In a bricks and mortar retail environment, there are countless opportunities to educate customers and personalise the buying experience with face to face interaction. If you’re a fashion brand competing with thousands of other online-only businesses, customer acquisition can be a little more complicated.
For digital fashion brands, breaking through the boundaries of online communication can be difficult, but if you’re aware of your active customer touch points (how and where a customer comes into contact with your brand), the conversion process can be natural.
According to the 2017 Sensis Social Media Report, eight out of ten people now use social media, and over a third of people check their feeds more than five times a day. If you’re a fashion business trying to increase engagement, extend your reach or funnel potential customers, you can’t ignore the potential of social media.
Think of Facebook as your ‘digital retail assistant’ and use it to personally guide your fans and followers through the education and awareness stage, before turning them into buying customers. Use Facebook to start ‘the conversation’, and learn more about their behaviour, demographics, psychographics and needs.
Jargon and statistics aside, Facebook puts your brand in front of millions of potential customers. With more than 100 million people using Facebook around the globe every month, it is a critical social media platform that should be at the top of your marketing strategy.
So, what’s the Facebook secret?
USE IT.
Many fashion brands and businesses neglect Facebook as a social media marketing channel, but it’s an essential tool for fashion business growth. While Instagram may have more frequent users, Facebook has a broader demographic reach, and this is where you’ll need to consider analytics.
Analyse your demographic and their behaviour, and use this information to direct your content. Post during high-engagement times and create targeted content that ‘speaks’ to your customers. The trick is to use Facebook (and all of your social media platforms) as a means of conversation, and not just as a soapbox to sell products.
Give your potential customers a balanced feed of:
- Educational posts
- Inspirational posts
- Product posts
- Feedback posts
Following a social media content calendar will also help you reach the right target markets with the right content, and keep them engaged.
If social media isn’t second nature to you, we delve into it with our Social Media Success Coaching Programme, and we also cover target markets and demographics in our Start Your Fashion Business Online Programme.
Let’s make the Fashion Business YOUR Business!
About The Author: Elizabeth Formosa
Elizabeth Formosa is the Founder of Fashion Equipped.
Over the past 20 years, Elizabeth has worked with some of Australia's largest retailers and privately owned wholesalers, and she's gained valuable industry experience working in senior roles in retail buying, product development, sourcing, sales, brand building, marketing, strategic planning and team management.
As a consultant and mentor, Elizabeth now shares her knowledge and experience with Australia's next generation of fashion businesses and designers.
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