There are so many different social media sites, it can cause a headache trying to determine which ones to use. Sadly, the answer is: you should really try to use as many as possible, to keep consumers engaged with your brand. Another questions might be: which social media site is the most important and influential? Well you’re in luck! Because I have some insights on this particular question.
It can be difficult to determine which social media site should be used more frequently than the others. Although all social media sited should be used, it is not always wise to post several times a day on every single site. This is likely to be un-beneficial for your brand. It is better to tailor your posts and post them appropriately throughout each social media site. Think: quality is better than quantity! And not all posts are best for all social media platforms.
For the fashion industry, and for fashion brands, the most beneficial social media platform to take advantage
of is Instagram. An article posted in February of this year discussed the rise in popularity of Instagram for fashion brands. Fashion brands tend to especially use this platform near and during fashion weeks to have the consumers live vicariously through their posts. But fashion weeks are not the only times of the year that Instagram is so popular. “There are people scrolling through Instagram 24/7(Roderick 2016).” throughout the entire year.
According to the article “Figures by digital marketing agency Greenlight show that there have been 5,602 Instagram posts using #LFW2016 in the month leading up to London Fashion Week 2016, compared with 1,178 Twitter mentions over the same timeframe. In sharp contrast, last year saw more than 6,000 twitter mentions using #LFW2015 (Roderick 2016).” This shows how Instagram has taken traffic from twitter prior to and during London fashion week, in comparison to last year. But the article didn’t go i n to detail of how much traffic Instagram receives in comparison to twitter during other times of the year, nor did it compare Facebook traffic.
I was curious how Instagram compared to twitter and Facebook on engagement. I took a very small sampling of 13 posts from each social media site, from three very well-known fashion brands. All posts were from this month. I know a more in-depth data collection would yield better results, but I figured that this data collection would still be effective, and would give a general idea of how Instagram compared to the other two most popular social media sites.
I found that in some cases the brands had more Facebook page likes than Instagram followers, but the Instagram posts still had far more engagement in comparison.
Now the question is: now what? How do we use Instagram effectively? To answer this question more thoroughly would require at least one more blog post, but for now, I will provide a general understanding of what to post on Instagram based on what the article suggests that fashion brands are currently doing.
The article describes that Instagram gives brands an opportunity to create and sell a lifestyle in addition to, showing off brand values and products. Roderick explains that creating this lifestyle on social media will create a sense of scarcity for consumers.
Fashion brands are successfully using Instagram by using the platform to promote new fashion from designers and to build excitement for their fashion shows.
Other brands are creating this lifestyle, mentioned earlier, by posting “a mixture of product images and memes of particular lifestyle elements like pizza or coffee, which on any other platform could come across as patronizing,”
If you are in the fashion industry, it is a must that you are taking advantage of Instagram. However, it is very important to realize that you must find your own way of being successful. Something that may be working for another brand may not be right for your brand. It is still necessary to put in the hard work of finding what content woks the best for your specific brand. Instagram can help you find the lifestyle of your brand and can help promote this lifestyle to consumers.
Thank you for reading, stay tuned for more blogs on marketing in the fashion industry!
Here is a link to the original article: How fashion brands are taking Instagram from gimmick to strategic