The millennial cofounders of a luxury accessories startup reveal the social media strategy they used to quickly carve out a market

<p><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5f9adfe86f5b3100117242b5-1706/Screen Shot 2020-10-29 at 11.22.14 AM.png" border="0" alt="Maison de Sabre Omar and Zane" data-mce-source="Luke Marsden Photography"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>Omar and Zane Sabr are the cofounders of luxury accessory brand Maison de Sabr, and have seemed to find a way to make their products stand out among the competition.&nbsp;</p><p>Specializing in monogrammed phone cases and small leather goods, the entrepreneurial brothers say their brand pulled in $1.9 million in revenue over their first 12 months of business, which by the end of year two, was a number they say jumped to $10 million. The brothers declined to share documentation to show the brand's exact revenue figures.<u></u></p><p>Crediting their rapid growth to the right social strategy and a quality product, the Sabr brothers told Business Insider just how they scaled up so fast, and the important role social media marketing has played in their success.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><h2>Social media's starring role in their brand's success from day 1</h2><p>Social media laid the foundation for Maison de Sabr, and has been the propeller behind the brand's rapid growth.&nbsp;</p><p>At the time of their launch in 2017, the brothers said they noticed the rapid growth other brands were experiencing on Instagram, so they prioritized finding the right market and devising a strategy to reach it. "We developed our social first strategy which has fueled our growth since we started," Zane Sabr said.&nbsp;</p><p>"We would spend hours on Instagram, reaching out to 100+ influencers a day to build a presence," he said, adding that the two knew they would have to work hard to create their own space. "We were posting every day and doing all of this on our own, we were determined to make it work."</p><p>About 90% of Maison de Sabr customers over the last 12 months have had a touch point with Instagram or Facebook, Sabr added, emphasizing the importance social media played not only in the beginning, but as the brand continues to grow.</p><p>Monthly, they aim for about 10,000 new followers on their Instagram account, but by staying on top of social trends and being mindful of the content they share, Omar Sabr notes that the brand has been consistently exceeding that goal. They say global sales have grown by 65% during the pandemic.</p><p>With celebrity and influencer postsby names like Lady Kitty Spencer and Kaia Gerber, among othersoften driving attention to the brand on social media, the recent launch of Instagram Reels has also been a huge engagement driver, Zane said.&nbsp;</p><h2>How the outreach and gift team finds the right influencers</h2><p>With the success of the brand's outreach, it's no surprise influencer relations and consumer engagement are important parts of the Maison de Sabr operation.</p><p>Though the Sabr brothers are proud of the organic growth the brand has experienced as a result of their social strategy, and emphasize that all influencer and celebrity posts to date have all been unpaid, the brand does utilize a gifting team&nbsp;who actively share product and ask for feedback on collections.&nbsp;</p><p style="font-weight: 400;">With no predetermined number of influencers to gift to, choosing the right target influencers is all about strategy, and the team uses the "Make Your Mark movement" as a guide, which Zane says is all about celebrating individuals with unique stories who fulfill their purpose and empower others to do the same.</p><p style="font-weight: 400;">"Having a great aesthetic is only the beginning, but those that are affecting real change within their communities, on a macro or micro level, those are the influencers we target," he said.&nbsp;</p><p style="font-weight: 400;">Most recently, the brand has evolved their strategy to partner with influencers that align with their new products, an example of which can be seen with the brand's Mini Tote collection, which features three limited edition colors named after certain cities. To fully represent those locations, Zane Sabr said the team has engaged digital influencers in each place that represent the values and culture of those fashion communities.</p><h2>How former dentists identified the business opportunity in phone cases</h2><p><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5f9ae02c6f5b3100117242b8-1892/Screen Shot 2020-10-13 at 9.04.55 AM.png" border="0" alt="Maison de Sabre Omar and Zane" data-mce-source="Luke Marsden Photography"></p><p>Before launching Maison de Sabr, the Sabr brothers were both working in dentistry.</p><p>Zane had just started his career, and Omar had been working for four years when the pair decided to take the leap.</p><p>Having grown up watching their father run his own business, the brothers always wanted to be entrepreneurs themselves, and it wasn't long before they identified the industry they wanted to make their mark in.</p><p>"We thought about companion items, products that people use every day, and phone cases seemed like the perfect entry product," Omar said of the brand's origins. "We did a lot of research before we got started to really understand the space."&nbsp;</p><p>Pointing out that the pair's dental training meant their attention to detail was meticulous, Omar Sabr emphasized that their appreciation for luxury items and vision to enter the market with a premium product allowed them to craft a phone case designed with enough intricacy and finesse to standout in the market.</p><p>"Once we perfected our design, we started to talk to suppliers and before we knew it, we were ready to launch," Sabr said of their rapid journey, adding that he and his brother Zane have no intentions of slowing down. "In the next five years, we plan to be a household name as a luxury lifestyle brand."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/monday-swimwear-multi-million-dollar-brand-30000-loan-20-million-2020-7" >How Monday Swimwear's cofounders turned a $30,000 loan into a multimillion-dollar brand in less than a decade</a></strong></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/entrepreneur-sophia-amoruso-business-class-learn-from-mistakes-2020-10" >Sophia Amoruso on success, what she wishes she'd done differently, and her latest mission to teach entrepreneurs how to turn their weaknesses into strengths</a></strong></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maison-de-sabre-luxury-accessory-startup-cofounder-marketing-strategy-2020-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-symphony-seas-worlds-largest-cruise-ship-deals-with-waste-2020-3">How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship</a></p>
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