Online Marketing - 10 Top tips for Fashion Brand (by Temitayo Onadeko)

If you are a young designer planning to start selling your products online, or an already established fashion brand just venturing online, it can be difficult to know where to start. Selling fashion via a website and mobile is a very different proposition to buying in store.

There are plenty advantages in  selling online. Here are some top tips to get you started

1. You buy what you see

Fashion is all about image, and images should be at the heart of your online shopping experience. you need to replace all the traditional means of a making a buying decision with visually appealing product pictures. if you can make a short video, it will make it even easier for your customer to get a feel for your products. A video lookbook could be very helpful.




2. Tell the story of the product

To give customers enough confidence to buy, you need to provide as much relevant information about the product as possible. Tell your customers about the materials, the measurements etc. Stand Out from the crowd with great description.






3. Professional Photography - do you need it?

if you're at an early stage in your business and your financial resources are limited, taking your own pictures may be necessary but you should make getting professional photos a priority. They are the most important aspect of selling online and you cant afford to skimp here.









4.Create the story of your company

You need to sell yourself and your company - tell a story and make it personal. what makes you special? what sets you apart? Are your products handmade? What inspired them? Are they locally produced or ethically sourced? Did you use any special or unique techniques? Think about your background, ambitions, your mission. Your customers buy your brand as much as your products, they want to know what motivates and inspires you.







5. Some products sell better than others online

Product that do not necessarily need to be tried on as part of the buying process tend to sell better. For example, accessories and jewelleries sell more easily. However you can increase sales of your products by improving buying experience for the customer and by providing great photos and lots of information about fit and measurements. Think about your returns policy too - customers are more likely to buy if they know they can return something that doesn't fit.

6. Marketing: Don't let your shop just sit there

Especially for small companies, social media is great. it's free and you only invest much time as you want to. Get a Facebook page, instagram account, twitter account and interact with customers, bloggers and fashion journalists and editors in your area. This helps to strengthen the reputation of your brand.

7. Online Exclusives

Everyone loves to be special and get a special treatment. Think about different ways you could offer online exclusives, whether in sizing, colour, or personalisation.

8. Return Policy

Your customers want assurance that they can trust your brand/products and they have the flexibility to return if need be. On your website or mobile site, tell them the exact terms of what they can return and when.

9. Press $ PR

This is a whole topic itself, but our best tip is to target carefully. Workout who the most relevant bloggers are for your products. if you send something to bloggers, make it stand out, make it personal - mass emails normally get trashed straight away.

10. Stand Out from the crowd