Beyond Style: Creating Content for the Fashion Industry

While the fashion industry took New York by storm in February, it became abundantly clear that only a handful of fashion brands use content to the fullest. With Michael Kors, Nasty Gal and Essie Polish topping the list of the most liked fashion brands, industry giants like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus seem to have fallen off a cliff. Take a look at Michael Kors’ Summer 2014 line.

As Jeff Bullas discussed earlier this year, social media interaction drives ecommerce. Luxury fashion brands, like Burberry and Louis Vuitton, have devoted the majority of their marketing budget to digital with a large portion of their content distribution relying on social media. By creating a mix of audio, visual and written content, both Burberry and Louis Vuitton have been able to generate a respectable amount of digital buzz. And, they’re not alone.

Fashion Brands Doing Content Well

For fashionistas, creating content for the industry must pull together multiple moving parts. From email and social media to advertising and video, content should be consistent in its portrayal of a fashion brand’s unique identity. Before we can implement the fashion industry’s best content marketing tactics, we need to tip our hats to these three noteworthy fashion brands.

• Anthropologie – Focusing on images, Anthropologie promotes the fashion lifestyle with visual content instead of relying on blogs. Their online publication, “The Anthropologist,” is a digital magazine of sorts that reflects the company’s voice and view of fashion. Thus far, it’s been instrumental in gaining exposure and recognition for the brand.

• Victoria’s Secret – Between their email campaigns, social media activity and marketing messages that make customers do a double take, Victoria’s Secret is a prime example of a fashion brand doing content marketing well. For each long-awaited event Victoria’s Secret hosts, content is used to generate publicity and a significant following – all before the models begin to strut down the catwalk.

• Modcloth – An ambitious startup turned pro, Modcloth has become a raging success thanks to their epic content marketing skill. The fashion brand engages with their audience regularly on social media, through email and their onsite blog. What they do particularly well is provide their audience with helpful fashion tips that inspire customers to head straight to their product line.

Content Tips for Fashion Brands

Leading fashion brands have taught us that content marketing for the industry takes creativity, innovation and, at times, a little risk. Like other industries, fashion involves fast moving ideas, rapidly changing trends and the need to keep up with it all without missing a beat. Fortunately, incorporating these five key elements spurred the success of many fashion companies around the globe. So, why not your brand?

• Use the lingo – Believe it or not, fashion slang is being used by top fashion writers and reporters to instantly establish authority in the industry. Buzz words like “Pinteresting” and “collab,” when used sparingly, can give the reader an idea of where you’re coming from. But, be careful not to overdo it. Too much jargon in your content (for any industry) detracts from the quality of your piece and reduces credibility.

• Get visual – In a previous post, I discussed visual content and the best ways to make it work for your brand. With top brands delving deep into color theory to make the largest impact with imagery, more companies are using creativity to go beyond the norm to create a memorable experience. As an industry dominated by visual content, it’s not very difficult to use images to tell a story. However, visual content will need to reign as a top priority to rise above the efforts of other brands.

• Social Media – It seems the pulse of the fashion industry can always be found in social media. From Twitter and Pinterest to Instagram and Vine, social media provides the perfect platform on which to exchange ideas, tips and the latest trends. As Elizabeth recently pointed out, platforms like Snapchat are enhancing a brand’s ability to tie promotions, visual content and social media into one convenient loop, despite needed improvements in functionality.

• Mobile – With retail mobile apps dominating customer attention and mobile devices outnumbering the world’s population, fashion brands need to have a solid mobile strategy in place. Customers are spending more time using devices to follow brands on social media, engage with branded mobile apps and shop at retail stores. As the importance of local search expands, the fashion industry will need to further hone their strategy to accurately target their ideal market. Without a mobile strategy, fashion brands are missing this valuable opportunity to earn exposure, leads and sales.

• Real-Time – Real-time marketing campaigns have proven beneficial for many businesses, though fashion brands often miss the boat. Pepsi provides a great example of real-time marketing with their “get the skinny” campaign during New York’s Fashion Week. When more fashion brands step up to the real-time challenge, event promotions, branded content and breaking news emerge as the perfect opportunities to engage with customers.

Be a Trendsetter

Overcoming the noise online isn’t very difficult when you’ve got content that catches the eye. As the inherent strength of the fashion industry, visual content can be distributed and repurposed in a variety of ways to expand brand reach and complete more sales. While fashion brands continue to compete for the attention of customers, savvy content marketers are busy implementing proven strategies to reach marketing goals. By following these key tips, fashion brands can gain the digital attention they deserve.

In your opinion, which fashion brands are rocking content marketing the best?

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