Nicola the Fiat reveals made to measure Twitter tactics

After catching up with Lisa Tse of Sweet Mandarin, next up on our Manchester Twitterati list is Nicola, the sexy Fiat 500 that delivers beautiful suits around the country for Nicholas Jones Bespoke Tailoring.

The man behind this clever social marketing strategy is Nick Hartshorne-Evans, who admits that thinking and tweeting from the point of view of his female alter ego can sometimes get a little weird.

How-Do caught up with him to discuss Nicola’s cult following and how the idea came about.
 
“We decided to buy a company car and ‘dress it up’.  Then we asked customers on Twitter what they would name the car.”

People generally regard tailoring companies as male orientated businesses, so choosing the name Nicola has given a new slant to the company’s image, allowing the team to show off the more female-orientated aspects of their business.

“We tweet from her perspective, which is not as harsh as a man’s.  This softer feminine approach reflects our business - we don’t just put you in a suit, we put you in a work of art. 

“For businesses, Twitter has to reflect your culture.  You should try to give your tweeter a personality and immerse yourself in it. 
 
“Do it softly or you’re knackered.  You’ve got to be interesting,” Nick adds.

As a result of their well-thought out SM strategy, Nicola gets tweets from journalists around the globe.  The New York Times and LA Times have both featured the company in their style sections.

“We have built some great relationships up through Twitter.  For example, @thedrycleaner owns the best dry cleaning company in Belgravia, responsible for Prince Charles’ suits and costumes from all the Broadway shows.

“Even lawyers contact us over twitter and ask if they can be models – Nicola is a big hit with everyone.  You would never get Tom Ford doing this sort of thing, but light-heartedness is important to us.
 
“Customers are human, they need to be able to relate – we don’t just tweet about suits, but petrol prices and rubbish drivers.  We like to keep people engaged.”

The company’s business culture is about freedom and transparency and Nicola the Fiat reflects this. 
 
“We’re not all about that cloak and dagger stuff,” Nick says, “We help to style and educate people.”

The cheeky Nicola is always checking out commuters’ derrières, to see how well their suits fit.  She is always quick to respond with tips and practical advice on how to care for suits and even replies to DJs who want to send her tunes that she can listen to on her stereo whilst doing the rounds.

“It’s all about creating a new identity.  Educating and engaging with the customers is the real business benefit of the site, it’s not about sales.”

Nicholas Jones Bespoke is due to launch a new revamped website in a few weeks.

You can see the current one at http://www.nicholasjonesbespoke.co.uk/

http://twitter.com/nicolathefiat

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