Instagram User?

With over a million registered users on Instagram, it no wonder Brands, especially fashion brands are turning to the extremely useful social media tool.

Instagram is a platform, similar to Facebook where users are able to share, like and comment on its content as well as being exposed to the vast network of individuals that utilize the service.

Beautifully crafted pictures entice users to share and follow not only people’s personal photos, but Brands.

Gone are the days where the Instagram stigma was seen as a hipsters tool, but as we have seen, with the influx of bloggers utilizing the social media site, Fashion brands are jumping on board at a rapid pace with fashion tycoons,  Brand leader and fashion editors, all seeing the potential and significance of this immensely popular sharing site.

As instagram follows trends, bloggers and fashion campaigns utilizing the visual aspects, such as instavidi, a video app that allows the user to take a 15sec video, that is able to be shot in  different sequences. 
So how does this benefit you as an independent designer? Well Writer Dominika Peszko wrote an article for Fashionbi Newspaper, dated September 4th 2013, on how you can utilize this amazing website to make your fashion brand stand out. 

 Here is what she had to say on the matter.

Creative Images

It is important to fill brand's Instagram account with the creative images. Beautiful, unique and interesting photos, often with a personal touch can make a fashion brand shine bright like a diamond. Combining merchandise pictures with styling images and behind-the-scenes shots of events will make it the winner.

Burberry is the luxury fashion champion when it comes to its Instagram account. The brand uses merchandise photos and behind-the-scenes pictures from photo shoots and commercial filming. In addition to that, it posts London shots that convert its account into something unique and superb.

Another fashion luxury brand, Louis Vuitton, is all about elegance and innovation. Although brand's models clearly represent its values, the company adds a bit more by showcasing popular travel locations, such as Paris, or keeping up with the latest trends by highlighting them in the photos while revealing backstage footage.

On the other hand, Gap's account plays with the light, imagination and colors. Not only are the pictures clear and splendid - they are also enriched on the writing that appears on some of them. "Love is Life" or  "Be You" make the reader just feel good.

 Your fans = Your models

A fashion brand can easily promote itself by using the images submitted by its fans wearing brand's clothing. Customers may become brand's key social media marketing element. A company that does it very well is Free People. It asks its fans to post images of themselves wearing company's clothing and labeling them with specific hashtags. But the company doesn't stop there. Free uses some of the photos on their official website. Excellent promotion, isn't it ?!

Backstage access

Instagram enables brand's followers to see behind-the-scenes images. That's what the customers love.

For example, Burberry doesn't post huge amount of clothing pictures on their account. They're rather occasional. What the brand actually does is posting simple, though sophisticated images of the company's base in London and cool backstage pictures from photo shoots. 

Instagram Video ? Sure !

Instagram Video is a feature that lets fashion brands add something more than the images. The company that apparently knows how to make use of it is the American clothing brand Guess. They have been posting some videos of makeup styling or the previews of their collections. Whoever thought it wouldn't work - Guess proves it does !

Hashtags

Use hashtags and use them wisely. They make the content searchable and what's extremely important - they enable brands to reach out to the masses. Hashtags can be used to tag a brand, or a specific product line. But overloading pictures with the hashtags isn't the right approach. They should be used to describe the images, wisely.

For example, Louis Vuitton is (wisely!) using such hashtags as #LouisVuitton or #LVshoes linking them to the brand's products and fashion campaigns.

Social Media Integration

Instagram has a built-in social sharing feature. It allows the same photos on Instagram to be shared on other social media platforms that belong to the company, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr or Foursquare. It's not a surprise that the most commonly used platforms are Facebook and Twitter. After a quick and easy setup, not only brands, but also regular users are able to post their Instagram pictures to all their previously mentioned networks. This built-in feature makes it so convenient to go further and promote even more !

Instagram is a magnificent tool for fashion brands to market their collections. Some of them have polished it to the perfection. Others are fiercely catching up. Instagram is fun, engaging and creative. Fashion brands can express their values through powerful and inspirational images and videos. And that's the beauty of it.

x

Romy

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