Social Media For Niche Brand's Do & Don'ts

Just got back from a wonderful weekend in Milan, visiting esxence 2019 and had the great honor of speaking in the event. My topic was Social Media For Niche Brands Do & Don'ts.

Since I received so many great feedbacks from those of you who attended, and massages from those who missed the conference, I've decided to create a short summary of my lecture.

You can implement these do & don'ts not only for niche brands, but also if you are a retailer, or an online/offline brand owner

I will start straight from the point where I realized out of my own experience working with niche brands, that doing social media for niche brands is fundamentally content creation.

content creation is the key to your brand marketing in social media but not only... it's also your key to the offline world.

Here are the DO & DONT'S

DO

Set your goal

it needs to be clear to you and your team. Is it creating brand awareness? or maybe online sales? engagements? once you have sharpened your goal, the road will be clearer.

and just a hint… self satisfaction is not a goal

DON’T Focus only on one channel

There are a very wide variety of channels in which you can produce content for your audiences, Instagram and Facebook are not the only ones. Think carefully where your audiences are, and how they like to consume their content. My recomendation is to pick 2 -4 channels.

DO

Tell your story right

Storytelling is THE buzzword. If you don't know how to tell your story properly you are missing the point. Good stories evokes feeling and emotions, and help us connect to brands and products.

DON’T Act as a mainstream brand

This is perhaps the biggest paradox in the niche perfume industry. most of the niche brands dream of becoming mainstream, or being bought by big groups, which is completely against the concept of being a niche brand. but... remember that large groups are looking for interesting brands that have strong identity and gained themselves audiences .

You're niche and that's what you need to emphasize in all the content you create both online and offline.

DO

Know your audiences

Who are they? What do they like? What content do they consume and where? What do they do in the real world outside the social networks? create content from the perspective of your audiences.

DON’T Create content for yourself

It's a trap. and a very easy one to fall into. the content you create needs to convey the main idea of your brand. it will be easy for you once you determine your brand values, you want to create content that draws the target audiences, and not yourself.

DO Build community around your brand

Think not only about attracting audiences but also about building a real community around your brand. communities,are the thing! think about how you give your community value without pushing your brand in an agressive way. One of my favorite example of this point in the perfume industry is the Guerlain - Olfaplay app, where peaple can share there stories and memories about perfumes and scents. Think about what your brand values and which community you can cultivate around one or more of those values.

DON'T Work on auto pilot

Do not work on an automatic pilot. Make sure your content is quality and valuable. It's not the quantity that matters, but the quality and value that you are giving.

DO

Create The Perfect encounter beetween online & offline

Social Media is streaming into the offline world. thats a fact!

make sure that the experience you create online goes on to the real world as well. think about you creating special events for your audiences wheter you have your own concept store or selling via retailers. Make sure your brand looks perfect and the same in every POS and market it is in and that peaple gets the Look & Feel whenever they "meet" your brand.

Don’t Do Work without a content strategy plan

You need to decide what are the channels you are working with, what you intend to do with each channel, what content you want to produce, and how many times a week/mounth and how often.

DO

"Speak" in one language

A language that communicates your brand values, a language that speaks even without words.

Don’t Do

Look unprofessional

If you're not good at content writing take someone to do it for you. Your visual content need to be proffesional and reflects your brand vibe. it has to be part of your agenda if you intend to stay in the game over time.

DO

Express yourself !

Niche is all about individuality, express yourself, don't be like everyone else.

Niche is an expression of individualism

Don’t Do

Inconsistent

No matter what of content you create, be consistent. don't disappear to your audiences unless you want them to move to other brand

DO

Interesting Collaborations

I love collaborations. Interesting collaborations are a great way to stay in your audience minds. be exposed to new audiences and make sure your brand does not step in one place.