Last week I was sympathising with a slow fashion brand on Instagram who was unhappy about the lack of sales, which were causing insecurity about whether the business was viable. It took a quick glance at his feed to see a major issue. The posts were all political posts about sustainability and climate change. That’s great because it is a hot topic right now. And lots of people liked, shared and commented on the posts. If you are a wannabe influencer in the sustainability space, great! Not so great for sales.
There were not a lot of photos of the clothes. Pretty obvious that you need to show off your clothes, right? Plus it was difficult to buy them. To buy a product you had to click the Instagram profile, click the link in bio, work out which link was for the website, click the link, then find the product on the website, then buy it. Would you bother? I am sure a few people who REALLY love the designs do. But even a slow fashion brand needs more than a few sales to survive in this ultra competitive market.
Make sure that the product is front and centre
Fashion is a fickle beast. People make instant decisions about whether they want to buy something, which is part of the reason we never wear a quarter of the clothes in our wardrobes. Here in the UK, impulse buying is rife. This is a good thing, because it means clothes will sell on social media.
Make it easy for a buyer to buy
Instagram has many features to help you sell more. It’s in their best interest, of course. The offer catalogues so that you can tag products directly on the feed. They added a story link feature recently so you can link products shown in stories. It is well known that the fewer clicks it needs to buy an item the more likely it is that someone will buy. That’s why Amazon’s one click purchase button works so well. Adding a catalogue to Instagram, and Facebook for that matter, means that followers can buy an item in very few clicks. The increase in sales will offset the additional costs (it’s not a free service).
Having the right influence on social media
There is a tricky path to tread for slow fashion brands. The goal is more sales, obviously. But founders are often passionate about the planet, conscious living, climate change and the environment and they can be enthusiastic about talking about it. While this is a good way to demonstrate the brand values, it can get in the way of sales. There are positive ways to show off your eco ethos – download my free guide to find out what they are.
Starting and growing a slow fashion brand is not an easy ‘rags to riches’ journey. Social media is a useful tool, one of a range, to use to increase brand awareness and make sales. Instagram is a favourite of those in the fashion industry and those who favour sustainable living. So don’t give up on Instagram. Approach it with a strategy in place to ensure your return on investment. Need help with social media?
