Creating Stylish Content: Stay Ahead of the Content Marketing Curve in 4 Simple Steps

People use fashion to tell a story about who they are and what they want to be. Consumers look for styles that fit not only their own personal narrative and lifestyle but also the narrative and lifestyle they aspire to have. 

To meet these needs, fashion brands need to offer a story that taps into the dreams of their target audience — a story customers can identify with. Not sure how to connect the story of your brand with your customers? Content marketing can help. 

Whether it’s blog posts or social media updates, great content can show your audience how your brand can help them project an identity, throw an attitude, or spice up their otherwise humdrum lives. But like a great garment, the content has to be well tailored. 

Here are four steps to designing a sartorial content marketing strategy that’s sure to get you noticed by style-conscious consumers. 

Step 1: Understand your brand and target audience

In an environment where content is everywhere, the only way to win is by knowing your brand voice and your demographic intimately. 

As you know, customers are not just sales figures or data points. they’re real people, so get to know them. Track social media channels to see what your target demographic is wearing, which designers and brands they follow, which celebrity’s runway looks they love or loathe. What do they do for fun: Are they active and outdoorsy or bookish and laid back? You can even contact a few directly and ask them questions about what they like about and want to see from your brand. Your goal is to understand your customers, explore their lifestyles, discover their aspirations, and establish how your brand fits into that narrative.

Step 2: Think like a magazine editor 

Once you’ve gotten to know your customers better, you’re ready to create content for them. Today’s digitally savvy consumer doesn’t want to be at the receiving end of a hard sell. Instead, show your consumers how to integrate your products into their daily lives by offering content that inspires them to live a stylish life.

Take your cue from the wildly successful women’s apparel brand Madewell. The Madewell Musings blog covers the latest fashionable lifestyles while also delving into subjects like music, art, and literature. The posts read like a magazine that gives you access to a chic lifestyle you want for yourself. Madewell’s Instagram account is equally effective at promotion, featuring the beautiful photography of fashionistas. 

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box like luxury fashion retailer Net-a-Porter. This brand’s weekly online magazine, The Edit, brings luxury and whimsy to the fore with exquisite photo shoots, captivating written profiles on fashion’s biggest names, and articles that pair fashion with humanitarian topics. The magazine’s large readership translates to big sales, because readers can easily buy featured products with the click of a button. 

Your web presence can also offer blog posts featuring designers, stylists, and fashion trends — whatever is most relevant and delicious to your audience — to keep them coming back for more. 

Step 3: Tailor your content to your consumers’ needs

After gathering information and sketching out your content strategy, the most critical, and challenging, step is to tailor your content to fit your clients’ needs.

Fashion brands all over the world are personalizing their content with their ideal consumers in mind. E-retailer ASOS is a perfect illustration. Since 2014, the fashion brand has tagged nine in-house stylists to curate video content, product edits, and social media profiles. By making personal stylists available for live chat seven days a week, ASOS communicates a clear brand identity that is “young, trendy, helpful and fun,” while building customer loyalty with a valuable service.

How can you be the next ASOS? Create relevant blog posts, social media updates, and even personalized guidance for shoppers to try on your brand and make it their own.

Step 4: Turn your customers into stars 

Your consumers want your products to fit into their lives, but they also want to see themselves fitting into your brand. Encourage fans and followers to share photos of themselves wearing your clothes or styling their friends and family. Write up their stories and looks with well-written blog posts that salute their fashion sense. Think of the high-quality captions in the interviews and posts on the Humans of New York Facebook feed, and apply that level of storytelling, writing, and creativity to your brand. 

To stand out from the crowd and get noticed, you need to tell a story that your readers will want to be part of. Offering well-crafted posts that showcase your style and display your brand’s authenticity is one of the most effective ways to be seen and heard. 

Want help with content that tells a compelling story about your fashion brand? Sign up today for free, no-obligation access to our platform. Our writers have worked in the fashion industry with top brands. We’ll help you share your brand’s unique story.