Note to self. Pretty Damage is a long-standing client of Maudlin Merchandise. We've worked together at various stages of our company and the Portuguese clothing brand, and I've watched them grow very closely. We're also fans of the way they communicate and sell.
This article will reflect our knowledge of the brand but - above all - how they take advantage of social media to sell online.
By now I think it's extremely obvious what the problem is with most Portuguese clothing brands. LACK OF SALES.
I'm not saying that, it's the brands themselves.
So how do you sell online? The answer is relatively simple.
- Own website
Nowadays, those who start a brand rarely choose to sell offline. Selling in shops is almost out of the question for many and - in my opinion - with good reason. The cost and time invested in selling off the Internet rarely pays off (with a few exceptions of markets specifically aimed at these small producers).
There are 6 million Portuguese with a Facebook account. In a country with 11 million people (take out minors and the elderly and you have a large number of active people on this social network), it's the most attractive market for any young person.
So why is it so hard to sell? In my humble opinion? Lack of understanding of how social networks work and how to take advantage of them.
Selling online is no easier than selling in a shop. You need a marketing strategy and lots and lots of persistence! Don't give up too soon.
This is where the example of The Pretty Damage comes in.
Let's look at the number of fans of the Facebook page. 9000+ at the time of writing.
For 90 per cent of the small clothing brands we work with, this figure is a dream. Heck, we don't have 9,000 Facebook fans ourselves.
How do they do it?
- They take advantage of digital influencers. Here are two fine examples:
Both pages have more than 4000 fans. It doesn't take much to get a few dozen likes for each post and - who knows - even a few sales.
I could give more examples (I found at least 2 more in a 2-minute search).
We've already talked about digital influencers on our YouTube channel:
- They have simple communication and don't just promote the brand.
Marketing 101. Se pareces demasiado desesperado, ninguém te vai comprar nada.
Facebook is a community. People don't come to Facebook to shop. To do this, they go to the shopping centres and online shops of the big retailers. Your weapon lies in the way you communicate with your potential customers.
Your weapon lies in the way you communicate with your potential customers. Out of 6 articles, 2 included decorated T-shirts and 4 had funny photos or texts that called for interaction. Extra points if they'd put the tag right in the first photo.
Did you know that if a "fan" likes or comments on a photo of a brand, that image is likely to appear in the feed of that fan's friends? Free advertising, anyone?
Worry more about people's feedback and interaction with your articles than the sale itself. That will come naturally.
I mentioned it at the beginning of the text and I'll mention it again now. The problem with many brands is that they don't understand how marketing works and aren't persistent.
Selling clothes online is much more than posting photos on Facebook and hoping for sales. It takes time, patience, persistence (and a bit of luck).
What I see most are brand pages that are almost abandoned or extremely badly managed. No relevant content, nothing that makes you want to buy anything.
We live in a world of ever more sharing. Share something about yourselves and the brand. Speak to your target audience. Speak their language!
Last tip...
- Garment your customers to send you photos in exchange for discounts
It's a simple strategy. Pede aos teus clientes (muitos ou poucos, não interessa) que publiquem fotos com a tua roupa e te metam "tag" ou usem uma #hashtag para que encontres essas fotos.
Then share that post or - even better - make a post yourself with that photo, using a funny text and tagging the person in question.
This is the part where you tell me. Jorge, but I'm just starting out, I don't have the money to give away t-shirts and I don't have the fans on my page for all this to happen naturally.
And it's also the part where I tell you. YOU'RE RIGHT. But you know what? More than selling, it's important that you look like you've sold.
Let me explain. You don't live in isolation. You have family, friends, people you can count on. Here's a solution - not very ethical, but effective - to your problem.
Garment several people wearing the same t-shirt on different days and in different places and take photos. Put it on your page to make it look like you have a good community of fans buying the clothes and you get - with a bit of luck - a snowball effect.
As I said, it's not the most ethical option, but it works, that's for sure.....
