Social Media Strategies to Boost Apparel Company Customer Base

This report examines effective social media strategies for apparel companies to enhance customer engagement and increase their customer base. The research analyzes existing social media campaigns of prominent apparel brands like Dior and Burberry, and also reviews academic literature on social media marketing, particularly within the fashion industry. The report emphasizes the importance of market segmentation, Instagram as a primary platform, high-quality visuals, and the use of brand ambassadors to boost engagement. It recommends strategies such as targeted advertising based on market segmentation, aesthetically appealing images, and the utilization of social media managers to improve performance. The conclusion highlights the significance of interactive content, such as quizzes and memes, in addition to product advertisements, to build brand loyalty and foster a strong presence on social media platforms.

Running head: PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Problem............................................................................................................................................3
Research...........................................................................................................................................4
Analysis...........................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
Reference.........................................................................................................................................7

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Executive Summary
This report aims at researching and analyzing the social media strategies that can be used
by an apparel company so that the customer base increases and the target audience can be
reached affectively. Research is done by analyzing social media posts of similar companies and
researches done by scholars. Recommendations are given based on the research.

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Introduction
Presently social media can be termed as the most affective medium through which a
company’s products can be advertised and sold. The number of social media users are growing
by staggering numbers and presently Facebook alone has a user base of more than 1.86 billion
which is a huge number in itself (Tuten & Solomon, 2017). Therefore the companies have a great
scope to reach a great number of people through social media, and what is more is the target
audience can be chosen and narrowed before the campaign is launched. In this research the aim
is to provide suggestion to increase the customers of an apparel company through social media.
Problem
The particular problem that is the target of this research is to how effectively us the social
media and increase the target customers. In today’s times it is very difficult to grow a business
without the presence in social media. Apparel companies mainly target the people who are
fashion conscious and want to look good even if they have to spend a little more for their clothes.
Therefore it is important for the apparel companies to set their target customers appropriately and
then use images, phrases and language in a way that the target audience is impressed by the
advertisement and they actually buy the products (Schivinski & Dabrowski, 2016). The idea is to
set the social media accounts of the company in a way that the people can either buy the products
directly from the online social media pages or they get to know the details of the locations and
contacts from where they can get to buy the products. The apparel companies are required to
understand the customer demands therefore the advertisements must be interactive. The
customers may share feedback about the products they are going to buy or they have already
bought, this is what is necessary to actually build up a customer base.

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Research
A secondary research can be done by analyzing the existing advertisements of the already
famous apparel brands and also by studying what the other experts have to say in their research
about the social media marketing strategy, especially in the apparel industry. It is seen that the
fashion and the apparel brands are in the “sweet spot” of social media websites, this is because
people follow these pages out of their own interest and also interact (Ashley & Tuten, 2015).
One example is the growth of Dior in the last year which grew by a staggering 300 percent
(Chaffey, 2016). The largest median size of the audience is enjoyed by the fashion brands and
then followed by other kind of products. It has been researched and seen that Facebook is having
the greatest number of followers in the category of fashion. Experts state that in the case of
engagement it is on Instagram that the audience show highest interest in engaging and interacting
with the fashion brands and therefore it is one of the most important mediums to advertise
apparel.
The most effective brands that performs well in the social media, especially on Instagram
is the outdoor and the outwear brands, and the outdoor brands enjoy two times more engagement
of the audience compared to the casual wear brands. The experts point that the average users
mostly searches about their required product by using hash tags, and therefore the hashtags are
very important to be selected wisely so that the larger portion of audience can be reached (Felix,
Rauschnabel & Hinsch, 2017). It is seen that the top fashion brands are using social media as
their primary tool to increase interaction. For example, Burberry is very effectively using social
media having a follower base of 17 million which is growing by the day. The strategy is to not
only focus on selling but also on customer engagement.

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Analysis
It can be analyzed from the above research that the primary need in selecting the social
media campaign the apparel company is to 1st select the target group of the market, this is also
known as segmenting the market. The company must select the age group, or the economic
group to which it wants to sell it products and then start its social media campaign based on that
segmentation (Gamboa & Gonçalves, 2014). The following are 5 recommendations that the
company may follow in order to establish itself firmly in the social media platforms.
 The company must do proper research and then engage in properly segmenting the
market and then putting up advertisements on the social media according to that
segmentation.
 The company must use Instagram as the foremost platform to advertise its product.
Instagram is seen to be the most effective platform for these purposes.
 The company must be using high quality images of the apparels and other products it
intends to sell. The images must be aesthetically appealing and people must be interested
in buying them because of their visual appeal.
 The company may be hiring brand ambassadors and celebs to advertise products and this
increases the engagement of the customers. People are interested in following celebs and
their lifestyle, therefore this would be affective in giving extra mileage to the company.
 The company may keep one or two person as dedicated social media managers who will
be dedicating their time to improve the performance of the social media pages of the
company. They would be dedicated to increase the number of engagement in the social
media and increase reach.

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Conclusion
It can be concluded that the users of social media are seen to be engaging more with the
fashion brands than other brands, therefore the company must make good use of the opportunity
so that it may increase its reach and develop better customer base loyalty. The brand must be
aware not to engage in cheap marketing like push selling and spamming but to make the process
interesting by interactive posts like quizzes and memes apart from product advertisement. The
company may create a target and then engage dedicatedly to make a firm base in the social
media platforms.

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Reference
Ashley, C., & Tuten, T. (2015). Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory
study of branded social content and consumer engagement. Psychology &
Marketing, 32(1), 15-27.
Chaffey, D. (2016). Global social media research summary 2016. Smart Insights: Social Media
Marketing.
Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P. A., & Hinsch, C. (2017). Elements of strategic social media
marketing: A holistic framework. Journal of Business Research, 70, 118-126.
Gamboa, A. M., & Gonçalves, H. M. (2014). Customer loyalty through social networks: Lessons
from Zara on Facebook. Business Horizons, 57(6), 709-717.
Schivinski, B., & Dabrowski, D. (2016). The effect of social media communication on consumer
perceptions of brands. Journal of Marketing Communications, 22(2), 189-214.
Tuten, T. L., & Solomon, M. R. (2017). Social media marketing. Sage.