I'm a big fan of t-shirts. Living in Scotland, with our incredible summer climate (!), I need to have a plethora of tees available. I recently started to struggle to find t-shirts I liked both in the bricks and mortar stores and online. Then one day, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed, and something caught my eye...
I must have followed Atlas & Masonat some point in the past, but this little tip card really grabbed me. The fact that it wasn't a photo makes it stand out, and the content of it made me smile. They regularly share tips across style, food and etiquette. A fashion brand should think outside of just its products, but how they fit into people's lives outside of the actual garments, this approach creates character but offers that little but of extra value that can go a long way.
A personal touch
On Father's Day, the founder of Atlas & Mason, George posted a pic of him and his Dad from back in the day. This adds a really personal touch to their use of Instagram, instead of some cheesy quote about Fathers, George gave a peak into the relationship he has with his Dad.
The personal touch is something that George seems to use as much as possible. He invites people to email him in their Instagram bio, and is very responsive to comments etc within images. I left a comment asking if their tees were available in the UK, George quickly got back to me saying they will ship to the UK and I can arrange that via the site. When I visited the site, there was no option to select UK shipping, so I went back to Instagram and stated that very fact. George and I then took to email to work out a way to get some of their gear to me. I'll be ordering very soon. Their clever use of Instagram, mixed with a responsive approach has gone a long way to converting me from an admirer of their Instagram content into a customer.
What about the product shots?
While the personal touch and lifestyle stuff is nice, it is of course stil important to have some product shots in there. Atlas & Mason do this nicely too. See some examples below... I like these product shots as they don't just rely on models. There's the cute factor (the baby!), the product detail and the manufacturing angle.
What else could they do?
The recent introduction of 15 second videos to Instagram could be a very interesting angle for Atlas & Mason. Short behind the scenes footage of photo shoots, manufacturing and mini-profiles of the people behind the brand would offer further immersion for their Instagram followers.
All in all, a very nice approach to Instagram from a new brand that is at a stage where it needs to build brand advocates. They've created one in me, and the sentiment that comes across from other Instagram users would say to me that I'm not the only one.
Is there a brand that you like to follow on Instagram? Do share in the comments.