Photo: Malia Anderson of Style by Malia, via Facebook

Malia Anderson is proof that it pays to interact with brands on social media. Eloquii just named a tunic after the Santa Rosa stylist and Essence columnist, and the honor stemmed from a Facebook message that Anderson sent the brand years ago.

A little context: Eloquii actually started out as a plus-size label within The Limited. In 2013, The Limited—may it rest in peace—announced that it was discontinuing the line, and the plus-size community—most vocally the blogopshere—was heart-broken. As Anderson tells it, "Everybody loved this brand. It was an amazing brand. And it was selling."

The team behind Eloquii agreed, and decided to re-launch the label on their own in 2014. Just as before, it was a hit with plus-size customers, and it became a styling resource for Anderson, especially because the brand was available on Shoprunner.

"As a wardrobe stylist, one of the things that helps me is that I can get things quickly," Anderson explains. "Eloquii was a part of the Shoprunner program where you can get two-day shipping on anything you buy, and I joined Shoprunner specifically for the Eloquii component."

About six months later, however, Eloquii announced they were no longer going to be a part of Shoprunner. So Anderson did what people do: she complained on Facebook.

Eloquii's customer support team responded and asked for Anderson's phone number, telling her that Mariah Chase wanted to chat with her. Not realizing that Chase was the CEO of the company, Anderson took the call and shared her uncensored opinions about what she liked and disliked about both Shoprunner and Eloquii. Before concluding the call, Chase thanked Anderson, noting that no one was ever that honest with her. It wasn't until Anderson later saw Chase's title in her email signature that she discovered she had been sharing her unfiltered opinions with the CEO of one of her favorite brands.

Honesty truly was the best policy because that conversation launched Anderson's relationship with Eloquii. Now she participates in their test group to try out new services and products. "They call me, they ask me questions, and I am who I am. I'm honest about it," she says.

Eventually, the online brand decided to take its show on the road to the brick and mortar world, and execs asked Anderson to host the very first Eloquii trunk show. Following the success of the trunk shows, Eloquii opened its first pop-up store at the Pentagon City mall outside of Washington, DC. Anderson, of course, was invited to the store opening this month, and she was floored to discover the Malia blouse—one of the company's new designs—featured in the store. After Anderson questioned on Instagram whether the name was intentional or coincidence, Chase confirmed that they had named the Malia tunic to honor her as one of their top clients.

So the next time you have the overwhelming urge to speak your mind about your favorite brand on social media, post carefully; companies really are monitoring those channels. If your thoughts are particularly insightful, it could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

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