Best Social Media Practices for Fashion Brands
Updated May 2021
Need some updated social media best practices for 2021? You've come to the right identify.
Social media is 1 of the best marketing strategies for helping your brand talk to your customers, prospects, and the globe. Different more traditional marketing methods (like print ads, commercials, and emails), social media gives customers (and potential customers) the gamble to have (public) conversations with companies.
This is where you can really show off your company's awesome customer experience . And thanks to handy platforms like RingCentral Appoint Digital ™ , it'southward super simple to coordinate and deliver a personal bear on through social media.
Social media tin be a much more intimate form of marketing too—ads show upwards next to condition updates and pictures of babies—but ironically, since it's public, information technology tin can really generate more exposure.
Did you know that there are approximately iii.8 billion people using social media? It'south probably i of the farthest-reaching channels of advice in the world.
But how tin can you use social media to help your business? We know that many businesses are already doing information technology. Oreo, Skittles, Dollar Shave Club—then many companies are promoting themselves brilliantly on different social media platforms. How do they do information technology?
We'll show you.
In this deep dive into best practices for social media posts, we'll wait at:
- Which social media channels you should be using
- 11 social media best practices for every platform
- iii social media best practices for Facebook
- 3 social media best practices for Instagram
- three social media best practices for Twitter
- 4 social media best practices for Pinterest
- iv social media best practices for Snapchat
- 4 social media all-time practices for TikTok
- iii social media all-time practices for LinkedIn
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Which social media channels should you be using?
There are dozens of social media platforms, and all of them concenter different audiences and conversations. You might find illuminating (and challenging) political discussions on Twitter, niche memes on Reddit, and delicious casserole recipes on Pinterest.
This doesn't mean y'all need to exist pushing ads and content on every single social network in existence. But using social media is at present an essential part of your business'southward omnichannel user feel .
Effigy out which platforms are all-time for your concern and become from there. Plan out a detailed social media campaign that encompasses the platforms your customers adopt. Allow's look at the strengths and weaknesses of some of the biggest platforms.
It's the reigning king of social media. A whopping 69% of adults in the Us use Facebook. Its audition is huge and various, and it sends the most website referral traffic compared to other networks. Co-ordinate to Sproutsocial, most 75% of women use Facebook, while about 63% of men use it. Representation across age groups is fairly equal, but highest among the 18–64 oversupply. People tend to go to Facebook posts for news, amusement, staying connected with others, and shopping.
💡 Pro-tip:
Make sure to consider the impact of recent news—and even statements from its onetime employees —around security, lack of oversight of the platform, and its role in causing harm to societies and countries around the world. Will this negatively impact the business organisation benefits of using Facebook in the time to come, and would you be meliorate off focusing on other social media channels?
Instagram is likewise one of the most popular social media networks around, just the audition is a little more narrow. Information technology'southward hugely popular with younger crowds, including millennials and Gen Zers. Like Facebook, Instagram is slightly more popular with women than with men.
About chiefly, it'southward a highly visual network—which ways it'south best for brands with really cool or interesting-looking products. Yous tin postal service both static images and short videos, but the one drawback is that it'south not the best for driving traffic to your website.
Instagram is great for advertising, though, considering it allows for both organic and paid strategies. And since information technology's and so visual, it's not hard to capture your audition'southward attention—if y'all take a well-curated feed. Did we mention that Instagram is also incredibly popular?
Each month, over 1 billion people are accessing Instagram. Not to mention the 1 1000000 advertisers that are working on the platform. So if you're not on Instagram withal, and if yous've got a beautiful product, yous might exist missing out.
Twitter is (relatively) less popular merely all the same has a large user base, with 22% of American adults on the platform. Slightly more than men than women are using Twitter, and it's nearly popular with 18–24 year-olds .
Like with Facebook, some people might consider Twitter a news platform likewise as social media. (Is that a adept idea? Probably not, but that'south just us.) Sharing social media content, aka "retweeting," is pretty common and is a huge reason why many posts on Twitter go viral.
Oreo is one of the brands that have really mastered Twitter and partnered with the right influencers and celebrities:
Oh, and it'due south an splendid way to share blog and website content too.
Another highly visual platform with about 322 million users internationally, Pinterest's audience leans more female than male , and most users are looking to salve content for inspiration (popular categories include cooking, crafting, and decorating). The platform went through a chip of a lull a few years back, just it has experienced a surprising resurgence. Good on them.
Snapchat
Don't forget about Snapchat. You may not use it, but it'south hugely popular with younger audiences, peculiarly teenagers. In fact, 41% of teenagers rated Snapchat as the most important social media platform. Why? Probably because Snapchat is arguably the best platform for engaging directly with your audience.
TikTok
Speaking of teenagers: if y'all're looking to reach Gen Z, Tiktok is where you need to exist. In the U.s. lone, Tiktok has effectually 100 meg agile users, with over 50 meg logging in at least once a day. TikTok is known for its viral trends by influencers fix to songs, audio effects, and even dialogue from movie, Idiot box, YouTube, and everyone'southward favorite defunct platform: Vine. Just similar on Instagram and other platforms, brands tin can piece of work directly with influencers to promote their content.
If yous work for a visitor, you've probably heard of this one. LinkedIn is a professional person network and although it has ad content, these tend to be targeted to professionals. High-quality industry articles, B2B, and SaaS-related topics are probably among the about-shared types of content.
Now, let's look at some social media best practices that apply beyond all these platforms.
xi all-time practices for all social media platforms
Your strategies for social media posting should adapt to each platform you're posting on. But, in that location are a number of all-time practices that apply to all networks. Nosotros'll become into specific guidelines for the biggest social media networks subsequently, only beginning let'southward look into the big motion picture stuff offset.
1. Respond to messages—quickly
This is Social Media 101. Particularly if you're managing multiple social media platforms (which is pretty mutual for businesses). You need to make sure that you're responding to all the straight messages people are sending you—and also the public posts that may non tag (@) you lot directly.
Expectations are high on social media in terms of response time, and if someone letters you, they're about likely expecting an reply within a day—if not earlier. And then, how can you do this efficiently? It's not like yous tin can just spend all day jumping between four or 5 dashboards on every social media account answering letters and public posts.
I simple fashion to help with this is to utilize a social media management platform that consolidates all these messages on every channel (even live chat and emails) into i place. For example, you can do this pretty hands with RingCentral Digital Appoint .
Plus, it can even merge your customers' unlike social media profiles into ane so that you tin see someone's full chat history with you across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more. This manner, you (or anyone on your team) can easily choice upwards conversations, fifty-fifty if they've never spoken to that person earlier.
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2. Set goals
Advertisement on social media isn't inexpensive. To justify your upkeep, set up realistic milestones. This will too help you measure your progress and bear witness you where you need to spend more time or tweak a few things.
3. Track growth
Once you've ready your goals and started the journey of condign a social media marketing titan, it's time to brand certain you're on the correct track. Near social media platforms accept analytic tools that will testify y'all how many clicks, shares, and sales you're getting. Use them!
iv. Plan posts and employ a calendar
Social media marketing campaigns require a lot of content, all the time. Accomplishing this will be pretty much impossible if yous're non organized about your marketing efforts and don't have a solid programme in place.
Social media calendars are an excellent tool to proceed your sanity. Remember to incorporate deadlines to go on anybody answerable and, equally importantly, to make sure you lot're not rushing to come upwards with content at the final minute.
5. Automate posting
A calendar and plan are important strategies, and automation takes this one footstep farther. Automation saves you lot fourth dimension and keeps things running smoothly. It'll besides let you lot to share content at the optimal time (i.e., when nigh people are browsing social media in their fourth dimension zones), so yous don't have to wake up at 5 a.k. to publish that Tweet for your followers in India.
There are tons of options for automation, including HootSuite, CoSchedule, and Zapier.
vi. Engage in social listening
Social listening is a technique used by social media channels in society to monitor your social media accounts to pick up on electric current mentions, customer feedback, or discussions of your brand. Yous can and then clarify these posts to discover specific keywords or types of content that are circulating in your industry—and please the social media algorithms while you're at it.
vii. Be conscientious with slang…
Nailing phonation and tone is something every brand should strive for, only pandering with slang is a whole 'nother thing. At best, it's embarrassing and, at worst, information technology's offensive. It'south a fine balancing human action betwixt sounding authentic, relevant, and relatable to your audience—especially if y'all're targeting teenagers and millenials—and sounding similar this:
Customers will almost probable be put off past your misuse of slang and popular phrases—in fact, almost xl% of followers will actually spring ship if you practice this.
8. Scope out the competition
Accept a wait at the social media presence of the competition to run across what works for them, what doesn't, and what they're missing. Make sure your vocalization and tone are distinctive, and you're filling the gaps they're leaving.
If the contest has a killer Instagram but no Pinterest, consider putting together an impressive drove of Pinterest boards—and cross-promote information technology on your own Instagram to reach a bigger audience.
nine. Go on your profiles consequent
While you may take different strategies for different networks, your profiles should ever be complete and consistent. Make sure your usernames, images, copy, and links match up. All of your profiles should link back to your website.
10. Don't feed the trolls
Some negative feedback is reasonable, and you should try to remedy the situation, certain. Other feedback, however, exists only to create toxic negativity, and there'southward nothing y'all can exercise to solve it. This toxic negativity can be considered trolling. And trolls' main objective is to provoke and incite bad-organized religion arguments Trolls typically have no basis for their complaints and, no affair how gracious you answer, they'll never be happy. Ignore them and move on.
11. Limit employee access
Depending on the size of your visitor, you should have a dedicated social media team or employee. Non everybody should have admission to your social media accounts. Why? A pissed off employee, armed with all the passwords and login data, tin torpedo your business concern with a few option tweets, insult customers in Instagram comments—or even delete accounts. Really, not sure which ane of these is worse.
For example, someone actually should've taken away Brandon Truaxe'south access. The founder of Deciem, a wildly successful skincare company, was notorious for his erratic online behavior:
Let'due south just say they lost a lot of customers.
If someone does have access to your social media accounts and leaves the visitor—for any reason—make sure you revoke their admission and change the passwords.
Social media best practices for Facebook
1. Pare downward your re-create
Different with some other platforms (LinkedIn), the copy should exist brusque, concise, and SEO optimized. According to information gathered by CoSchedule , your target word count should be around 111 characters. One emoji is okay. For all those verbose copywriters out there, will you accept this claiming?
2. Don't overuse hashtags
Similarly, don't bog down your posts with tons of hashtags. Try to piece of work them into your copy, and limit yourself to one or two.
Here's an case of a hashtag integrated into copy (hint: you don't have to just talk about your production either—events tin can have hashtags, too): "Going to #EC2021? We'll see yous there in sunny Florida! "
3. Post videos
Facebook is condign increasingly video-oriented. Just don't force your viewers to navigate away from Facebook by linking to other websites like YouTube. Instead, direct upload your video content to Facebook.
This will also brand your videos announced in more feeds . If you lot take the time, expect into Facebook audience optimization —information technology'll help yous make sure the stuff you're creating is actually what your audience is looking for.
*Bonus tip
Make sure your videos have closed captioning. Did you know that 85% of Facebook video watchers prefer watching videos without sound?
Social media all-time practices for Instagram
one. Use those hashtags!
Dissimilar Facebook, y'all can go wild with hashtags on Instagram. (But non too wild.) Instagram lets y'all apply upwards to 30 hashtags, and if you choose them well, you tin boost date and accomplish a wider audience. Simply make sure you're using the correct hashtags that'll put you in the conversation and on the map, like Pyrrha does hither:
💡 Pro-tip:
Even though hashtags are useful, sometimes y'all'll desire to hibernate them for the artful. (Who wants to encounter a wall of blue text and number signs all clustered together?) If you're worried virtually all the hashtags ruining the wait of your Instagram caption, you tin can hide your hashtags (kind of) in a comment instead of in the explanation to go on your posts looking streamlined and #aesthetic.
2. Location, location, location
Geotagging is a dandy feature that can boost those social media engagement metrics, but according to AdWeek , only five% of posts include a location tag.
The posts that practice, all the same, tin get 79% more engagement.
Geotagging is most useful if your store or minor concern has a specific location and you want to accomplish a local audience. Hither'due south Herschel Supply promoting its umbrellas for the (very apt) London weather:
3. Piece of work with influencers
Influencers are an interesting category of independent workers. They've nailed their own vocalisation and tone and have grown an organic audition that's often fiercely loyal. If you retrieve influencers would exist an nugget to your marketing strategy, recollect about whether you'd want them to post ads of your product on their accounts, or if y'all want to postal service photos of them with your product on your own business relationship.
There are perks to both. Maybe they have a much bigger audience than you and can achieve more people, in which case you'd desire them to post something nearly you on their accounts!
Either way, make sure you requite them articulate directions about how "salesy" you want the post to look. They'll probably provide guidelines as well. For example, a fashion blogger wearing your shoes seems on-brand (and might not even register as an advertizing until you read the explanation). A makeup guru partnering with a SaaS company, on the other hand, would be odd.
Social media best practices for Twitter
one. Be mindful with your hashtags
Similar Facebook, you should exist selective and minimal with your hashtag employ. A expert hashtag will requite your tweet exposure, just if yous use too many, your readers' eyes will glaze over and they'll move on. Don't use more than two or iii hashtags, and try to work them into the tweet instead of just bunched together at the finish.
2. Set up up an automated Twitter schedule
Twitter is a high-book, fast-paced network that'southward ever existence updated. You demand to exist posting constantly and consistently to keep up. Some brands fifty-fifty post the same thing a few times a 24-hour interval since posts get pushed down the feed so chop-chop by new content. Using a tool to automate your posts is peculiarly useful for Twitter and volition free upward time and resources for you.
3. Reply to comments
The purpose and beauty of social media is that you tin appoint direct with customers and everyone can see the chat. Wendy'due south is a master at replying to Tweets that mention the brand:
Make certain you're answering questions and responding to comments. Otherwise, snubbed readers will be dissatisfied and, considering these comments are public, other people will come across that yous don't have the fourth dimension to continue conversations. Not good.
four. Tell stories using threads
Nosotros've all been sucked into a Twitter thread virtually a harrowing run-in with a ghost or an bad-mannered breakup overheard at brunch (or maybe it's just us?). If you accept a really interesting story that relates to your make, Twitter allows you to tell information technology, 280 characters at a time, in a thread. This makes longer tales super easy to follow. But striking the little (+) as you lot're writing your starting time mail service, and the side by side postal service volition exist nested underneath it, and so on, so on….
Social media best practices for Pinterest
ane. Focus on inspiration
Pinterest is all well-nigh inspiring its users. Your Pinterest content should be geared towards this goal, rather than blatantly pushing sales. If your production is kitchen appliances, for example, share delicious recipes that users can use your product to recreate.
two. Use the boards
Content on Pinterest is saved (or "pinned") to boards that can be public or private and organized by theme. Create multiple, well-curated boards that'll proceed your followers scrolling. Like Instagram, yous demand a good centre and strong visuals to pull this off. Make sure you give your boards catchy and interesting titles—and don't forget to give each lath an attractive championship image!
General Electric makes great use of different boards:
three. Repin content
Like Twitter, Pinterest is driven past reposts (only they phone call them "repins"). So don't be agape to branch out and repin content from other users. This will aid round out your account, pause up the advertisements, and boost appointment. This also takes the brunt off of yous in terms of continually generating new original content.
One bang-up example of a business organization Pinterest account is encircled, a minor fashion company focusing on upstanding and sustainable practices. Their Pinterest features their own content, every bit well as travel tips, minimalism, sustainable living, and inspiring quotes.
Most chiefly, all of their repins are relevant to their make. The upshot is a beautiful and engaging business relationship that users can spend hours scrolling through.
4. Install "Pin It" buttons on your websites
Pin It buttons allow readers to save websites to their Pinterest. Installing Pin It buttons is an like shooting fish in a barrel and effective way to drive traffic to your Pinterest, which in turn will drive traffic from Pinterest back to y'all. Once the push is installed, your readers volition practise the work for you. You lot've got a few options for what kind of push y'all want to use:
Social media all-time practices for Snapchat
Earlier there were Instagram stories, at that place was Snapchat. When it launched in 2011, there was no other network like Snapchat. Its popularity might have been eclipsed by Instagram and Facebook with their copycat Stories features, just Snapchat is still incredibly popular with teenagers and has an evenly split demographic .
1. Create original content
You might be tempted to reuse your Instagram content on Snapchat to save time and resource. However, well-nigh Snapchat users are too on Instagram, then why would they follow you on both platforms to come across the same content twice? Yous have to give your audience a reason to follow you, so create content that'due south original and exclusive to Snapchat.
Snapchat content doesn't accept to be only ads either. For case, you can mail fun backside-the-scenes footage, employee profiles, or sneak peeks at upcoming products. Here'due south Everlane showing how their clothes go fabricated by taking their Snapchat followers on a tour:
2. Brand employ of Snapchat's built-in advert tools
Snapchat has several innovative tools for creating engaging ads. There are a wide multifariousness of ads y'all tin use, including the classic ads that play between stories, ads that link to your products, and ads that'll get you on the coveted Discover page. You can even design fun filters and lenses for users to play with, creating an immersive and interactive feel. (More on interactive content here.)
iii. Fine-melody your target audience
Okay. So you lot know y'all're on Snapchat because you want to achieve a younger demographic. Just y'all can go fifty-fifty more specific than that. Customize your advertisement so yous're getting the exact audience you want. Are you hoping to accomplish college students studying the sciences in California, or multilingual highschoolers in Canada? Snapchat lets you select your demographic based on age, location, preferred device, gender, linguistic communication, didactics, income, and even marital status.
4. Be prepared to cross-promote
It tin be extremely difficult to become users to notice your business relationship if you lot're relying on Snapchat alone. Advertise your Snapchat account on your other social media accounts, emails, and in real life with handy QR codes.
Social media all-time practices for TikTok
The new kid on the block isn't messing around. TikTok is a massive platform that centers the individual, and its furnishings are rippling throughout the other platforms. For example, Instagram's new "Reels" characteristic seems to take direct inspiration from the short and shareable TikTok video format.
Navigating any new platform can be a real minefield, and with Gen Z—the nearly social-media-savvy generation to date—running the table, exist sure to follow these tips to successfully.
Work with influencers
But like Instagram and Snapchat, influencers rule TikTok. There are several ways to make your content heard via these individuals. Targeted ads on your ain page, that come up in people'southward For You Page every bit they roll, is one choice. But some other not bad way is to engage influencers to practice sponsored posts on their own platforms. That way, you lot're sure to reach their wider audition as yous grow your own brand.
"FYP" is your friend
Slap this hashtag on videos you want anyone to see as they scroll their For Yous Folio. Who knows? The algorithm might smile upon you and assist that post go viral.
Be authentic
No one knows "blench content" better than Gen Z. Don't endeavour to exist something you aren't; there's room for everyone on TikTok, and it'due south better to reach your real audience with niche content. And don't exist afraid to mess upwardly… or post those bloopers! The less polished, the meliorate, in a lot of cases.
Plow on Duets and Sew together
Desire more shares? Brand certain TikTokers can interact in more way than one. Besides commenting direct on your videos, there are options to Duet your video (post a side-by-side reaction) and Stitch it (show a brusque clip of your video followed by a viewer'due south response).
Check your "@ Mentions"
This department of your Notifications is where you'll be able to see who's Duetting and Stitching your videos or directly mentioning you in other videos' comments. This is an of import area to watch to brand sure your content isn't being called out for beingness hurtful, offensive, or otherwise problematic. That'south a bell that is very difficult to un-ring on TikTok.
Social media all-time practices for LinkedIn
1. Exist professional
The whole signal of LinkedIn is that information technology's a professional network. This is where being able to conform your brand's tone is crucial. Flashy GIFs and emojis wouldn't be appropriate here for some brands, and so this is where it'southward of import to know your audience.
2. Post task listings here
LinkedIn is a professional network for networking, and then information technology's not surprising that chore hunters flock to LinkedIn. Then if you've got openings in your visitor, put together a job listing and post information technology. It looks good because people can see you're growing, and in addition to connecting with candidates, you can as well use this to build your visitor brand and concenter better talent over the long run.
three. Share industry-specific content
LinkedIn is a great identify to post mid and bottom-of-the-funnel manufactures (aka articles that are more specific to your production as opposed to super high-level topics). LinkedIn users are as well more likely to be looking for blog posts and articles almost very specific topics. Everyone is trying to get ahead, then make certain your account has a wealth of industry knowledge and advice.
Y'all can even get leads this way by offering downloadable goodies in exchange for peoples' contact information:
Upward your social game with these social media best practices
Whichever platform you lot choose, call up that social media is a fashion to connect and have fun with people who are familiar with your make, and to build brand sensation with prospects, as well.
Don't be agape to permit your personality shine through, and don't just post your own stuff—repost and like your audience's content. Social media is a two-manner street!
In today's digital ecosystem, social media integration is so of import for your business. But thanks to tools like RingCentral Engage Digital, streamlining social media into your business communications strategy is easy as pie.
Originally published Sep 21, 2020, updated Aug xviii, 2021
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