I am talking about Toms. The mission of Toms is to help every child in need of shoes to get a pair of shoes. According to their site:
“TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One. Using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good is what we’re all about. The TOMS One for One business model transforms our customers into benefactors, which allows us to grow a truly sustainable business rather than depending on fundraising for support.”
Their One For One program has garnered the attention of people around the world including many celebrities that can now be seen wearing their fashions.
How does the Toms company implement a social media strategy? Just a quick review of their site has many examples of how they use social media well. 
This is not your normal “Buy Our Stuff” site. They include their community or their social network throughout the entire site. They showcase their communities on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and YouTube. In addition they allow their customers, who are actually their donors, to upload pictures of “How We Wear Them” and in turn advertise to the world that they have a large customer base. They involve their customers at every turn and not just by pushing their message, but by allowing the customer to evangelize about both the message and the product.
The Toms company blog is kept up to date with the latest company news and releases of information, and also shows a more human side to the company - which is a great message when your human side is a shining example of your product and your message. They use plenty of imagery and video on their site, filled with information, creating a more gentle retail experience.
They recently had their “One Day Without Shoes” program and it was noticed throughout the world. Their founder Blake Mycoskie, a prolific Twitter user himself said in a tweet:
@BlakeMycoskie WOW. Blown away everyone who has participated in one day w/o shoes today. All i can say is THANK U. we’re changing the world!
Those of you who are not sure how to get “social” into your site’s experience or perhaps need ideas on how to involve your community, the Toms site is a great place to learn how social media can be implemented. Keep up the good work Toms, and Blake, thank you for helping change the world one pair of shoes at a time.
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Tags: Blake Mycoskie, cause marketing, One Day Without Shoes, social media, Toms
