SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IS DEAD!☠️

Relying on social media marketing to grow your fashion brand is DEAD!☠️

Huhhh. 🫣……

OK…..   I am being a little dramatic!!!  🤣 

BUT the reality is that you can no longer rely SOLELY on social media marketing if you want to avoid an empty order book!

According to McKinsey & Company BRAND MARKETING is back!!   

They said in their annual State of Fashion report that [in 2024] 71 percent of executives plan to spend more on brand marketing than in 2023.

So what does this mean for you as an independent fashion designer….

It means that brand marketing is more relevant in 2024 and you cannot be AS dependent on Instagram!!   

You need both social media AND brand marketing!  

In 2024 your Instagram, other social media marketing and Facebook (Meta) ads demand more raw authenticity than ever….  and your content needs to be turbocharged to create an emotional connection if you want to drive people to eventually become a customer.

A HUGE mistake I see hundreds of designers make is not focusing enough on brand marketing.

But Jaaaane!….. what exactly is brand marketing? 🤔…..

Well basically it’s how fashion used to be marketed before social media.  It's building long-lasting relationships between companies and customers so that potential customers feel connected to and more likely to spend money with your brand.

With brand marketing your focus is on building the credibility of your brand and gaining recognition with a much wider market, not just the people who are ready to buy your products.

Here are some things you can do to increase your brand marketing efforts in 2024:

• Increase your customer service efforts so that more people trust your company.    How can you go the extra mile to surprise your customer with extra special service that won't cost more money?

• Create more authentic relationships on Instagram, Tik Tok or other social media sites.   What can you do consistently that is most authentic to you?

• Run ads on podcasts, websites, fashion magazines.   Think outside the box about how you can start advertising locally or internationally without breaking the bank?

• Collaborations with other brands.   This could be other designers or how could you collaborate with musicians, artists, product designers to create an exciting unique experience?

• Use your logo brand colours and messaging consistently everywhere so that people recognise your brand and it leaves an indelible impression.

If you want to go deeper with this, in his book 'This is marketing', Seth Godin writes about the difference between direct marketing and branding and if you want help to integrate it in your business join the waitlist for FASHION ENTREPRENEURS ACADEMY.