Information on this blog was obtained from Hootsuite, HubSpot, Instagram, skedsocial, and SocialInsider.
The fashion industry has taken over the world. When it comes to fashion it is important to build the brand and gain an audience. No better way to build your brand than social media marketing. Social media marketing is when brands can connect and interact with consumers through online platforms. This marketing strategy allows brands to increase engagement and sales, and drive website traffic. Instagram is the perfect social media to promote fashion brands. Instagram is a social media platform where people can share videos and photos with friends. Fashion brands can market their products on Instagram by using Instagram features, user-generated content, influencers, and advertising.
How To Set Up a Business Instagram Account
When setting up an account to market brands on Instagram, the first step is to make the account a business profile. When your account is a business profile, it allows you to track analytics and explore other Instagram features. Instagram business accounts allow users to have more opportunities and benefits compared to a personal account. To set up your Instagram business account go to settings, then account, and tap switch to a professional account. After your account is switched to a business account, add your business information. For example, phone number, address, email, website links, and any other information you want for your business. The most beneficial feature to a business account is the data and analytics. This shows how your page is performing and what you could work on to improve. For more information on how to set up an Instagram business account, check out the Instagram site here.
Instagram Features
Instagram is the perfect social media platform to market fashion brands. There are many features Instagram offers to build a brand, gain an audience, increase engagement, and make sales. There are tons of easy ways to help promote fashion brands through Instagram and Meta Business Suite. Meta Business Suite is a free online tool to help manage Instagram and Facebook accounts. A list of Instagram features are listed below.
Organic Posts
Reels
Instagram Shopping
Stories
Story Highlights
Instagram Explore Page
Content Calendar/ Schedule
Going In-Depth with Instagram Features
Using Instagram features will allow brands to gain a following and expand their brand. It is essential to know how these features work. Organic posts are the most prominent feature for Instagram users. These posts are just normal photos or videos you share on your account. On each post, you can have up to 10 photos or videos. Organic Posts will stay on your page for consumers to view anytime. An example of an organic post is a fashion company posting a picture of jeans on its feed. The next feature is Instagram reels. Instagram reels are one of the new updates and addition to Instagram. Reels are short videos that can be edited with multiple clips, including audio and effects. Fashion brands can use reels by having a model wearing an outfit and showcasing outfits. Instagram shopping is the best feature to showcase your fashion brand and business by allowing people to browse products and shop directly from the app. You can tag products with pictures and stories where people can buy products. This feature is fantastic for fashion companies to get reach a wider audience. Instagram stories are posts only up for 24 hours for followers to view. However, if you want your story to be up longer than the 24-hour time period, you can add it to a story highlight. A story highlight can be acted as a company's profile. As a fashion brand, you can separate highlights into different categories. For example, you make highlights for shoes, tops, pants, dresses, and accessories. Another feature to showcase your brand is to end up on the explore page. Your fashion brand can appear on the Explore page by using keywords in posts with hashtags and captions. Some keywords for a fashion company could be "fashion," "2023 styles", and "summer tops." Using hashtags with keywords can help expose your brand and content when people are browsing for products. Another feature that is on Meta Business Suite is the content schedule and calendar. This feature is handy because it allows you to schedule and organize your organic posts on Instagram. If you are a social media marketer, it is important to stay organized, and this feature is incredible to help! Now that you know more about these Instagram features, it is time to start expanding your fashion brand.
How to Turn on Instagram Shopping
If you are a fashion brand, Instagram shopping is an important feature you should take advantage of. Instagram shopping is a perfect way to lead consumers to the action phase of the AIDA Model. Instagram shopping allows consumers to buy products straight off of Instagram. The steps to turn on Instagram shopping is listed below.
Tap the three line icon in the upper-right corner.
Tap settings --> Business --> Set up a shop.
Tap Get started and follow the prompt
Wait for approval of your Instagram shop
After your shop is approved, go to settings then business then shopping and select your product catalog.
If fashion brands follow these five steps, they will be all set to use Instagram shopping. This will allow Instagram users to take advantage of buying products quickly from the social media platform. Instagram shopping will help brands make more sales in a convenient way.
Working with Influencers
A perfect way to help expose a fashion brand online is working with Instagram influencers. Influencer marketing is when a brand collaborates with a content creator or influencer to market products or services. Influencer marketing on Instagram allows fashion brands to expose their products and engage a wider audience in the social media world. These trendsetters will help products go viral and sell quickly. Influencers have a lot of power on Instagram and can make a fashion brand popular. For example, Alix Earl uses this white eyeliner and she influenced a lot of her followers to go out and buy white eyeliner for their makeup routines. Instagram is the perfect social media platform to promote fashion brands because there are so many ways influencers can promote products. For example, influencers can produce reels of them wearing the products, tagging products with Instagram shopping, and making organic posts of fashion brands' products. Some companies share discount codes with influencers to share to help track website attraction and increase sales. These marketing campaigns allow marketers to have additional content for their calendars. Influencer marketing campaigns are smart for fashion brands because people trust influencers and word of mouth the most. For more information about working with influencers through Instagram, read this blog from the Social Media Marketing University here.
User-Generated Content
Another great way to market fashion brands on Instagram is through user-generated content. This content is any form of content that has been posted by users on online platforms. These posts can be videos, photos, or written pieces. User-generated content is very similar to influencer marketing. However, user-generated content is from users and not influencers. There is also no brand deal, just free content provided by consumers. User-generated content allows brands to reshare unique content from consumers that will help expand the brand and reach a wider audience. Markets may ask consumers to make posts of them wearing fashion brands and tag brands or use hashtags. A way to get user-generated content is to have a UGC campaign. This campaign could be a fashion company asking consumers to post a fashion brand's clothing and using a specific hashtag. This will allow consumers to find this brand with keywords and hashtags. Some examples of user-generated content are listed below.
Tutorials
Vlogs
Photos or Videos of products or services
Testimonials
These examples of user-generated content will help fashion brands expand their audience and increase followers' engagement in a cost-friendly way.
Conclusion
With technology taking over our world, social media is the perfect way to integrate marketing for fashion brands. Instagram is the ideal app to promote fashion brands. When marketing for fashion brands, make sure you take advantage of all the Instagram features like organic posts, reels, stories, story highlights, Instagram shopping, and content calendars. Also, when using these features, work with Instagram influencers and find user-generated content to help reach wider audiences. If you do all these tips and tricks when marketing on Instagram, you will be a successful fashion brand and reach your marketing goals.
Resources
Andrew, M. (2022, February 24). 9 brilliant ways fashion brands can master Instagram marketing. Sked Social: The #1 Instagram Scheduler and Stories Scheduling Tool. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://skedsocial.com/blog/fashion-instagram-marketing/
Forsey, C. (2023, March 21). 41 Instagram features, hacks, & tips everyone should know about. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/instagram-features-tricks
Ganta, M. (2022, January 4). Instagram business account vs. personal. Social Insider Blog: Social media marketing insights and industry tips. Retrieved April 12, 2023, from
Instagram blog. About Instagram. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://about.instagram.com/blog
Newberry, C. (2023, March 4). How to use Instagram for business in 2023: 6 pro tips. Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-instagram-for-business/
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