What made you realize the importance of social media for a brand nowadays?
It happened very organically for us. I have always loved photography and was very excited when Instagram launched. I’ve been on Instagram for over fours years and there weren’t really brands on it at that early stage. It felt like an ‘adult photo sharing club’ and was an easy way of sharing what we loved and got us excited. It was unadulterated photo bliss. Facebook had become overrun with adverstising and this felt like a new place where images ruled and advertisers were out. Ironically it is one long running 24 hour advert for our brand but we really had no idea it would turn into that. Zanzan wasn’t established back then either. We were lucky that the fashion industry really flocked to it and we already had a handle on it. It was great timing for us. We didn’t have money to pay for marketing and all of a sudden we were being contacted directly by Rihanna’s stylist. That’s when it clicked and we knew it was an amazing tool for a young brand like us. It allowed us to access all kinds of interesting people and start up conversations.
How do you curate your different accounts? There aren’t actually that many sunglasses..!
I think if we posted too much product it would become really boring fast! Personally I like to look at all kinds of different things from vintage fashion editorials, conceptual art, exotic locations, interiors. As a designer I have always created moodboards so I guess that’s exactly what it is – a live streaming Zanzan moodboard. Gareth is @zanzanman and I am @zanzaneyewear; we share a lot of imagery but it’s really personally curated. I think @zanzanman has become a bit of a cult account, I don’t think people even realise he is the founder of a brand. That’s cool too! He has some really high profile fans who love his curation of quirky imagery.
Do you have a daily routine when it comes to posting?
Not at all. I know that there is strategy and data behind social media like what time to post and what to post etc. I heard the colour blue is very popular! I think if we started becoming strategic about it, it would perhaps lose its authenticity. It really is just what we see in the moment. But after long time usage you do work out what type of images get the big likes. @zanzanman had a penchant for posting pictures of baby animals for a while!
Any anecdotes about interactions with your followers?
It’s interesting when we meet people and they are really confused about who we are. Someone thought we were both French as our sunglasses are handmade in France. There is a lot of room for misconception! But that’s part of the fun, creating a world that probably doesn’t exist in reality…or maybe it does!
