Could your scrolling and searching on social media hinder the fashion industry? In the palm of your hands, you are a test bunny for fashion brands and designers. The constant pop-up ads and influencers’ advertising brands gravitate you to shop right from social media. Forget surfing the web to your favorite luxury designer and high fashion brands, it appears right within your feed.
Has your screen time given you the shivers lately? If that’s the case it might be time to give in to the pressures of a new year’s resolution of spending less time on social media. However, your guilty pleasure in online shopping will not be achieved without witnessing the trends on your social media.
My daily average screen time is four hours and 12 minutes. Out of the 14 hours I am awake, I spend five hours and seven minutes on social network apps. This gives the fashion industry plenty of time to absorb me with the information they please to present in front of my eyes.
As of October 2020, Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp are the most used social media platforms. In the United States, there are about 230 million active social media users as of January 2020. It only makes sense that fashion brands make their way to social media to influence their customers.
The opportunities of using a platform like social media are limitless for someone working within the fashion industry. If you are a fashion designer, a fashion blogger, a small business owner or someone focusing on achieving a creative, fashion career through social media, here’s how the professionals in the industry succeed.
Cultivate brand image
You are not a brand without your image or message. Be clear and concise with what you stand for and plan to present. Make it bold and known so followers will remember you among the competition. Cultivating your brand image is successful when the image, messaging and lifestyle are visually and literally pleasing. The key to cultivating your brand is for your followers to click right back to your brand when needing your product or service.
Increase traffic
You aren’t a successful fashion brand if you limit yourself to only your website. It is a disservice to your brand if you reach those who click on your site. Through partnerships with influencers and celebrities, your brand is bound to reach more.
Expand your audience by thinking outside of the box with paid ads and engaging and interesting content. Social media is the place to be active on why not reach more followers by using what is in your hands. Having a presence on social media by targeting your audience, your traffic will increase.
Connect with consumers
Social media is a platform where a fashion brand’s customer care can succeed. Use your platform to your best advantage by responding to the comments and interacting with your followers. Every now and then fashion brands are hosting giveaways and resharing photos from customers who are wearing their brand or promoting it.
Social media is interactive and because of that fashion brands can connect with their consumers by asking them questions about what they would like to see more from the brand. Staying connected with your followers will benefit your brand.
Targeted ads
Are you ever scrolling through your social media and all of sudden a pop-up ad appears that tempts you to shop now or click for more information? Many of these pop-up ads integrate your previous shopping experiences. These advertisements are engaging with deals and bestselling items that grab your attention from the get-go. Pop-up ads are successful when a user has already checked out your content. This allows for fashion brands to promote exclusive content through advertising.
According to Hubspot, 81% of consumers closeout of an area when faced with a pop-up ad. There are right and wrongs to pop-up ads. These ads are annoying but when done creatively and appealing they can be effective. Targeted ads can be intrusive but without bombarding your consumer on social media with advertising your sales can increase.
New technology
Each year there seems to be the latest app to hop on trend with or the latest feature within an app to be active on. After lockdown and being cooped up for far too long, users swayed to TikTok. TikTok is an example of how fashion industries have promoted their content.
For instance, Princess Polly has hopped on multiple TikTok trends by presenting their clothing like essentials you need in your closet, colors we’re loving: purple, ways to style a slip dress and more. Back in August of 2020, Instagram introduced reels, which appeared to users similar to TikTok.
Not only can fashion brands reel you in on TikTok but post similar content on a different platform like Instagram. Live videos and stories are different forms of updated features that the fashion industry has adapted to on Facebook and Instagram.
Social networks can be used effectively and responsibly. You control your own social media rather than letting it control yourself.
JULIA MEEHAN
FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM @JULIAAMEHAN