Making a fashion brand stand out in the digital era is a notion that some may find terrifying. However, it is also something that opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Through digital means, you get a chance to portray your brand in a completely new environment and reach out to your audience through new channels. So, here are several tips to help you make a fashion brand stand out in the digital era.
Find a unique angle
The first thing you need to do when branding your product is to come up with a unique angle. There’s a lot of things that your product may have to offer; however, not all of these things are of the equal priority level. For instance, some fashion brands are seen as durable, frugal or functional. Others are luxury brands. The way in which this impacts your overall strategy can be quite important. For instance, due to the fact that they’re a luxury brand, you will never see a Louis Vuitton on a sale. The brand avoids this in order to avoid devaluing their product and it has worked flawlessly, so far.
Focus on product-centric marketing
Another thing you want to do is focus on the product and the lifestyle that it represents. There are so many methods for you to do so in the digital age, ranging from building up the hype via social media activity, all the way to editing a high-quality product demo. Keep in mind that photography is crucial, which is why having a professional photographer may serve as a breaking point. The photography technique that you opt for can be quite significant, as well. As the lectures behind this bachelor of arts in fashion design in Milan teach us, communicating your attitude is one of the crucial steps in expanding your customer base. For instance, when it comes to clothes, the ghost mannequin method can be quite effective – it is great both for an online catalog and ad.
Combine digital with physical
One of the most important things for you to do is combine digital with physical in order to get the best effect. For instance, you can contact experts in order to increase the visibility of the brand in the digital world, but remember that you also need to establish the presence of your brand in an offline environment. This can be achieved by hiring billboards, sponsoring street art (guerilla marketing) and printing promotional materials. Digital and traditional go great hand-in-hand, seeing as how an infographic can easily become a brochure (and vice-versa). Finally, physical catalogs are an old and proven fashion industry technique.
Measure and adjust
Nothing is written in stone, which is why no measure, regardless of how effective it is, should be left on its own for too long. In the digital era, you have the means to measure and track the effectiveness of every single method that you use. This way, you can see its ROI, its exposure and its overall impact on your marketing strategy. Keep in mind that these metrics won’t stay like this forever. This is why you need to re-measure all these metrics and adjust your strategy based on it. It really is that simple.
Leverage the power of social media
Another thing you need to take into consideration is the fact that you have to leverage the power of social media in order to reach out to your audience. You see, the majority of people on social media follow their favorite brands, so why not place yourself out there and allow them to discover you on their own. In order to facilitate this, you can find a suitable fashion influencer and negotiate a promotion deal. Micro-influencers, in general, provide a lot better value than macro-influencers (when you take into consideration the cost-effectiveness of the deal).
Plan for the long-run
The fashion industry is one that heavily depends on return purchases. This is why ensuring customer loyalty is paramount. Now, one thing that makes the fashion industry unique is the fact that brand loyalty never means brand exclusivity. Just because someone loves one particular brand, it doesn’t mean that they’ll never make a purchase from another brand (even combine them in the same outfit). This gives you some more breathing space, due to the fact that you don’t have to poach customers from competitors. It also means that the industry itself is more welcoming towards newcomers.
Traditional retail and e-commerce
Lastly, you need to keep in mind that you want to utilize both traditional retail and e-commerce. Still, if you have to choose between the two, in the digital era, it’s often simple to go with e-commerce. This way, you get a lower overhead, seeing as how you don’t have to pay the rent for the brick and mortar establishment. All you need is the manufacturing infrastructure, as well as storage and delivery systems. Also, e-commerce gives you plenty of chances for customer re-engagement, which helps you follow-up on the above-discussed topic of loyalty and return customers.
Naturally, before you do any of the above-listed, you need to define your brand, ensure that it has recognizable visuals (this is particularly important in the fashion industry) and strong brand identity. Once this is completed, you can start planning your overall digital marketing strategy and fight for your own share of the market.