How to Successfully Advertise Online Within the Fashion Retail Industry
Online advertising within the fashion retail industry is bigger than it has ever been before. With all the different social media networks, blogs, article websites, picture posting and all the other resources out there, figuring out where and how to even start can be quite overwhelming so we will be covering a few basic ideas in order to successfully advertise your products online.
For more reasons than none, advertising a single product line can be much easier and faster than advertising a company with many different types of products. At first thought, you may think it is the other way around and a company with many different types of products is much easier to advertise since you have more products to talk about and you will probably be involved in different sectors, which in time creates a more diverse background creating more opportunities to advertise not only online but anywhere.
In some cases this can be true but for this particular case we are speaking in terms of product optimization, which is much more straightforward and organized than optimizing for an entire company with various types of product. This specific advertising also serves as a starting ground for a larger and more diverse company in the future.
Since we are specifically speaking in terms of fashion apparel and retail companies, let’s say you have just manufactured a pair of premium denim jeans that are similar to some of the most popular premium denim brands out there but you are able to offer them at a fraction of the cost. You could create a website and blog specifically targeting your premium denim jeans in order to get direct traffic from people searching those exact keywords. You could also create social accounts and post articles all targeting premium denim jeans. Make the online world of retail revolve around your product.
It is much easier to target a group of keywords relating to the same topic than it is to target a group of keywords that are scattered throughout a general category. All of this keyword targeting is a large part of how online retailers are successful that didn’t have any type of prior advertising. To make this thought more clear, let’s go back to premium denim jeans. If this same individual or company decided to go a different route and sell t-shirts, shoes, sweaters, shorts and watches on top of their jeans, they wouldn’t get the same results because they would be optimizing for clothing in general. Yes, they could after a considerable amount of time but nothing compared to the time frame of one particular product. Concentrating all your online advertising energy on one specific product creates success.
If you look at specialty brands that are successful it is because they have focused heavily on one particular product, which draws attention to their other products. Sticking with premium denim, look at brands like True Religion Brand Jeans, 7 For All Mankind or even Rock & Republic. They all initially started out with premium denim jeans and now they are known for their other apparel and accessories as well as their overall lifestyle.
This last topic of online advertising within the fashion industry is an article in itself so we are going to keep this short and to the point and save all the details for another day. Say you have already created a website with a blog, created an account with every social media network you can think of and have articles posted, press releases submitted and the whole nine yards but you still want more. Say hello to affiliate programs. There are many out there, some better than others, but pick a solid one like Commission Junction or Google Affiliate Network. This will allow you to submit your product catalog to thousands of people who then post your products on their websites to be sold. Yes, you have to give these people a commission, usually 5-15%, but the potential for spreading the word about your product is endless and could be one of the most effective ways to advertise online within the fashion industry.
Breaking News Advertising is Dead!
Don’t agree?
Please ask your wife, husband or significant other-in other words, the nearest typical consumer-to answer the following 7 questions:
1.Does viewing pop-up ads on your computer curl your toes in orgasmic delight? Yes or No?
2.Does a mailbox filled with junk mail cause your palms to itch and sweat with nervous anticipation? Yes or No?
3.Do you suffer from outbursts of violent anger when a TV commercial is interrupted by a TV movie? Yes or No?
4.Do you prance around the parking lot with ecstatic abandon whenever you find a flyer on your car’s windshield? Yes or No?
5.Does keeping a phone next to your soup spoon on your dinner table (for fear of missing the next telemarketer’s call) help your digestion? Yes or No?
6.Do you drink pots of black coffee at 10 pm so you can stay awake to watch 30-minute infomercials at 4 am? Yes or No?
7.Do you drool at the thought of spending $300 on an iPhone just so you can see interactive ads on its big, cool screen? Yes or No?
Have I made my point? Yes or No?
Advertising is dead. If you’re a marketer… save your money.
Consumers have been over-advertised to and over-sold.
Unless you’re conducting a white sale, fire sale or going out of business sale-and halving or quartering your prices-advertising won’t get you a bang, a whimper or a nickel for your buck. Not anymore.
The only ads that still earn their keep are those in newspapers and on supermarket windows that read:
Big SALE Buy 1 Can of Campbell Soup for 89 Cents and Get a 2nd Can-FREE! Supplies limited! (or something like that)
Beyond that, the first reaction most consumers have when viewing any other type ad is not to believe anything it says.
And if they have no need, desire or knowledge of you, your product or your service, their second reaction is to play basketball. Their arm and hand muscles reflexively contract, causing them to roll up your ad into a tight little ball and shoot for the nearest basket.
Beware the Consumer’s Anti-Ad Third Eye
Because the consumer has become so desensitized to advertisements in general, if you don’t shove your ad, sales letter or flyer directly and firmly into their hands-they won’t even notice it.
It’s as if they’ve developed an anti-ad third eye that instinctively alerts them to an ad’s presence and then immediately shoot’s a signal to the brain-instructing their other two eyes not to see it.
For example…
How often, when surfing the web, have you run across a web page with a bright red, 40-word, one-sentence headline, ending with an exclamation mark or two or three?
Unless you’re searching for that particular web page, the average information-seeking web-surfer will immediately recognize that site as an ad, and click away-without even reading two words of it.
The same thing happens when reading the newspaper, or driving past a billboard on the highway…consumers simply refuse to look at the ads.
So What’s a Marketer to Do?
Advertorialize!
Huh? I’ll explain…
The success of the internet has proven one thing above all else. Human beings, which includes consumers, are addicted to information.
Google, the internet version of a library card catalog, exists, thrives, dominates and will eventually own the world, because consumers are in a constant, never-ending search for more and more information.
And why do consumers want ever more information that will convince, compel and persuade them to a certain point of view?
So they can make the most efficient, prudent and intelligent choice about whatever it is they want to own, possess, consume or BUY.
Yes, BUY.
Though consumers hate to be sold; they still love, nevertheless, to BUY.
And their decision to buy is most effectively influenced when they are provided with information that supports, confirms and increases their already resident desire to BUY!
Enter the Advertorial
The advertorial is an ad disguised as an editorial. A cunning wolf in sheep’s clothing. It’s roughly 80% useful, compelling and persuasive information and 20% sales pitch.
It will never mention the name of the product, its features or benefits in the headline. Because that would be too obvious-it would scream ad and will immediately activate the consumer’s anti-ad third eye.
Instead, in a newspaper, in a direct mail promotion, or on the internet the advertorial will attract attention and readership by merely dangling the tantalizing promise of free actionable and profitable information… if the reader will only continue to read on.
An advertorial headline won’t scream: LOSE 10LBS OF FAT IN 10 DAYS OR YOUR MONEY BACK!!
Instead, the advertorial headline will read: John Hopkins Research PhD discovers active ingredient in ice cream that causes rapid weight loss.
Then the advertorial will proceed to show and prove, in pseudo-journalistic fashion, the What, Why, Who, Where and When of how the product or service does precisely what the consumer wants and needs.
The advertorial delivers valuable, documented information that relentlessly leads the reader to the inevitable conclusion that the solution to their problem or need is… whatever it is you’re selling.
It doesn’t look, taste or smell like an ad, and the consumer’s anti-ad third eye will never see it coming.
Try it… you’ll like it.
[Top]Gain Massive Exposure Of Customers By Outdoor Advertising Flags And Banners
Outdoor advertising flags and banners are remarkably effective solutions for advertising or promoting different marketing campaigns. Location plays a crucial role to achieve the best out of these outdoor vinyl banners. One should keep in mind about the location while making final choice for advertising flags and banners. In order to attract massive attention, marketing flags should be placed at that site where potential customers can easily see these banners from a distance as well as close up. A right selection of location, content and design of outdoor vinyl flags and banners can make ones business known to every person who passes by. Now, one can easily customize outdoor advertising flags and banners with all the appropriate information, marketing policies and extensive service portfolios.
Choose a perfect design and banner
A quality and colorful advertising banner can patronize clients business in a most effective way and heighten the trade to a next level. Design elements should be attractive and contemporary. Extend the clients base with the efficient location, information, design and banner quality. Nowadays, banner printing industries are continuously rising in the market as trade show displays and banners are in demand amongst corporate activities.
Choose the banner that lasts long
A wide variety of publicizing banners are available in the market for business or home usage, which will remain good for a longer time. These are armed with some beneficial features like UV resistant, easy to install, waterproof and many more. Quality is basically defined by their fabricating materials and designing processes. Usage of thick material during fabrication can enhance its lifespan. Generally outdoor advertising flags and banners last for a long time as these are primarily coated with scrim vinyl polymers which effectively prevent the fading of graphics and content due to continued exposure to sunlight. These displays are considered as a great way to drive sales and generate interest amongst potential customers.
Site selection
Keep in mind about the perfect location before considering outdoor advertising flags and banners to promote the highlighted business campaigns and offerings. Outdoor banners as well as flags can be easily installed at any sites as they are firmly fabricated to deal with abnormal weather conditions. These vinyl banners are printed with all-weather heavy materials of the international standards quality. All the flags and vinyl displays are designed under the presence of experienced professionals to ensure maximum reliability and quality.
[Top]Detailed Information On How B2b Websites Work
B2B websites can offer huge opportunities for international traders. This article offers detailed information on how these business to business websites work.
A B2B website serves two parties – the buyer and the seller. These are also known as leads. The main function of this website is to enable visitors to find the leads they want in the shortest possible time. A buyer may be looking for seller leads, and a seller may be looking for buyer leads.
By using the search function, one can easily locate the right type of leads on a B2B website. The search tool will allow a visitor to search by country, and to view only buyer or seller leads. The search starts when the visitor enters a few keywords (likely to be keywords for some product or service), select the required options, and click on the search button. The website will then make a query to the database and return the search results.
Alternatively, a visitor may choose to browse the leads in the business directory. Similarly, he can choose to see leads from a certain country, or only buyer or seller leads. These two simple functions will help the visitor locate the leads that he wants quickly.
To serve the needs of international traders, the better B2B websites even allow freight forwarders to list their services for free. This is important for any import export business. With the information, an online visitor can easily check the charges for using these services when importing from various countries. In addition, you may also expect to see information for trade show events that are posted for free by trade event organizers.
Given the numerous benefits offered by B2B websites, one would expect a listing to be pricey. However, contrary to popular believe, a listing in a B2B website can cost as little as 25 USD a year. Often, B2B also allow businesses to sign up for free. They do so because they want businesses to try out their services, and also because they want to attract as many leads as possible. Active B2B directories with many active business listings are certainly more valuable to international traders.
Sometimes, when visiting a B2B website, you may come across a special feature called “Keyword Auction”. Keyword auction allows businesses to bid for higher positions in the B2B directory. For example, when a user searches using a keyword phrase “phone”, your contact details may be listed at the bottom of the page. As such, the user didn’t have a chance to contact you. For more exposure, you may want to consider using this feature to bid for a higher position. This gives you greater visibility, and will allow you to receive more leads.
Finally, for maximum exposure, you can always buy banner advertising on a B2B website. This is more costly than listing services or keyword auction, but it will attract attention more easily. If the products and services you offer have a more general appeal, this advertising channel may work well for you.
As you can see, there are many ways to advertise your services on a B2B website. Be sure to choose those that will give you the maximum return on investment.
[Top]LinkedIn PPC Advertising – Is it just another PPC Ads Platform
You can reach out to your target market by using LinkedIn Advertising. This is another Social Media Pay Per Click platform. LinkedIn PPC Advertising uses demographic targeting, structured like the Facebook advertising. The LinkedIn PPC advertising is known as LinkedIn Direct Ads. Facebook PPC Advertising is strictly more result-oriented for -business to consumer- models. On the other hand, LinkedIn Advertising records more success with -business to business- models.
LinkedIn PPC advertising works like any other Pay Per Click advertising – meaning that you must spell out an identifiable goal in your mind prior to getting ahead with the campaign. It is also necessary to have insights on the makeup of your target market and on the common characteristics of this target market.
Find out the demographics you can target using LinkedIn Direct Ads
Conspicuously, you are likely to reach less number of prospective users as you get more granular!
As mentioned earlier, the LinkedIn PPC is structured like Facebook Advertising, where you can incorporate text and may also employ a 50 by 50 pixel image if you choose to do so. Experts recommend the use of an image to aid outstanding ads and thus increase the chances of evoking the interest of a user.
Tracking your LinkedIn advertising effort is very essential. Bear in mind that LinkedIn does not make conversion tracking available. Consequently, ensure that you create goals in Google Analytics with ads attached to track traffic. Be a fast learner and follow the quick path of online marketing strategies that make the most out of LinkedIn Pay Per Click Advertising and other PPC advertising options.
Jeff Matthews is a freelance writer who writes about Internet marketing ideas To know about this subject and Jeff please visit http://www.aceinternetmarketing.co.uk a>
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