It is amazing how quickly Warby Parker was able to disrupt the eyewear industry. Social media aided Warby Parker in a huge way. Social media allowed Warby Parker to engage with current and potential customers as a tool for addressing customer service inquiries. Due to “audiences now seeing themselves as generators of content, rather than passive receivers of media texts” Warby Parker decided to incorporate consumers in their marketing efforts/ plans. For example, Warby Parker has encouraged fans through their social media accounts to post photos that can possibly include in official branding campaigns. Companies such as Dior, Apple, and Nike have done similar campaigns/ contest. In fact, in 2009,  Burberry was one of the first luxury houses to bring high-end fashion to the masses. They created the “Art of the Trench” campaign. Burberry is known for their iconic trench coat and due to this,  the brand invited the public to upload pictures of people “rocking” the retailer’s best-selling item. In turn, Burberry’s Facebook follower count grew to more than one million. At that time, this was the largest the largest follower base in the luxury sector at the time. According to Offerpop, 65% of brands believe user-generated content is more influential than brand videos and photos, and 85% of consumers find visual user-generated content more influential than brand videos and photos. This is also known as transactional communication as well (click here for more info).

Warby Parker’s mitigated people’s concerns that they could not try on the frames through the creations of the “Home Try-On Campaign.” The campaign aided in Warby Parker’s strategy of transactional communication. Warby encouraged consumers to send pics of them utilizing the program and responded to many of the posts. Warby Parker has also differentiating their content on each social media site. Each social media site has a slightly different demographic. Due to this, Warby Parker saw fit to differentiate each account. According to Pew, 78% of 18- to 24-year-olds use Snapchat,(71% visit the platform multiple times per day. 71% of Americans in this age group now use Instagram and close to half (45%) are Twitter users. 78% of 18- to 24-year-olds use Snapchat. Similarly, 71% of Americans in this age group now use Instagram and close to half (45%) are Twitter users (click here for more info). In early 2017, Warby Parker launched a new limited-edition collection.

Along with this limited-edition, Warby Parker is making a donation to The Girlgaze Project, a multimedia platform created to support women in creative roles. Through social media, Warby Parker has committed to providing prescription glasses to individuals in developing countries. Through this, the company wants to expand its reach as an activist brand by partnering with outside organizations, while creating talk about new products. Social impact is very important to Warby Parker and in a way by creating their own vertically integrated brand, Warby Parker have been able to provide a cheaper sunglass to consumers as well as partner with nonprofits to train locals in 36 countries to become entrepreneurs and sell glasses in their local markets to people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to them.