the fashion marketers guide to instagram

1HELLOPIQORACOM 8668578433 FOLLOW US

The Fashion MarketerrsquosGuide to

BUILD A COMMUNITY DRIVE ENGAGEMENT AMPLIFY YOUR REACH

Part 1 ndash Introduction1 WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS GUIDE

2 WHAT YOUrsquoLL LEARN

1 WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS GUIDE

Itrsquos no surprise that fashion ranks among Instagramrsquos 25 most popular hashtags mdash and that an increasing number of fashion brands are embracing the social network as core to their marketing strategies

A 2014 survey of 249 top fashion brands found that 93 of them had Instagram accounts mdash an increase from 63 in July 2013

While some fashion brands are just getting started others are dominating mdash amassing millions of followers likes and shares According to a recent analysis of the top-10 brands rocking Instagram Video five were fashion brands

Vogue (17M followers)Victoriarsquos Secret (44M followers)Michael Kors (21M followers)Billabong (305K followers)and Aeropostale (1M followers)

With more than 200M members and an engagement rate thatrsquos 25 higher than any other social platform the Instagram community brings a wealth of opportunity to fashion marketers and community managers

But here are the challenges

1 Instagram is unique from other social channels and requires dedicated strategic investment Community managers mdash heavily invested in Facebook Twitter and Pinterest mdash need guidance and direction to shortcut the process of starting from scratch

Instagram has transformed the way that fashion brands inspire their audiences Itrsquos the one social network that connects aesthetics with creativity and social engagement mdash the heart and soul of the fashion community

1 Webstagram - httpwebstagramcomhot2 Lucky Magazine - httpwwwluckymagcomstyle201403instagram-fashion-brands3 AdWeek - httpwwwadweekcomvideowatchfashion-brands-dominate-instagram-video-1577124 Instagram - httpbloginstagramcompost80721172292200m5 L2 - httpwwwl2thinktankcomresearchsocial-platforms-2013

2 There are a lot of awesome brands on Instagram making the competition for audience attention fierce Brands need a structured high-impact approach to visual storytelling

We wrote this guide to empower fashion marketers with a blueprint for navigating these challenges mdash to help fashion-forward brands become influencers among communities of trendsetters shoppers and influential fashion bloggers

Letrsquos get started



Yoursquoll learn how to make more out of your Instagram community mdash regardless of whether yoursquore new to the space or an Instagram power-brand

If yoursquore just getting started mdash wersquoll illuminate the qualities of Instagramrsquos most successful fashion brands If yoursquore already up and running mdash wersquoll teach you how to

amplify your already-strong performance

This guide introduces the nuts and bolts of a high-impact Instagram marketing strategy

Yoursquoll learn how to

Create a vibrant Instagram community

Establish and measure Instagram-specific goals

Implement a successful hashtag strategy

Launch a high-impact promotion

Identify and replicate qualities of the most successful fashion brands

Wersquove also included

Interviews with community managers at innovative social brands

Recommendations from top fashion bloggers and Instagram power users

Part 2 ndash the Landscape1 BUILDING A COMMUNITY

2 ESTABLISHING GOALS


1 BUILDING A COMMUNITYWHAT DRIVES SUCCESS ON INSTAGRAM

Instagram is a platform for building emotional bonds mdash a conversation-driven community and opportunity for brands to illuminate their personalities values passions and ethos

The more you try to sell the more your audiences will shy away and become disengaged Marketing on Instagram is about becoming a conversation leader mdash not highlighting your products

The first step to success on Instagram is visual storytelling Your photos need to be awesome mdash to communicate more than visual appeal

For inspiration take a look at surf-fashion and lifestyle brand company RipCurl The brandrsquos highly-engaging Instagram posts regularly generate tens of thousands of likes each

Each post is designed with a story in mind mdash to capture the heart and soul of the brandrsquos followers surfing enthusiasts and athletes

Of all social media channels Instagram is the least-advertising heavy Why Instagram isnrsquot designed to drive traffic off-platform Even Instagramrsquos new advertising offerings mdash Sponsored Posts mdash are meant to keep audiences engaged within the platform

6 Instagram - httpinstagramcomabout-ads

Success on Instagram means forging strong

bonds with your user base Be casual

comfortable and authentic


Take crisp quality photos regularly Make them pretty mdash irresistible Integrate glitter cupcakes white backgrounds macarons ocean sunsets fresh blooms and balloons Travel the world Take pictures of the eiffel tower and a cool door in Barcelona Show off what inspires your brand as well as what you have in stock

mdash Lindsey HerzogMpls blogger amp Wardrobe StylistRuby Girlhttpinstagramcomlindseyherzog


The best performing brands on Instagram donrsquot just post product or editorial type shots Personally I donrsquot care to follow feeds filled with that I want to see real-time behind the scenes looks into the brands ldquoliferdquo and follow them along on their day

mdash Marissa MeadeFashion Blogger StyleCusphttpinstagramcomstylecusp


Instagram should be a visual diary of your brand story

Show the design inspiration and the team that makes your

collection happen (not just the name on the label) Show what everyone does to demonstrate

all the work that goes into your collection

mdash Mariana Leung Fashion Blogger MsFabulousNYC

httpinstagramcommsfabulousnyc


1 BRAND INTERVIEWMEET THREADLESS

Threadless an online community for artists to create tee shirts exemplifies these core values mdash authenticity transparency and a strong audience connection Their secret

Itrsquos no secret at all mdash stop thinking like a marketer and instead think like a community-builder Embrace Instagram for the platformrsquos ability to inspire conversations not sales Have trust in the fact that sales will happen at some point down the conversion funnel

As you start to build relationships with your user base be generous Always seek to express your thanks and pay your gratitude forward Even though you canrsquot give everyone a material reward you can empower your audience with genuine compliments Itrsquos this positivity after all that makes the fashion community so strong

Kyle GeibMarketing

Coordinator

Craig ShimalaMultimediaSpecialist

Tell us about your Instagram strategy How did you get started

When instagram first launched we signed up for an account right away We were posting here and there but realized that we should be more dedicated to our account

We tested some ideas and very quickly saw what was most successful a behind the scenes look into our brand mdash a dog doing something funny at the office a look into our t-shirt printing process ora photoshoot

Sales was never the strategy We highlight our artists and our community first and foremost We often invite the community to create street art on our building mdash and love sharing these photos on Instagram

Wersquore much more casual than we are on Facebook Twitter and Tumblr mdash which are quite sales and web-traffic focused We post maybe once mdash max twice mdash a day We aim to be fun casual inspiring and free

One of the things I personally like about our Instagram strategy mdash in terms of posting frequency and tone mdash is that our approach is similar to what your friends are posting We donrsquot post on a set rigid schedule Itrsquos genuine mdash we prioritize showing above telling my illuminating what makes our company culture awesome What wersquore ultimately posting is happening in the moment

One of the most common comments that I see is lsquoCan I work herersquo Our Instagram audiences People really want to be part of the brand mdash which is awesome since wersquore a community based design company

Social is not a one-way megaphone Itrsquos an interactive channel where therersquos a person on the other side of it Interaction is key and important to a brand You donrsquot want to seem like your head up on the clouds with information and not taking anything You want your customers and artist community to know that yoursquore reading their responses and mentions and interacting with them Thatrsquos why I make an effort to search hashtags related to our brand

How does your Instagram marketing strategy compare with other social channels

Is there anything else yoursquod like to share with fellow fashion marketers

2 ESTABLISHING GOALSWHAT SHOULD YOU MEASURE

A successful Instagram strategy is driven by on-platform engagement Brands can systematize and amplify engagement by

monitoring the following key performance indicators (KPIs)

1 NEW FOLLOWER GROWTH2 CONVERSATIONS amp COMMENTS

3 LIKES4 BRAND MENTIONS


21 NEW FOLLOWER GROWTHAn expanding follower-base indicates growth in your brand presence and influence

Canadian-based fashion brand Dynamite Clothing recently experienced a sudden spike in traffic mdash more than triple the typical number of daily new followers

The reason

Tip Look for systematic growth over time in addition to daily spikes mdash the result of specific campaigns or highly engaging posts

The spike happened because we ran a cross promotion on Facebook I encouraged our Facebook audience to follow Dynamite on Instagram mdash posting a picture from Instagram on Facebook We try to push this type of cross-platform promotion mdash to generate growth mdash as often as possible

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

FO

LLO

WER

TR

EN

D

New Followers by Day

2014ndash03ndash13 2014ndash03ndash28 2014ndash04ndash12 2014ndash04ndash27 2014ndash05ndash12 2014ndash05ndash27

DATE

mdash Laura CarmosinoCommunity ManagerDynamite Clothing

We get a ton of comments and questions When we get new followers theyrsquoll go back and comment on old posts mdash conversations that wersquod miss without Piqorarsquos Conversation Manager tool

Tip Look at conversations from a qualitative as well as a quantitative perspective

22 CONVERSATIONS amp COMMENTS

Comment counts reflect your brandrsquos ability to inspire audience In addition to analyzing the number of comments you receive take a close look at what your audiences are saying

Actual screenshots from Piqoras Instagram Analytics amp Conversation Manager


Tip Look for variance in lsquolikesrsquo between your posts to see what your followers are and arenrsquot responding to

23 LIKESLikes provide insight

into your brandrsquos engagement level Are people responding to your Instagram posts

positively

For instance Dynamitersquos most lsquolikedrsquo profile media includes artistic displays of summary

seasonal items These images combine the best of multiple worlds beautiful

products compelling presentations and an appreciation for the SpringSummer sun

Dynamitersquos most engaged Instagram users are looking forward to getting outside and

looking awesome

But thatrsquos not all Behind Dynamitersquos most-liked Instagram posts is a social component

Wersquoll post something interesting and socially engaging and ask users

to tag their friends in the image to inspire virality This generates a huge reaction in terms of likes and

engagement

Social Component

Ainrsquot that the truth Tag your friends who need a reminder DynamiteStyle imtoosexy

Social Component

Sounds like an excellent plan am I right Tag your friends whorsquod love this DynamiteStyle

Social Component

Pick your fave - mint black or pink Tag yourBFFs to share DynamiteStyle bikini summerrdquo mdash Laura Carmosino

Community ManagerDynamite Clothing


23 BRAND MENTIONSAre people incorporating your brand into everyday conversations

The ability to monitor the answer to this question is invaluable Study after study shows that word of mouth is a marketing force of nature mdash the single-most important variable that influences a companyrsquos long-term growth and success With more than 200M registered users Instagram is a major conversation hub

Itrsquos surprised me how much our customers love us The number of hashtag-driven comments wersquove received has been unbelievable Itrsquos amazing to see people supporting the brand without us pushing the conversation

There are two ways to monitor brand mentions

1 Monitor how Instagram users are tagging your brand in ongoing natural conversations Pay attention to whether this feedback is positive negative or a mix of both Reinvest these analyses into your own Instagram or brand strategy

2 Analyze conversations within hashtags related to your brand These may be official hashtags or conversation hubs that are tangentially related

Tip track all your relevant hashtags with Piqora

7 TechCrunch - httptechcrunchcom20130615the-secret-science-behind-big-data-and-word-of-mouth


Part 3 ndash Getting Started1 IDEAS TO TEST

2 OPTIMIZING HASHTAGS3 LAUNCHING PROMOTIONS


1 IDEAS TO TEST

By now yoursquore familiar with what Instagram audiences care about mdash strong visual narratives

community-focused content and unparalleled creativity At the heart of a successful Instagram

strategy is a strong connection between your followers and your brand

This relationship-driven approach requires careful experimentation mdash if you have an idea test it This

type of exploration is essential for determining what your audiences love

1 POSTING FREQUENCY2 MULTIMEDIA TYPES3 DIFFERENT FILTERS

4 TAGGING LOCATIONS

One of the most important ways for marketers to learn is to test We continuously test and test and test as many variables as we can



Most of our engagement comes at night Our target audience includes working women who are posting after work hours in the evenings and on the weekends

We could have a super awesome beautiful image post But if we post it at the wrong time it could bomb

31 POSTING FREQUENCY

Try posting content at varying frequencies and at different times of of day

Timing is crucial From top down

the images were posted at

0641am 0611pm and 535pm



32 MULTIMEDIA TYPES Experiment with different forms of multimedia (video and images) to see what your audiences love Remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to success Threadless for instance has found minimal success with video

Videos donrsquot perform that well with our Instagram following for some reason It seems like we could take a still of a video and post that up and itrsquoll perform better

7 AdWeek -wwwadweekcomvideowatchfashion-brands-dominate-instagram-video-157712

A one-size-fits-all approach however is far from successful Plenty of fashion brands are rocking Instagram Video to showcase behind-the-scenes runway events photoshoots and brand-related events

Aeropostale Michael Kors Billabong and Victoriarsquos Secret recently made the top-10 list for fashion brands on Instagram Video according to AdWeek8

As one example Aeropostale created a slideshow showcasing the brandrsquos summer lookbook The video is a simple compilation of photos mdash a slideshow that almost any fashion brand can create on a minimal budget

The following snippet from Michael Kors showcases a woman packing for a summer trip to Shanghaimdash with a suitcase full of awesome fashion items Whatrsquos important to keep in mind about this video is that itrsquos professionally produced incorporating music and staged visuals

The video is short yet colorful vibrant inspiring and energetic It generated the following engagement as of May 16 2014

57774 Total Actions272 Engagement Rate56780 Likes999 Comments

The brandrsquos followers loving this collection of summer 2014 fashion ideas were heavily engaged with the content mdash generating the

following performance as of May 16 2014

64774 total actions645 Engagement Rate

63242 Likes1532 Comments

mdash Craig ShimalaMultimedia Specialist Threadless


Tip For a crash course on choosing Instagram photos check out the following resources

33 TEST DIFFERENT FILTERSInstagram is a power tool for casual and professional

photographers alike Experiment with different moods and settings to complement your brandrsquos marketing goals It may

make sense to loop in your design team to seek feedback and guidance on image editing

What I love (but infuriates old-school photographers) is that anyone can make an interesting photo of the most mundane subjects With the apps filters editing capabilities on your phone it allows everyone to post great images in real time of their life To me it is celebrating every moment and recognizing it as art

How to Choose the Best Instagram Filter for your Images Mashable author Stephanie Buck explores 17 different Instagram filters and the relative effects of each of them

TechCrunch guide Instagram 60 Seduces Pro Photographers with Adjustable Filters and 9 New Effects (TechCrunch) - In June 2014 Instagram introduced a series of new filters designed to engage photography enthusiasts Josh Constinersquos TechCrunch guide will teach you how to use them Adjustable filters will help you customize effects

12

mdash Mariana Leung Stylist and Fashion BloggerShareSomeStylehttpinstagramcomlindseyherzog

34 TAG A LOCATION (or at least mention one in your post)

Inspire your audiencersquos imaginations by tagging your images and products all over the world If a beautiful image was taken somewhere let your audiencersquos know

Shoe retailer TOMS has positioned this tactic as a springboard for launching its lsquotravelingTOMSrsquo campaign where users -- and the brand -- mention

the many places where these shoes travel

Tip Test elements that you think your Instagram audience will love Look to your users for

inspiration get your community involved and have fun


1 OPTIMIZING HASHTAGS

GAUGING IMPACTHashtags are key to generating brand awareness mdash which is why itrsquos so important to choose your hashtags carefully But brands often find themselves wondering mdash what is the optimal number of hashtags to accompany each post and what is the minimum number required to make a difference What opportunities exist

We analyzed 150000 Instagram posts across 200 brands and uncovered the following

By using just 3 hashtags brands can gain a 110 increase in likes on their Instagram posts while adding 5 results in a 180 increase So three hashtags should be considered the bare minimum but more is better for optimal levels of engagement marketers should strive to add up to 7 relevant hashtags

The report also found that relevant hashtags can increase the number of likes by up to 200

Hashtags are a critical part of a brandrsquos Instagram strategy but herersquos the problem mdash brands are struggling to use this resource in a high-impact way (73 according to a recent Piqora study)

Tip For more information check out Piqorarsquos Instagram hashtag report here

CHOOSING HASHTAGSPut yourself in the shoes of your Instagram audience Hashtags shouldnrsquot be designed to sell rather they should be fun interactive and engaging Learn which hashtags your Instagram community is already using mdash especially influencers mdash and connect these hashtags to your brand

Fashion brands are in a unique position in that their lsquobrand labelsrsquo are highly compelling mdash generating enthusiasm conversation and engagement Community managers should feel free to test hashtags that are directly tied to the brand Here are some examples to inspire you

TOMS

FREE PEOPLE

MARC JACOBS

WARBY PARKERTip Hashtags should be concise and catchy mdash avoid long phrases as these can be tough to remember Remember that nobody lsquoownsrsquo a hashtag on Instagram mdash but your brand can promote and encourage the adoption of them


ENCOURAGING ADOPTION

Audiences will not instantly know that they need to use a particular hashtag mdash even if your brand has a strong word-of-

mouth presence Dynamite users for instance frequently use the Dynamite hashtag even though the brandrsquos lsquoofficialrsquo hashtag

is dynamitestyle Dynamitersquos marketing team actively teachers shoppers to use the dynamitestyle hashtag

This process involves promoting hashtags across multiple marketing channels mdash in a way that is connected with your core

brand

Especially on Instagram guidance is key to inspiring engagement

We promote it in store We promote it when we host an event We promote it

in the stores Wersquore slowly teaching our customers to use

dynamitestyle

mdash Laura CarmosinoCommunity Manager

Dynamite Clothing


2 LAUNCHING PROMOTIONS

1 Clear Goal and Objectives

2 Simple Rules and Creative that Explains Them

3 A Contest Landing Page that Maximizes Participation

4 Use Hashtag TrackingSoftware to MonitorParticipation and NotifyWinners

Promotions are powerful for inspiring brand awareness and engagement A structured user-optimized workflow can help generate a boost in fans and likes mdash whatever outcome is most important for your brand to achieve

9 Aeropostale - wwwaeropostalecomshopindexjspcategoryId=28688836

Contests provide a great way to inspire brand engagement boost your follower-base and create user generated content Every successful giveaway requires the four components

The month of November 2013 inspired several peaks in new followers mdash likely due to a mix of holiday marketing initiatives (including the promotion)

Promotions contests and giveaways can also complement ongoing brand initiatives During the holidays in November 2013 Aeropostale hosted a month-long lsquowishlistrsquo giveaway1 across its social media channels (including Instagram)


1 CLEAR GOAL AND OBJECTIVES

With our contests we aim to inspire a boost in followers We want to make the entry process as easy as possible while growing our community and increasing engagement

We started asking contest entrants to tag their friends as a condition to entering in the giveaway

Define your goals upfront mdash before launching your giveaway Typical Instagram contest goals include

Growing your communityGenerating brand awarenessSourcing lifestyle content and user-generated marketing assetsIdentify and engage with influencers

It is better to be focused than to tackle all goals at once mdash for instance if yoursquore generating user-generated marketing assets you may want submitted media to be evaluated by a panel of judges This submission process may decrease the submission count however



2 SIMPLE RULES AND CREATIVE THATEXPLAINS THEM

Contest creative needs to be visually appealing and relevant to your audience Host rules on your website where audiences can easily find them mdash in some

states this accessibility may be a legal requirement There may be more legal requirements so make sure to evaluate your contest rules with a lawyer

MyHabit did a great job coming up with a creative theme for their contest making it fun on-brand and reasonably easy to enter They selected an appropriate hashtag gave away a valuable and desirable prize added inspiring photos to the contest creative and showcased entries on the landing page (not pictured)

Great UGC Highly influential Instagrammer Alyson Haley submitted this stellar photo for Hobo Bagrsquos Carry This Wear That contest Shersquos even promoting the contest to her 12K followers

3 A CONTEST LANDING PAGE THAT MAXIMIZES PARTICIPATIONEspecially if you are encouraging entries across multiple social media channels it is important to host your material on a central hub You can then work with fellow bloggers and influencers to promote this page mdash and drive paid media to it

Design pages to incorporate user-generated material in real time mdash to emphasize the life behind your promotion and brand On the left is an example from Aeropostalersquos Wishlist giveaway

4 USE HASHTAG TRACKING SOFTWARE TO MONITOR PARTICIPATION AND NOTIFY WINNERSIn order to see the participants for your contest hashtags and pick a winner you need a hashtag tracking tool (like Piqora) A good hashtag tracking tool will provide a list of participants and their photo entries

Yoursquoll also be able to see participants for each day of the promotion (for dailyweekly prize promotions) which will help you to easily moderate and publish the photo entries on a contest landing page

Experiment mdash look to your favorite brands and favorite Instagram influencers for inspiration Stand out try something new and work with fashion bloggers to build visibility Creativity will always win

mdash Piqora Team

For more inspiration check out The Definitive Guide to Instagram Photo Contests

Part 1 ndash Introduction1 WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS GUIDE






























































Kyle GeibMarketing

Coordinator




















The reason



300

250

200

150

100

50

0

FO

LLO

WER

TR

EN

D



DATE











positively





looking awesome




engagement

Social Component


Social Component


Social Component
















1 IDEAS TO TEST







4 TAGGING LOCATIONS










0641am 0611pm and 535pm

























12


















TOMS

FREE PEOPLE

MARC JACOBS








brand




dynamitestyle


Dynamite Clothing































mdash Piqora Team






























































Kyle GeibMarketing

Coordinator




















The reason



300

250

200

150

100

50

0

FO

LLO

WER

TR

EN

D



DATE











positively





looking awesome




engagement

Social Component


Social Component


Social Component
















1 IDEAS TO TEST







4 TAGGING LOCATIONS










0641am 0611pm and 535pm

























12


















TOMS

FREE PEOPLE

MARC JACOBS








brand




dynamitestyle


Dynamite Clothing































mdash Piqora Team




















The reason



300

250

200

150

100

50

0

FO

LLO

WER

TR

EN

D



DATE











positively





looking awesome




engagement

Social Component


Social Component


Social Component
















1 IDEAS TO TEST







4 TAGGING LOCATIONS










0641am 0611pm and 535pm

























12


















TOMS

FREE PEOPLE

MARC JACOBS








brand




dynamitestyle


Dynamite Clothing































mdash Piqora Team











positively





looking awesome




engagement

Social Component


Social Component


Social Component
















1 IDEAS TO TEST







4 TAGGING LOCATIONS










0641am 0611pm and 535pm

























12


















TOMS

FREE PEOPLE

MARC JACOBS








brand




dynamitestyle


Dynamite Clothing































mdash Piqora Team















1 IDEAS TO TEST







4 TAGGING LOCATIONS










0641am 0611pm and 535pm

























12


















TOMS

FREE PEOPLE

MARC JACOBS








brand




dynamitestyle


Dynamite Clothing































mdash Piqora Team









0641am 0611pm and 535pm

























12


















TOMS

FREE PEOPLE

MARC JACOBS








brand




dynamitestyle


Dynamite Clothing































mdash Piqora Team

























12


















TOMS

FREE PEOPLE

MARC JACOBS








brand




dynamitestyle


Dynamite Clothing































mdash Piqora Team


















TOMS

FREE PEOPLE

MARC JACOBS








brand




dynamitestyle


Dynamite Clothing































mdash Piqora Team








brand




dynamitestyle


Dynamite Clothing































mdash Piqora Team
































mdash Piqora Team


the fashion marketers guide to instagram

Marketing

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fashion marketersguide

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