How to Run Video Marketing for Fashion on a Budget

Whether you’re a brick and mortar, an eCommerce brand, or both: it takes a lot to make it in the fashion industry. The startup costs associated with the fashion industry can be tremendous and the creative competition is fierce.

There’s product, design, manufacturing and on top of it all, you need to market your merch. After all, no one’s going to buy something they can’t find in the first place?

As a small brand, your marketing dollars are important – especially in an industry that has new trends and hot threads popping up every week. Thankfully, video marketing is one of the best ways to get the most bang for your fashion budget buck.

Why video marketing?

You can’t start building a marketing strategy for your fashion brand without first answering the question – why video marketing? Sure, the end game is to sell more of your product, but how does video help you do that?

First off, the online fashion market is a crowded one, to say the least, and video marketing is a great way to stand out and stay ahead of the digital marketing curve. It has the potential to cut through the noise, increase brand awareness and the ultimate goal – improve your conversion rate.

Another great aspect of this marketing method, besides affordability, is its easy distribution. Share your videos on social media or use it in your email marketing. Adding a video to email boosts click-through rates by 65% and reduces unsubscribes by 26%.  You can use your video ads to regularly retarget returning customers with your new lines and sales.

In terms of content, video marketing allows you to inspire, educate and entertain. Video allows you to convey a lifestyle, a vibe and show off all angles of your beautiful collection, while still having a clear call-to-action.

Now that we know why to use video, here a few tips for how:

Strategy

Define your brand voice

The first part of your video campaign strategy is defining who you are as a brand. You know what kind of fashion items you sell and you probably even know who you are selling them to, but who are you? What is the tone of your brand? Are you colorful and young or are you going for the subtle classy vibe? Choose your clips, text, and music with the same specificity as you would choose an outfit in a window display.

Distribution

The next part of your strategy should be distribution. Decide where and when you will share your videos. Obviously, you wouldn’t want to promote your fall line in the winter, so make sure your videos are prepared ahead of time so you’re not stuck in a jam. If you are posting something on your social media pages, consider the time of day that your clientele is online – perhaps during their commute to work in the morning or during lunch hours. Once you decide when, the next obstacle is to decide where.

Social media

Social Media strategy is key. Depending on the demographics of your customer base, decide which platforms are the most crucial for you. If you are advertising to teens, you might want to put most of your energy on Instagram and Snapchat and if your targeting millennials, Facebook might be your golden goose. For your paid ads, you can target your specific audience by age, location, interests, and more. Set a manageable budget for paid advertisements and see what works for you.

If you are shooting parts of the video yourself, make sure to plan them for each platform accordingly. Different platforms have different dimensions, and even the content of the video varies from platform to platform – you might post a fun spontaneous video on Instagram Story, while you’ll post a high-quality video with a clear CTA for a paid ad on Facebook.

All of this needs to be planned ahead of time, so you don’t spend your precious time and money on videos that don’t fit your goals.

Measure and Analyze

Analyze your video ads performance, and make adjustments as needed. Compare the outcome to your initial goals and industry benchmarks. Sometimes you might need to adjust expectations but a lot of the time you just need to play around with your creatives until you find what works. Make multiple videos and A/B test to make sure that you are tapping all the potential. Spread it out – No need to go for broke on your first ad. Basically, measure, refine, and measure some more.

Content

Look within

The bread and butter of fashion marketing is modeling. Unfortunately, from hiring models to setting up video shoots, it can get pretty pricey, pretty fast. But we’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to. You can create great video content from the comfort of your office or by using your own employees. Showcase Jim, from the front desk sporting your newest item. It communicates a refreshing and authentic feel – it’s real people, sporting real fashion.

This also gives you an opportunity to present a likable persona for your company. People buy from people that they like, and while you might think that likability is a difficult task to accomplish in the digital sphere, there are actually many ways to do so and the first among them is being real. Putting your own team on camera can definitely bridge that gap. You can even do a video tour of your facility, a Q&A with the sales team, or other behind the scenes situations.

Not only can you save a TON of money this way, but you also make an important human connection with your audience.

So tell Jim to get a haircut for once. Seriously, Jim.

User-generated content

UGC (user-generated content) has proven to be a marketing phenomenon. It costs virtually nothing and offers the most meaningful impact since customer satisfaction is the ultimate stamp of approval. Get your customers involved by encouraging them to share their own video content with your fashion products as part of promotional contests or in exchange for discount codes and other cool fashion rewards.

For example, filming a bathing suit commercial on the beach in Hawaii probably isn’t in your budget, but odds are you’ve got a customer who is wearing your items in some exotic location and willing to share their footage in exchange for a coupon on their next purchase, or maybe for just some temporary internet fame! Send out an email or post on your own socials to share the opportunity and add your company hashtag to track it.

Ads that are based on user-generated content may generate up to 4X the number of clicks that a branded company video receives. We recommend mixing it up with clips of your own to create a hybrid video.

When it comes to UGC, you have more power than you think. 50% of consumers WANT brands to tell them what type of content to share. Only 18% of brands actually do. Be part of that 18%.

Use video-making tools like Promo:

The internet and tools like Promo.com have totally democratized the world of marketing so that you don’t need to sell your soul to make professional-looking video ads anymore.

We’re here to make it even easier with some Pro-tips for promotional fashion videos:

1. Footage:

Video making tools allow you to choose from the existing library of footage instead of going through the trouble and cost of filming your own clips. While this won’t showcase your product, it will convey the vibe of your message. To get the best of both worlds, you can mix it up by uploading videos and pics of your own items.

Vibe Video:

Showcase Video:

2. Text Styles:

Footage isn’t the only visual that has an impact on your video. The text style and font you choose are also a significant part of your message so be sure to choose the right one.

For example, if you’re promoting a sale, use a style that highlights the price:

Or try a softer font if you’re trying to tell your brand story:

3. Music

Music determines the mood of your ad. That is a lot of power so choose wisely as you browse through the vast collection of music clips. It should depend on your message and your target audience so define these factors beforehand.

This is a good example of two different soundtracks for two totally different target audiences. We’ll let you guess who’s who.

4. Outro

The outro is one of the most important elements of your video. Your entire video culminates in that final shot, so make sure that your text should be clear and concise with an actionable call-to-action or final message.

With Promo, you can also change your outro template, but consider the nature of your outro message before you select one.

For example, online stores (or stores with a significant online presence) should have a call to action that allows the user to easily find them on all platforms:

And if you’re a local shop, you’ll want to be sure to include your address:

These are just some of the many features that you can use. Play around with your different options when you edit your video and see what best fits your message.

ABC: Always be creating

Video marketing is a powerful tool, but it isn’t a “one and done” tool. Brands are most successful when they create a variety of video marketing content and are consistently looking for new ways to innovate and explore their brand voice and their overall online marketing strategy. So, take the time to incorporate this into your ongoing activities to see ongoing growth.

The numbers prove that it is well worth your effort – 52% of shoppers claim that they are more confident when their online purchasing experience includes a video, and nearly 60% of shoppers say they feel that brands that use video content in their marketing funnel are more trustworthy.

Video marketing is an extremely effective way to strut your fashion items down the digital runway – all you need is a strategy, creativity and a little bit of money. With the right plan, you no longer need to sell your soul for good video ads. So take advantage of this new marketing era and introduce the next best thing in fashion to the world.

Try Promo.com Now!