This post focuses on one of my favorite places to shop for some of my most intimate apparel, Victoria’s Secret (VS). Victoria’s Secret has a colossal Facebook following with more than 13.7 million “Likes.” The page’s wall is the default tab and the first thing I noticed is how well the  page translates the VS brand. It provides a sexy, feminine appeal effortlessly and with promotions, contests, behind-the-scenes video, makeup style guides and much more, fans find themselves coming back to the page often for the value proposition and wide variety of content.

Spotlight Tab

The spotlight tab does a great job of showcasing its newest social offerings like apps, mobile alerts, and its other social channels (Twitter and YouTube). This tab serves well as a showcase for other efforts but I can’t help but to think there has to be a better way of showcasing these efforts without sending fans away from the fan page.

Bombshell Summer Tour Tab

The Bombshell Summer Tour Tab is currently my favorite VS Facebook tab. Here you can scout out the locations for the Victoria’s Secret summer tour where you’ll have a chance to meet your favorite angels and get a first look at their Bombshell Summer Collection. The tab offers great behind-the-scenes footage, fun polls and more. They also offer followers the chance to earn their Victoria’s Secret Foursquare badge (I wonder if they’ll include special discounts for those that earn their badge).

The only thing I would recommend is that VS set this tab as their default tab during the tour so the content isn’t lost.

In addition to the Bombshell Summer Tour Tab, Victoria’s Secret stuck with the bombshell theme to further promote their new line by hosting a contest on the page for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree. The contest was simple. Fans needed only to use content and imagery provided to them by VS to show off their personal style and share with their friends to get likes – fun and simple, my favorite kind of contest.

Supplementary Tabs: Wallpaper and Gift Cards

Victoria’s Secret encourages fans to “Glam Up Your Desktop” with a tab offering 6 wallpaper choices.  All of the selections in some way relate to the brand’s angel theme, thus the options feature one of the signature Victoria’s Secret Angels, an Angel product or the Angel brand logo.  Each individual wallpaper post permits individual likes and shares via either a fan’s wall post or a message.   The one that has netted the most individual likes is the wallpaper bearing the words “What Kind of Angel Are You?” featuring the word angel written with the brand’s moniker font.

The Gift Card Tab does something different by presenting consumers with the opportunity to personalize, purchase and send a gift card via Facebook without having to exit Facebook at any point.  Victoria’s Secret is one of a few women’s lifestyle brands that are testing the waters on Facebook with ecommerce offerings.  While it’s only gift cards, I’m sure actual product offering on Facebook in the form of a storefront is a natural next step for the brand considering the number of fans they have and continue to gain by the minute. As a matter of fact, the page was up a couple thousand fans just in the time I’ve spent analyzing the page.

Victoria Secret Facebook Content Strategy

Content is plentiful and diverse on the Victoria’s Secret Facebook wall.  If it’s video you want, they have.  If it’s photos of new collections you want to ogle, they have it.  If it’s makeup pointers for a new look you seek, they have that too.  Any fan of Victoria’s Secret can easily feel like they are in the know with everything Victoria’s Secret related that the company posts to keep fans engaged and aware whether it’s promotions, industry honors, special events, or even Victoria’s Secret Angels’ birthdays.

Though there are no distinct trends in relation to the posts that are receiving above average engagement rates, on the whole fan engagement questions and video posts appear to be getting the best feedback rating.  Posts that are receiving the least amount of fan engagement are store promotional posts and announcements which is typical of any brand.

Engagement Rate Comparison: Victoria’s Secret VS Converse

For reference, I compared Converse and Victoria’s Secret. While slightly different, I find its relevant because it’s another specialized fashion retailer with comparable fans. Converse’s engagement rate average is not as high as the VS fan page and the reason is apparent. Converse hasn’t yet posted updates that are engaging for the fan. Video and music related content accounts for half of the posts and are receiving less than average fan engagement rates. To me, it seems that the music’s connection to the brand is not translating well with fans. Converse did post in the last month that they love to hear from their fans and has more in store so perhaps a new content strategy is in their near future.

Time sensitive, brand relevant variety when it comes to content is the lesson that can be learned for the Victoria’s Secret Facebook fan page, which is currently trumping Converse in fan engagement despite their nearly equivalent fan count. As a matter of fact, I think variety is key for most brand pages. So are there things I believe VS could do to better engage their fans? Of course, everyone could improve upon their current strategy but I’d say they definitely have the right idea.

What, if anything, would you do differently if you managed the Victoria’s Secret fan page?

See more examples in 26 Social Media Fan Page Examples in Detail.

Originally published at Ignite Social Media