Instagram. The place you search through when you need inspiration, the place you scroll when feeling a bit bored, and even the place you visit to find your new outfit. Yes, you have read that right. It seems that Instagram has become a digital catwalk with fashion brands showing off their eye-catching designs.
All big fashion giants like Louis Vuitton, Nike and Everlane understand the importance of keeping your Instagram following fully engaged, and spare a significant budget on building their Instagram following. As more and more brands are advertising on Instagram, you will need a pretty good content strategy to stand out from the competition. Instagram has numerous amazing features you can use to make sure users remember your content feed. Well, let’s take a look at some key areas you will need to focus on:
Hashtags, Hashtags, Hashtags: I cannot emphasize this enough. If used correctly hashtags can be your best friend. Don’t go for viral hashtags that have been used a million times, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. Aim for niche hashtags that are popular enough to be seen!
Call-To-Actions: Having a pretty feed is not enough to earn new clients. You need to direct users into your page through a call-to-action. Place it in your post’s copy or your bio to start converting users into buyers!
Don’t forget your stories: Stories are a great way to show some behind-the-scenes photos and videos and engage with your followers. For example, Etsy has been posting tutorials for anything you can think about, while National Geographic puts some amazing listicles out there.
Use different types of engaging posts: Use Carousel posts to show off your product in different scenarios and lifestyle concepts. And who said that static posts need to be boring? Be creative and use dynamic, eye-grabbing images to get some fuss going around your feed.
Keep the copy short: Remember that people’s attention span is becoming only shorter and shorter.
Humanize the brand: Be authentic and genuine and make sure you are consistent with your brand’s personality and vision.
Build connections: Make sure your audience is on board all the way. Share a Q&A to enable direct interaction and give shoutouts to your followers. .. Go search for #RedCupContest to see what Starbucks did and you will know exactly what I mean.
Influencers: Last but not least, use influencers to encourage users to trust your brand by increasing your brand’s social proof.
But what type of content? This is a tricky one. Concentrating on only one type of content is not the best thing to do. That’s why we suggest you spice it up a little bit. Here is some inspiration on what types of content you should be posting:
Your product’s features and functionalities. Show the world why your products’ are better from the rest. You can get an idea of what I am talking about by visiting Zara’s Instagram – they are doing a good job showcasing their best outfits. All types of news and updates. If you‘ve got something new and exciting coming up, share it.
User-Generated Content
It’s always a good idea to hear what your audience is saying. Give them some voice! For instance, Fashion Nova is posting pictures originally uploaded by customers and calls out to users to use more #FashionNova hashtags for a chance to be featured
Your behind-the-scenes photos and videos. Sometimes you need to show the simpler, more natural side of your brand to form real connections and build brand loyalty. Hint: Stories are built just for that
Influencers
Sometimes you might need some help from some influencers to put your brand back on the spotlight. Don’t overlook micro-influencers, they are often more influential and of course cheaper.
Shopping
Don’t forget Instagram’s shoppable features With all the fuss going around Instagram, it’s no wonder why fashion brands have started using the platform to drive more sales into their business. Instagram offers some really cool shoppable features that you need to know. Let’s look at what we found:
- Shopping posts: You have definitely seen these quite a lot lately. This new feature allows you to ‘tag’ products within the post and links the users into the respective website.
- Target audience: Keep a close eye on Instagram analytics to see the people following your account. Are those the ones you want to target? If not, maybe it’s time to make some changes.
- Giveaway: This is a great way to get to promote your brand and products while growing your followers.
Stories
Make your stories worth watching! If you are looking for inspiration for your Instagram stories, you are in the right place. Read through the next 12 tips to get your stories up and running!
- Use links in your stories to drive users just where you want them to be. Swipe up all the way!
- Use polls and get people to vote. So which outfit is the best?
- Engage with your users with emoji sliders.
- Use a questions sticker on your story and keep those questions coming!
- Got an event coming up? Use the countdown sticker.
- Don’t forget to add some funny elements as well. That’s what GIFs are for.
- You can also add some music to go well with that vintage outfit in your story.
- Go behind the scenes and capture those unpolished shots that will build a sense of honesty.
- Don’t forget the hashtags! #instafashion
- Post visually engaging content that will tempt users to buy that outfit.
And if you have posted something you don’t want to be forgotten, make sure you highlight it! Highlights are a key feature to keep in mind. It can really help you show off your top skills and grab the user’s attention instantly. Wondering how you can do this?
- Group your stories into categories and let users decide on the content they want to watch. How about #summeroutfits, #styleinspiration and #trending? Check out ASOS Instagram page to see an excellent example of highlight categorization.
- Keep it simple. Don’t overcrowd it. Nobody wants to watch 50 stories in a row.
- Use emojis. It really does make a difference. So if you have a bikini collection you want to show off, make sure you add that bikini emoji. 👙
Hashtags: The Fashion Way
If you are wondering what hashtags you are better off using, we have this ready for you:
#OOTD
#FashionBlogger
#Fashionista
#FashionIcon
#FashionAddict
#FashionLover
#InstaFashion
#FashionWeek
#FasionDiaries
#FashionDaily
#lookoftheday
#lookbook
#streetfashion
#fashionblog
#fashiongram
#instablogger
#bohemianlook
#outfitgoals
#bohochic
#trendsetter
#currentlywearing
#look
#fashionstylist
#urbanstyle
#dailylook
#everydayfashion
#whatiwore
#trend
#instastyle
#styleblog
What’s IGTV All About?
Instagram TV introduces a new mobile-friendly type of content that can be up to 60 minutes long. The good thing about IGTV is that it is ad-free, which can really increase your viewership. IGTV can open up a whole new range of opportunities for brands to step into.
Keep in mind that your video needs to tell a story. So make it interesting and make sure you have your audience engaged all the way through. We can learn from Bacardi who introduced DJ A-Trak with the Twins along an Instagram poll to get users to vote on how the video should roll out. Based on the votes a music video was then developed. So get those IGTV videos up and running.
Measuring the Results
This point is one of the most important parts of your strategy but nevertheless, it is very often overlooked. In order to understand where you are good at, and where you need to improve, you will need to take a deeper look into performance metrics. Keep your eye on the growth rate, reach, engagement, conversion rate, clicks and sales to monitor how your strategy is performing. Make sure that you follow the constantly changing fashion world, and adapt your strategy accordingly.
You are all ready to dive in…
As Instagram is growing at an unprecedented rate, more and more fashion brands are diving into Instagram head first. This article was created to give you a good head start on the Instagram world. Make sure you read each and every section to get familiar with the endless Instagram features and tools, ranging from Instagram stories to IGTV.
