Since the time it began, Instagram was considered a valuable tool for fashion and beauty brands to promote their products to their target demographic. The platform was specifically created to share and popularize visual content so it is the perfect fit for the fashion industry.
Most of the largest fashion and beauty brands across the world are using the social media platform to not only show off their products but to also give fans and followers a sneak peak into their lifestyle.
The backstage access pass
Instagram has more than 500 million estimated active monthly users and many of them use the platform on a daily basis. The access to such a huge user base gives fashion and beauty brands the opportunity to build a worldwide presence and increase the demand for their products in their target demographic.
Some brands even click pictures of catwalks and other major events and share them with their followers to give them a backstage feel. The social media platform helps to bring exclusive access, to a much wider audience, increasing the perceived value of the brand.
In many ways, Instagram performs the same function as a fashion magazine, promoting fashion products alongside announcements and stories.
A common fashion platform
The popularity of Instagram has spread across the fashion world. Nearly 98% of the fashion leading brands are on Instagram and more than 95% of all the top beauty brands use Instagram.
Not only have more fashion and beauty brands started to use the platform, but their frequency of posts have also been increasing steadily. Posts by beauty brands have become 42% more frequent and posts by fashion brands have become 17% more frequent between the years of 2013 and 2015, and this rate is expected to grow.
Using photograph and video to the highest potential
Instagram allows users to post photos and videos, and both mediums are extremely popular amongst fashion and beauty brands. Videos of tutorials, before and after effects of make up and beauty products and fashion events are popular amongst fans of the brands.
Content that brings value to the target demographic is also shared heavily across a number of social media platforms, apart from Instagram. So a good presence on the photo centric platform benefits and complements the other social media efforts of the brand.
In a separate development, fashion and beauty brands also use the help of Instagram influencers, people who have a huge fan following across the globe, to promote their brands amongst their target demographic.
Exploring the future of fashion and beauty industry with Instagram
Instagram has dramatically influenced how fashion and beauty brands approach customer relations and advertising, as the platform allows them to interact directly with their followers.
The platform is an excellent tool for this no doubt but brands need to understand that it is important to come up with a clear and unique strategy that will work for their target demographic. For instance, regional fashion and beauty brands need to create content which differs from international brands.
The basic reason being fashion trends in one place may not be followed by another and without careful product placement, brands may lose out on drawing in a larger customer base.
Regardless of the strategy used, it has become quite apparent that Instagram is one of the best platforms for the fashion and beauty industry, and will continue to drive sales for those who are able to gather a large following.