We have witnessed over the years fashion brands becoming highly successful on Instagram, the most popular social media platform.
Fashion brands are leading the way in terms of performance on Instagram. They are known to be getting significantly more interactions and followers and dominate engagement on the platform. Many small fashion brands run entirely out of Instagram, without established stores or sometimes even websites.
It is a known fact that you can generate more interactions and gain an impressive number of followers on Instagram provided you get into the habit of posting exclusive, exquisite, and truly eye-catching content, whether they are videos or photos.
If you are a small fashion brand trying to make your presence felt on Instagram, you must follow some fundamental rules in order to stand out…
Visually plan your social content. Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn + Pinterest
Rule #1: Use Only High-Quality Images 📷
This may sound obvious, but Instagram is the realm of mind-blowing pictures.
Experts believe that photos should have 3 basic elements to prove their quality:
High-Resolution:
You must make sure that you are posting only high-resolution photographs on your Instagram fashion account. You should use DSLR cameras to click the pictures for your Instagram account.
Choose a camera with the right functions so that the quality of the images is unquestionable. High-resolution of pictures is supposed to be everything as no one would like to engage with hazy and low-quality images.
Your small fashion brand could stand out from the rest by posting high-resolution pictures taken by you or even professional photographers using an old-school camera.
Your Photos Must Act as a Vehicle to Convey Your Story:
It is true that a picture could speak volumes. Photos that are successful in conveying a story are getting the maximum engagement on this powerful social media platform. Your pictures must be relevant and relatable!
All Your Photos Must Complement Your Theme:
All smaller fashion brands must use pictures that complement the overall theme of their Instagram account. Your pictures could be treated as separate and distinct pieces but your entire feed must necessarily appear as one single organic outfit.
This implies that all the pictures you post or share on Instagram must flaunt a signature look and should be edited in the same manner. You may consider using tools such as Snapseed, VSCO, etc. You could choose Photoshop, or Lightroom, etc. for editing pictures on the laptop.
> Video, gallery & image posts
> Calendar, feed & grid preview
> Instagram, Facebook & Twitter
Rule #2: Work With Influencers
Influencer marketing is tremendously prevalent on Instagram and is continuing to grow. You must leverage the power of influencer marketing for your small fashion brand on Instagram.
If top brands do not hesitate to use this kind of marketing, why are you not utilising the worth of influencers in the world of fashion? You must understand ways to go ahead with a successful influencer marketing strategy. You must ensure that the influencer you are choosing along with his precise audience is actually relevant to your brand. Just some of the core elements of a successful influencer marketing strategy.
You must try your best to boost engagement but do not chase followers. Today everyone can buy real Instagram likes and followers. You could make sure that an influencer is genuinely an influencer by assessing his engagement rate.
For tips on how to incorporate influencer into your strategy, check out:
The Simple Guide To Instagram Influencer Marketing In 2020
Rule #3: Use The Instagram Algorithm
Despite it changing the rules for engagement, it is possible to use the Instagram algorithm to your advantage.
“One thing we know about Instagram’s algorithm is that posts with high engagement rates show up first on followers’ feeds. There are a number of ways to achieve these high rates. It also seems that the longer people look at your posts, the more successful and high-quality Instagram detects them to be.” (Source)
But how could you compel your followers to go on lingering on your Instagram posts for a reasonably long period?
You must compose catchy and truly captivating captions which could be a few lines. Moreover, separate paragraphs using dots for making them more reader-friendly. You may also use carousal posts and videos so time-spent on post is increased.
Rule #4: Make Sure That Your Feed Is Shoppable
Often people are attracted to your display window showcasing some eye-catching designs yet many people simply pass by and do not initiate the shopping process. Instagram would be working in a similar fashion. It is firmly believed that you need to come up with the Shoppable and make your small fashion Instagram account Shoppable right from an initial stage. You may consider generating a call-to-action for all your potential customers by incorporating a clickable link into your bio that would be taking your followers directly to your website. You may consider using effective apps and software for making products on your pictures buyable. Followers could purchase from your Instagram feed thanks to the latest Shoppable function on Instagram. You need to be careful about Instagram shopping and avoid overselling.
Rule #5: Go Behind-The-Scenes On Your Instagram Stories
Your Instagram posts must be perfect and you must always focus on the authenticity & accuracy of information. However, you must never feel scared of revealing the real you.
You could use perfect pictures for telling your brand’s story on Instagram Stories that would disappear after just 24 hours. As such your focus could be more on sharing your experiences and moments through behind-the-scenes photos.
Successful small fashion brands on Instagram share sneak peeks and insider info by posting short videos and stories that act as engagement tonic.
Check out:
14 Ridiculously Easy Ways To Use Instagram Stories For Your Business
Rule #6:
Do you have adequate content to share on Instagram that would last a month or so? Do you have a wide variety of posts to successfully experiment and derive which type actually works for your fashion brand? Do you know what posting schedule or frequency to follow? Are you measuring your Instagram success using KPIs?
In other words, you must necessarily have a clearly laid-down Instagram marketing strategy that is ready for implementation right at the beginning of your Instagram journey!
For a full guide on how to create an Instagram marketing strategy, read this.
Find the best time to post, track your follower growth, and understand what content works best with post and account analytics.
Conclusion
You must realise that if you do not have a clear plan of action for your small fashion brand, you cannot achieve success and all your Instagram efforts would not be paying off.
It is critical to enter the Instagram-gaming arena fully prepared with a well-defined and clearly chalked out plan. You must know all the fundamental rules of the game and understand what it takes for leaving an everlasting imprint on the minds of your target audience! Good luck.
Guest Author: Pete Campbell
Pete is a freelance fashion designer who runs his own blog. He is pretty experienced in the social media circuit and knows the secrets and tricks of his trade. He recommends taking the decision to buy real Instagram likes for boosting your number of Instagram followers and overall online presence.
