Social Media Marketing Boosts Apparel Retail Sales
What do people rely on when it comes to choosing what they wear? Other people — the people they are friends with, or whose opinions they value. Apparel retailers can tap into this dynamic source of influence with social media marketing. The trick is using the social media your target customers use, and using that social media wisely to boost apparel retail sales.
Meet Your Customers Where They Are Online
Every demographic has a preferred form of social media, and therefore the place to focus social media marketing is the place where your target customers are spending their time. Catherine Salfino recently pointed out that retail marketing is about defining each generation on Sourcing Journal Online. The various generations do overlap a little in their preferences but marketing is most effective when you focus on their differences.
The more you know about customer preferences, the easier it is to target those preferences for optimal inventory selection. Social media like Pinterest or Instagram offer much insight into what that group will be looking for when they shop for clothing. But different groups like different social media, so meet your customers where they are online.
Interact With Your Customers For Greatest Effect
One of the biggest advantages retailers have today is the interactive qualities of social media. This enables a higher level of engagement than the one-way marketing of the past. The retailer who has a team of trusted representatives responsible for interacting with customers has a powerful tool for engagement.
Polling customers for favorite products, displaying top “pinned” outfits, answering questions about upcoming trends, and any other interactions can be positive reinforcement encouraging sales. A relationship that is positive on social media cultivates the trust needed to keep customers loyal.
There is a lot going on in apparel retailing, and social media marketing is one of the most effective ways to keep that activity in your sphere of influence.