Written by Bill Bernardoni

“Social media is the canvas where your brand’s story unfolds, inviting your audience to be part of the narrative.” – Neal Schaffer

Four college classmates at Wharton changed the eyewear industry forever when they created Warby Parker. The eyewear industry up until then had not seen any meaningful change for literal decades. Warby Parker changed how consumers thought about when it came to purchasing eyewear forever through a brilliant and very strategic social media campaign.

Speaking from personal experience, I have been wearing glasses since 1997 when I was in third grade. So, when those four Wharton classmates launched Warby Parker, I was intrigued, but I did have some pretty fundamental questions about if they would be able to have any kind of success at all. How would Warby Parker be able to talk consumers into purchasing eyewear without seeing it in a store setting? To have any success at all, Warby Parker had to change the behavior of consumers, but the question was how would they do it?

Changing Consumer Behavior

“Consumer beliefs and behaviors are changing fast. To keep up with—and perhaps even influence—those changes, companies must leverage deep consumer insights.” – McKinsey & Co.

To have success, Warby Parker had to change consumer behavior. My parents and I and just about everyone else who wears glasses on a regular basis were comfortable with the way things were. It took drastic changes and significantly lower prices to be able to make any real change. This was the challenge that Warby Parker faced. They had to change the behavior of the buying public, and they did that by utilizing social media to its fullest advantage. That includes launching the brilliant Home Try-On Campaign.

Home Try-On Campaign

“I’ve ordered glasses from Warby Parker in the past but didn’t use the free home try-on service. This time, I put it to the test, and it made the ordering process much less stressful and helped me pick a style outside my comfort zone.” – Amir Ismael

The Home Try-On Campaign allowed Warby Parker customers to:

1. Pick out five pairs of your favorite glasses that get shipped to your house completely free of charge.
2. You try them out for five days.
3. You send them back to Warby Parker completely free of charge and order whatever pair you decided upon.

Specific Social Media Tactics

It was a lot more than just the brilliant Home Try-On Campaign. Warby Parker used the art of those addicting unboxing videos, a good amount of user-generated content, and effective storytelling to build trust and build a successful brand.

Social Good

When we were creating Warby Parker, for us it was about having a positive impact on the world and having a strong social mission. – Neil Blumenthal

In addition to the brilliant Home Try-On Campaign, Warby Parker understood the importance of doing good and making an impact. I think of the example of TOMS Shoes. In all of business there is no better example of a business having a positive impact on the world than that of TOMS Shoes. Warby Parker echoed TOMS Shoes with their “Buy a Pair, give a Pair” campaign that was not just an afterthought, but it was baked into the Warby Parker brand. They have positively impacted millions of people by giving away over one hundred million pairs of shoes. It is obvious that Warby Parker learned from the example that is TOMS Shoes and understand the overall importance of making a positive impact on society.

Conclusion

Warby Parker did not just sell eyewear, they completely reshaped an industry. They showed that money is not everything. They started with basically nothing and turned themselves into one of the premiere eyewear companies, not just in the United States, but in the world. They did it by using social media to its fullest potential and changed the eyewear industry forever. As a marketing professional, they inspired me and as someone who wears glasses, I will be forever grateful for them.

Bill Bernardoni is the founder of Bernardoni Media & Marketing and The Bernardoni Brief. Make sure to follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter.