You may have been scrolling through on Instagram or Facebook and a hashtag or post might catch your eye. Like many others, you may visit the page and find out more information about the brand. If the post is interactive, people might even make a purchase and recommend the business to friends or family. This is basically the impact of social media marketing. In the past two years, social media users have grown significantly across the globe. According to a report, the number of people actively using the platforms has crossed 4.55 billion across the globe.
The popularity of social media platforms has also attracted the interest of retail startups and marketers. If you think about it, there are a lot of people who search for products or certain brands on different networks such as Facebook and Instagram. With digitalization, these social media websites have made it easier for startups to create brand recognition and market their items effectively.
As a retail business, you might be looking for branding ideas to establish credibility and market your products on social media platforms. Here are a few ideas to kickstart a promotional campaign in 2022 on the biggest networks!
It is one of the largest social media channels currently and continues to expand with time. The company reported earlier this year that the network had 2.89 billion active users. In 2020, as businesses looked for ways to connect with consumers digitally, there was a major increase in the number of small businesses and startups using Facebook to promote their products. Let’s explore some branding ideas for marketing that can help your business generate more sales and gain visibility.
Use Relevant And Attractive Imagery
People are more likely to respond to high quality visuals as they draw attention immediately. It is important to create a business page which showcases your products and creates interest as well. With appealing header or cover images, you can convince people to visit the profile and explore.
You should also post attractive visuals that highlight the packaging and useful features of the products. It is also a good idea to showcase your brand colors with product photography so that the visuals reflect the core values.
Just take a look at the cover photo for The Tea Spot below. The company easily conveys what it has to offer and encourages them to visit the page for more information too.
Image Source: facebook.com/theteaspot
Highlight Brand Name And Logo
One of the first elements that visitors are likely to notice on your business page is the company logo and brand name. So you want to make a positive impression on the consumers from the beginning. Many businesses feature their logo design on the header and the profile picture. This can help people recognize it on packaging or a physical store and recall it later on as well. Even if you update the images regularly, try to make sure that the brand symbol, wordmark or lettermark is clearly visible.
Image Source: facebook.com/vuoriclothing
Image Source: facebook.com/burrow
Image Source: facebook.com/farmsteadapp
Announce Branded Contests Or Giveaways
This is one of the best ways to increase engagement and interact with consumers in real time too. By announcing contests for your followers after crossing a milestone such as 10,000 followers for example, you can create a positive perception of your brand. It is also an effective social media marketing strategy that could help create awareness about the retail startup and attract a wider audience as well.
Companies can have contests or giveaways to increase the number of followers in a short span of time. You can encourage people to send their posts in with a particular hashtag or tag their friends and win a prize. It is also a good idea to share the link of your website so consumers can sign up for offers or discounts. This is where a professional web design or banner adcan help generate higher traffic and get people interested in the brand as well.
Image Source: Facebook.com/Benefitcosmetics
Image Source: facebook.com/ritual
With the introduction of the metaverse, brands are also looking to expand and take their products virtual. Nike has partnered up with a digital producer to create sneakers and shoes for the digital world. Recently, the retailer has filed to trademark their slogan and logo on virtual items.
RTFKT is now a part of the NIKE, Inc. family. ðŸŒðŸ‘â€ðŸ—¨ pic.twitter.com/5egNk9d8wA
— RTFKT Studios (@RTFKTstudios) December 13, 2021
With over a billion users between the ages of 18 to 34, the platform has become hugely popular among businesses and marketers. Young adults use it to search for products or brands regularly and can also find new ones through sponsored ads. For a retail startup, having an Instagram presence is a great way to build a brand and kickstart their marketing.
Run A Hashtag Contest
The social media platform has a feature which allows people to search for certain posts by tags or trends. You can create a hashtag with a brand’s name or catchy tagline and encourage consumers to participate. There is also the option of adding a prize for the winner through a poll. Some businesses also run giveaway contests to attract new customers and increase engagement with their followers.
Take a look at the example below for inspiration and you may be able to spread awareness about your brand and promote certain items as well.
Image Source: Instagram.com/everydaymadewell
Live Streaming
This can help you increase following and also establish credibility by answering questions about the products in real time or collaborating with a micro-influencer. By going live with a known personality with over 10,000 followers, retail startups can attract a wider consumer base in a short span of time. Presently, brands can also take advantage of the ‘Ask Me Anything’ feature and have an expert or influencer give tips or answer queries about products.
Shoppable live streaming already became quite popular during 2021 with Nordstrom, and Estee Lauder jumping on the trend. The brands hosted tutorials and collaborated with influencers for styling and beauty tips where people could shop the products in real time. Lancome also hosted a live stream with Cheryl Wee and Jamie Yeo which allowed viewers to purchase the products during the session.
Image Source: Instagram.com/
In 2020, the social media platform also introduced a shoppable feature in reels which has made it easier for people to purchase the featured products. Brands are likely to continue with this in 2022 and add checkout options in the posts.
Create A Curated Shoppable Feed
While you want your post to be engaging and unique, it is a good idea to connect the e-commerce store with the Instagram feed or page. Retail businesses can tag specific pictures with their product name and prices. The platform has added a shopping feature which allows people to directly place an order or purchase the items.
So on a few posts which showcase your bestseller products, you can incorporate the link of the product page to provide a good user experience to visitors.
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Now, Twitter may not be the first choice for retail businesses but it can surely help build trust and boost brand recognition. In fact, there are quite a few established companies that keep their audience updated about the latest product launch and development through the social network. Let’s take a look at a few marketing ideas for 2022.
Create A Unique Brand Voice
It is a great way to interact with more consumers and build a consistent brand and tone of voice as well. Highlight the useful features of the products and talk about different ways that it can help solve a problem for consumers. If your brand voice is friendly and creative, you may find it easier to gain the interest of people scrolling through in search of the timeline.
Take the example of the Twitter page of Milk Makeup which is a cruelty free brand that has a range of skincare products. Their informative and helpful tone or voice has helped create a positive impression of the brand and also engages people effectively.
💧 What is it? A hydrating primer for eyeshadow and under eye concealer that creates a smooth base and locks down color for up to 8 hours to help prevent creasing, fading, and smudging. pic.twitter.com/LgCk1iOMZE
— Milk Makeup (@milkmakeup) September 9, 2021
Promote A Trend
Twitter allows brands or businesses to promote certain posts or trends. You can start a creative hashtag trend or pick up on any topic that is generating a lot of impressions. There are many successful brands that run promotional campaigns and encourage their followers to send in reviews, posts or humorous content related to their products.
As a retail startup owner, you could gain the interest of people with a memorable line or phrase that spreads awareness about the brand.
Last call to #GetDREST with NARS. For this challenge, take it to the next level with a full face of NARS. Build your look with bestselling NARS icons alongside Air Matte and Climax Collections. Get started: https://t.co/8FeDsLa48P @DRESTstyle pic.twitter.com/y8aunwVJuF
— NARSCosmetics (@NARSCosmetics) October 14, 2021
Tweet Consistently
In the beginning, brands need to tweet actively and regularly throughout the day. It is also important to tweet during peak times which means that the content will be seen by a high number of people. HubSpot published a report on the best time to post on Twitter that is between 8 to 10 a.m.and later in the evening during 7 to 9 p.m.
Make sure that you post around 10 to 20 times in one day so that people can remember the business and look out for more information later on as well. Brands can promote their tweets and accounts so that more people are able to see it on their homepage. Try to make them engaging and offer something valuable to consumers. Threadless runs a highly responsive Twitter page and interacts with their followers regularly.
Are you wearing a #Threadless tee today? Show us how you styled it in the replies.
“All Good!”
🎨 gotoup
🛠https://t.co/ZfHV3TK3P9“Cool Ramen”
🎨 dzeri29
🛠https://t.co/v0WABCM6pY pic.twitter.com/kQOkFFGut5— threadless (@threadless) January 5, 2022
TikTok
This platform had been slowly gaining in popularity which increased significantly during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the social media app has around one billion active users who frequently post and engage with followers. It is a great way to reach out to a younger demographic and boost recognition among a different audience. Here are a few ideas that you can try for branding and marketing your products too.
Participate In or Create A Hashtag Challenge
On the social media channels, businesses or brands have the option of creating their own branded hashtag challenge. You can collaborate or partner with influencers who post relevant content and have a large following too. It is also a good idea to promote a trending hashtag as that can help boost visibility.
Elf cosmetics used an original song to run a campaign with the hashtag #eyeslipsface. The brand collaborated with influencers on Tiktok to promote the trend which went viral with around 8 billion posts and views.
Create Engaging Videos
Your content should offer value or entertain people who are visiting the profile for the first time. Look for ways to create engaging posts which showcase the products in the best way possible. The video can be a brief how-to tutorial or just an expert giving a few tips on using the item. This way, people will get an idea about the brand and make a well-informed decision easily as well.
Gymshark is one example of a company which has gained over 3 million followers on the platforms with their unique content. The videos shared by the brand are humorous, cover trending challenges and include information as well.
Image Source: tiktok.com/@gymshark
User-Generated Content
Mostly, brands share videos of influencers and followers using their products in unique ways on their TikTok pages. User-generated content such as styling videos, makeup tips or tutorials, reviews and testimonials can help establish credibility. It also encourages people to search for the brand and buy their products too.
Guess successfully managed to grow their following and promote their brand with a challenge that became hugely popular on Tiktok. People began sharing their videos with the hashtag #Inmydenims which showed different styles and outfits.
Wrapping Up
These are a few branding ideas for retail startups that can kick start their social media marketing campaign in 2022. You can try out a few for each popular platform and increase your following successfully on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. Those who are looking to create a logo design for their business should make sure that it is professional and scalable for digital channels.
