Does Luxury Clothing Require Effective Social Media Marketing
Luxury Clothing is neither a product, an object, a service nor is it a concept or lifestyle. It is an identity, a philosophy, and a culture. As a business sector and management discipline, these characteristics signify the presence of challenges, in the integration of luxury branding within the Internet and digital environment and the requirements of intricate strategies to overcome them. Lots of publications mention that the compatibility between luxury and the internet is not strong or suitable, others that the Internet is just another channel of communication that will bring too much exposure in the luxury industry.
Social Media can definitely be part of a marketing strategy for a luxury company. The majority of consumers consider that not only Social Media is a good tool at the moment, but also it still has time to grow considerably because of the daily innovations in technology. Social Media can be used as a proper marketing tool especially in the case when the experience tools/applications further develop so you can give more look and feel. Also then you could show more of the actual expertise. However, the fact that Social Media puts you in direct contact with consumers and potential customers to strengthen brand affinity by creating groups around their brand and also because it represents an elegant opportunity to control and enhance a brand’s exclusivity, it can be said that Social Media brings a high potential in a marketing strategy.
Social media enables luxury brands to build tremendous clout among the aspirational set. In some cases, social media may be the only place where aspiring consumers can reach the brand at all.
The luxury fashion brands should aim to be distinguished from all other mass of products presented through Social Media. The charm and uniqueness should be also saved online. Like you enter a luxury shop you should enter a luxury page and understand that even online you are taken as a special customer. I think it is very important that people can quickly and easily reach websites and get aware of features and qualities of such products; however, the access for such products and ability to buy for everyone should be limited.
Opportunities presented by Social Media Marketing:
Social media is a part and parcel of each one of our lives. This is because of the fact that these sites serve as a fantastic platform for several forms
of media from texts to images to videos. It engages users in an infinite number of ways. it is evident that social media has brought about a major shift in the lives of everyone. It is impossible to imagine a life without it. It can be noted that it has changed aspects of our lives that were more or less stable and thus created changes in the business industry. It has globalized the fashion and luxury industry to a huge extent.
While it is true that many businesses are not fully aware of how to effectively utilize the 41 social media platforms for online marketing. More researchers in every field, the fashion and luxury field in particular are coming up with several resources to assist these brands and keep them aware of the changing trends in the digital world.
Bloggers and other social media influencers also include celebrities: They continue to make profound impacts on those who follow the fashion industry. Similarly, several other people have now turned into celebrities via social media platforms and continue to do so by propagating their ideas, styles, and knowledge on these sites. They become sought after and followed on the social media portals and eventually icons.
It is important for luxury fashion brands to utilize every service offered by social media platforms for their advertising and marketing campaigns. These brands could leverage the high potential that digital media and social media provide and constantly fight to stay at the very top of the vicious fashion cycle. It is noted that a digitally active brand can easily scale upwards as long as it follows the right mix of online as well as traditional marketing strategies and tailors them according to the several age and ethnic groups that they cater to. Another positive aspect of social media marketing that fashion brands can take advantage of, especially the upcoming designers and fashion brands, is the fact that it is one of the most cost-effective methods of marketing.
Just like everything else, social media has both its pros and cons when it comes to marketing. Though it may be a cost-effective method of management, it surely is a time-intensive one. Social media marketing is not something that every brand is capable of achieving without investing a considerable amount of time and effort in the implementation process.
To summarise, Social Media has drastic impacts on the numbers of the fashion luxury industry. It has made fashion accessible for everyone and now it is the consumer who has a lot of control over the brand. Brands can take advantage of this fact and further cater to their customers using personalized marketing strategies in order to effectively utilize these platforms.
Masumi Mewawalla - Founder of Pink Peacock Couture and Emblaze, Fashion Designer
