Trina Albus is an advisor for SMWLA and is participating on the panel “Social Media: Taking Fashion to new Heights” which will be held on Wednesday, September 21st from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Trina Albus is also the VP of Social Strategy at BeachMint, is a seasoned and experienced technology executive. Throughout her career, she has held prestigious positions at Price Waterhouse and Discovery Channel and ran her own successful consulting agency for four years.
She is a contributor to Financial Times Press book, 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking, taught a “Social Media for Business” course at Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, and produced two successful Social Media Week conference events for Time Inc in 2010 and 2011.
Below, Trina takes some time to answer our six Advisor Interview questions and talk about her panel:
1) Why did you chose to participate in this particular panel? How did you get involved with this topic specifically?
I am a speaker on the fashion panel to discuss how Social Media has influenced and changed the fashion industry. As the head of social at Beachmint (with brands StyleMint, JewelMint and BeautyMint) I have helped launch and grow new fashion brands that utilize social commerce as a core component of the business model.
2) How has social media influenced or informed the discussion surrounding your topic?
Social media is the core of my job every single day.
3) What social media websites are key players for your topic? (linkedin, foursquare, facebook)
Facebook, twitter, tumblr, wordpress, YouTube, viddy, instagram, pose.
4) How has your background in other fields shaped your approach to social media?
With 15 years experience in the IT field, I am fascinated to see the complete convergence of fashion/marketing with IT for the first time in my career. My job is very challenging, interesting and rewarding at the same time. Having an IT background allows me to better understand the implications of a technical approach to social implementations and to optimize the use of various tools and applications.
5) How can social media bring more awareness to your topic?
Social media allows more people to access fashion across the globe. What was once reserved for fashion industry insiders can now be accessed through social channels ( i.e. access to fashion designers, CFDA, photos from the runways in NYC, Paris, Milan and London ).
6) If you had to describe your panel with three adjectives, what would they words be?
Fashionable, timely, global.
