Like every other industry, the fashion industry has also adopted social media for advertising and promotional purposes. And why shouldn't they? Social media has allowed many businesses to reach out to millions of users, build relationships with them and market their products and services. The outcome is increased business awareness and a better brand image.
Several fashion designers, retailers and brands are now controlling their brand perception with social media, and are evaluating their progress by determining relevant performance metrics. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn are all widely being used to deploy effective and tested market strategies in order to increase web traffic and boost sales.
So how do you think social media has helped the fashion industry in achieving their core objectives? Let's take a look at some of the main ways.
Pictures probably make a larger contribution to marketing than any other element
In other industries, you may be able to do without pictures, but not so in the fashion sector. After all, the image of your product is just what you have to sell. You would probably have heard about Pinterest, Instagram and Vine, right? They have become very popular these days, and so there is no reason to limit yourself by a certain number of characters. Gain more exposure by uploading pictures on popular visual networks like these. Do you know why? Because they are the most power platforms and can really take your sales to another level.
So upload your pictures on visual social platforms, and you would enjoy a higher conversion ratio in just a short time. You should start with Pinterest because a recent survey has revealed that it is responsible for almost 25% of all purchases that are made through social media.
Customize your message and deliver it to the right audience
Every social media platform is being used by different types of users. Understand the most common users on each network, and accordingly, customize your content. As an example, Twitter is mostly used by the techies whereas Facebook is used by the general audience. Obviously, they need to be enticed differently, which is why you should tailor your messages.
Do you know that this is actually the prime reason that some fashion brands enjoy immense success and others do not? It is just because these brands segment their message and highlight features that seem appealing to the market which they are targeting.
Be a storyteller
Stories have always attracted people from kindergarten to adulthood. Any good marketing strategy for a brand would not only display the products or services but would also narrate a story, clearly highlighting all the main features and benefits. As an example, you can tell the story of a fashionista, or you could narrate the story of a trendy business woman.
This may sound a little difficult, but is not really as hard as it seems. Understand your targeted audience and determine all those elements that would interest them, and they would want to incorporate them in their lives. Now shed this light on your products, and soon you would have many customers turning to your stores.
Entertain your fans
One thing that sets fashion brands and other businesses apart is the fact that the former focuses a lot on their fans, and interacts with them through social media. You have a lot of fans out there, and it's up to you how you reach out to them, and retain them as customers. You could host contents, make attractive offers or engage with them through other means.
So interact with your fans and make them realize they are valuable to you. They would feel their worth and pass it onto other individuals, which can even increase your fan base.
Be your true self
You would have always dealt with your customers in a professional manner, but with social media, you can connect to them on a personal level as well. This would give you their attention, and you can use the moment to present the benefits of your product or service. Try this out, and if you remain honest in the process, your fans and clients are going to respond to you strongly. The aftermath of course need not be mentioned.
Make use of video marketing
Just as pictures can be effective, so can videos if they are short. Video marketing is gradually becoming quite popular, and you can use it on several different social networking sites. Ensure that your videos are not too long; they should be able to deliver your complete message in just a minute or so. And what do you think will be the outcome? Yes, a very notable increase in sales which can help your business grow and make your brand the talk of the town in no time.