audiences were reasonably feeling.
Satisfied customers helped normalize this new way of shopping for prescription glasses, and the company encourages and participates in the ongoing conversations to reduce that dissonance even further, posting informational videos on YouTube and asking their consumers to do so as well.
#2: Socially Conscious Business Strategy
As humans, we want to be associated with good causes. If our purchasing decisions benefit another, all the better; for some consumers, this creates a strong bond, something that could lead them to become loyal brand advocates.
With the help of a company called VisionSpring, Warby Parker is able to donate one pair of glasses for every pair purchased, an arrangement which has helped hundreds of thousands of people. This powerful social good is one reason a consumer might change their purchasing behavior and become a Warby Parker loyalist, especially if they can share this feeling within their individual social media networks.
#3: Transactional Communication
Traditional marketing relied on linear advertising: a message was sent out by the company to the masses, with the audience viewed as a passive receiver. Social media has made transactional communication not only possible, but also necessary; audiences have as much ownership of the messages as the company does.
To this end, marketing and brand managers must listen more than they share; it is also necessary to respond to consumers in a timely, consistent, and personable way.
Transparency is key here. By being open and honest, and by focusing more on the people and their needs in the market than the product itself, Warby Parker has effectively engaged in transactional communication through social media channels, and has been rewarded in loyal consumers who carry the brand’s message via their own content.
#4: User-Generated Content
User-generated content plays a huge role here. As seen above, content produced and shared by consumers to their own social networks online can reduce dissonance, spread a socially-conscious message, and produce the kind of word-of-mouth marketing that brand managers dream about. When someone sees a friend, family member, or coworker enjoying their new glasses—for a variety of reasons, including lower cost, ease of purchase, social good, or wanting to be on trend—there is a good chance that they will become open to the possibility of changing their own purchasing behavior too.
Social Media, Branding, and Authorship
I’m a writer, yes, but I’m studying social media marketing in order to better understand what it takes to build meaningful, authentic connections in today’s world.
More and more, these connections are happening online, via social media; many authors now participate on social media platforms, engaging directly with readers while also benefiting from content that readers share with their own social networks.
This user-generated content is powerful, because it is, in a sense, owned by the readers themselves; once created and shared, this content becomes part of the reader’s own story, linking them to the author’s brand; when it is positive content, this builds brand loyalty.
Best of all, this word-of-mouth marketing is much more effective than any kind of targeted ad an author might purchase. As humans, we look to our own social networks; the behaviors and values we see play out are often ones we might emulate.
For More Information:
Strategic Social Media: From Marketing to Social Change by L. Meghan Mahoney and Tang Tang is an excellent resource, both for the Warby Parker case study as well as for social media marketing best practices.
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Kari Nguyen 
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