Fun fact: your website likes to strut in style too. But if you’re disregarding the importance of digital marketing for your fashion business, your website never even gets the chance.
Why? 81% of all shoppers conduct research online before making a purchase. That means 81% of shoppers have a chance to find (and love) your brand and product before they decide to buy.
Weak digital marketing is so 2015. Here’s why digital marketing isn’t another fad, and how you can make it work for you.
The Importance of Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is like your favorite LBD – it’s classic and it’s here to stay.
Here’s why.
Once upon a time, retailers thought that consumers just wouldn’t buy clothes online. That brick-and-mortar shops providing an experience were the name of the game.
Ding dong, they were wrong.
Fun fact: online fashion sales grew 185% between 2007 and 2012, and were predicted to grow another 41% in 2017.
Remember that most shoppers also do research before they buy.
So how do you take advantage of your would-be shoppers’ online tendencies?
Digital marketing, obviously.
Why It Matters for Fashion
Let’s say you’re an online fashion retailer like Message Factory.
What’s the importance of digital marketing for your business?
It’s the thing that makes sure you’re not out before you were ever in.
Let’s say you sell jewelry. Marketing jewelry is more than pretty pictures of all the shiny necklaces and bracelets.
Search engines don’t read a web page the way a human does. It uses web crawlers to identify relevant context clues. And we already know that shoppers do research before they buy.
So your marketing isn’t just about having a lot of pictures available or running a good campaign so that a customer can identify your branding (though those are pretty important too). It’s also about making sure a search engine can find you when your customers go looking.
And if they can’t find you, they won’t buy from you.
Digital Marketing Trends to Try
Because it’s fashion. We’re always up on the new trends of tomorrow.
When you’re considering the importance of digital marketing in helping your fashion brand stand out, you can’t rely solely on the marketing tactics of yesterday to get your products seen.
It’s not just a coolness factor – the digital realm is updating all the time. Which often means that old tactics just won’t work as well. And that will cost you in the long run because less functionality means lower ranking in search engines.
Don’t fall behind on the trends. Here are five to watch in 2018.
Visual Content
Did you know the brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text?
Couple this with the fact that we live in a world of information overload (and the implicitly visual nature of fashion) and visuals are a winning recipe.
Oh, and did we mention the right visuals can also evoke an emotional response?
Because when you start a campaign to sell a line of skirts, the pictures aren’t just pictures of skirts. They’re images showing the customer what their life would be like if they owned one of those skirts.
And if you’re not sure where to get started, here are 8 visual branding strategies to help you stand out.
Infographics
Basically, it’s the best of both worlds.
It’s information, and pictures, all at the same time.
So you get the benefit of visual information processing, with snippets of digestible information, all gift-wrapped in one handy infographic.
People love it (and so does Google). From 2010 to 2012, infographic searches leaped by 800%. Plus, infographics are liked and shared on social three times more than any other type of content.
Social Marketing
It’s not just for selfies anymore.
Smart social media marketing takes you one step beyond branding. It lets your customers feel as though they know the people behind your brand and can relate to you personally.
We’re all drowning in ads that feel about as close and relatable as Pluto. Showing a bit of personality (and a human side to your fashion branding) makes you stand out for your customers.
Oh, and did we mention that social media is great for your search engine rankings? Because it is fabulous for your search rankings.
Video Marketing
Know what the second largest search engine is?
Videos can grab a consumer’s attention, deliver a boatload of information, and evoke an emotional response – sometimes in just 30 seconds or less.
It also works for a similar reason that images work – you’re showing the consumer what their life will be like with your product.
If you can make use of live video? Even better.
See, everyone has beautifully polished videos these days. Having a well-crafted live video that delivers your brand message while adding a shot of unedited real life is a great way to help your customers connect with you.
Interactive Content
There’s a reason why Buzzfeed is like a fresh bag of Lays potato chips. Trashy, quick, addictive and somehow satisfying.
What do you do when you’re on Buzzfeed?
You take quizzes that tell you what type of cake you are.
We’re not saying that your fashion website needs quizzes telling customers what type of cake they are.
We’re saying that users want interactive content. If they can directly engage with it, they’re more likely to get drawn in and spend their time on it.
And the longer they spend on your site, the more chances you have to sell them.
Find the Right Marketing Consultant for You
Knowing the importance of digital marketing is like knowing you never put black shoes with brown socks – once the truth has dropped, you never go back.
Of course, it helps to have a marketing pro in your corner. You’re great at delivering style, and they’re great at delivering that style to the people who want to buy it from you.
Everybody wins.
To find a marketing consultant near you, check out our directory of consultants. You can also check out our full directory of businesses available to filter by specialty, ZIP code, or city.