There's no denying that Facebook is an essential tool in the lives of many people and companies.
Although I'm not in favour of "putting all our eggs in one basket" - which is to say, betting ONLY on Facebook to generate sales - it's undoubtedly an opportunity we can't afford to miss.
Although I'm not in favour of "putting all our eggs in one basket" - which is to say, betting ONLY on Facebook to generate sales - it's undoubtedly an opportunity we can't afford to miss. With a huge ecosystem and more than 6 million Portuguese on the platform, there's no escaping the importance of social media in our lives and in a clothing brand's sales.
To avoid this article being too long, we're going to split it into two parts.
In this article you'll learn some essential points:
- Create a fan page for your brand
- Get fans for your page
- Use Facebook adverts strategically
- How to create posts that generate interaction
In the next article we'll talk about some other points in more depth.
Make a fan page
This is the first point, and yes, I know it's basic and I'm not teaching you anything new, but creating a fan page is the first point in this adventure of selling clothes online. You can start by trying to "get a foothold" on your own profile, but to be taken seriously and grow beyond your friend base, you need a fan page for your brand.
Get fans for your page
This is when things start to get a little more complicated and you need to create a good strategy. Personally, I have a lot of resistance to putting "likes" on pages and I think the feeling is very common, so it's important that you get it right.
1. Start by inviting your friends and people you think might be interested in buying t-shirts from your clothing brand.
2. Make a few posts on your personal profile talking about your brand. Don't do the typical article where you put in a few photos and garment likes. Share your idea and concept, garment opinions and make your brand appear on your friends' feeds via your personal page. This will generate more likes on your fan page.
3. When you feel you have a sufficient audience on your fan page, start promoting it in the same way. Make posts talking about the brand and the items (take, for example, the quality of the T-shirts and why you chose that model (organic cotton, different cut, ecological decoration method, etc).
Use Facebook adverts
This is not a popular opinion, but there's no denying that it works. Note that we're not telling you to spend €100 on adverts. On Facebook you can spend €1/day and that's exactly what I recommend. You can advertise for a single day or - what we recommend - you can advertise permanently. Make an advert for 15 days (1€/day = 15€) and a different one as soon as the first one ends.
In one month you invest 30€ in your brand and I can guarantee that you'll grow your community of fans.
Please note that this is not the same as buying likes. Don't be Isaltino, worry about the quality of the fans, not the quantity. It's no use having fans from Egypt if you have no interest in that market. Segment things well.
Don't just "boost" a photo post either. Create a specific post for that advert or take one that is receiving good feedback. Above all, you have to create something that will grab people's attention. It can be a photo or a video (recommended) and a short text talking about the brand. Something that makes you want to like the page.
Don't use the 6 million people who have Facebook in Portugal or everyone in Europe as a basis. Segment!!
To segment, it's important to know your target audience, to whom you want to sell your brand.
Here's an example:
- You want to sell your brand to men between 18 and 30 who like surfing.
In the description of the target audience, you'll select the age of the people, their sex and the region. For the region, you can choose the whole of Portugal or just your city. For test and demonstration purposes, let's say you're one of us and you want to sell to people in Aveiro.
Suddenly the 6 million Portuguese became just a few thousand. Now only residents of Aveiro who like or practise surfing will see your advert. It's the same as having a shop in a surfing destination, it's easier to find your target audience and generate "buzz" around the brand, avoiding all the onlookers who don't add anything to your community.
Interact with these fans
Don't try to force sales all the time. One of the biggest mistakes we see on Facebook is brands that don't have a personality, that just want to push T-shirts. Posts saying "go go go" or "15€, orders by message" are more than plenty and are the worst thing you can do.
Your fans aren't piggy banks, treat them like people and use Facebook to communicate with them, not to sell.
Create a conversation, write articles that get them to like and comment on your posts.
Did you know that whenever someone comments on a post on your fan page, that comment appears in the feed of that person's friends? With just one comment you can reach dozens/hundreds more people.
If you get good interaction with fans, you can quickly replace the financial investment of adverts with organic reach (people who see your posts and page without having to pay for it).
Whatever you do, don't let your fan page gather dust. Respond to comments, post frequently, see what people like and optimise for that segment.
In the next article we'll continue talking about how to sell clothes on Facebook with some more in-depth topics and tips that are guaranteed to work.
