Creating an experience has long been a focal point for fashion and luxury brands. After all, the experience of your brand is one of the main elements that set it apart from the competition. When it comes to online, brands spend anywhere from tens of thousands to millions of dollars engineering the right “experience” that both upholds the existing image and communicates the current message.
Now, in a fragmented digital marketplace, where users have endless destinations and options, brands need to ensure that their online positions aren’t just attractive, but attracting…visitors, that is. Whether it’s a brand’s digital flagship, a campaign microsite or a separate blog, a common problem is that, beyond the initial uptick in traffic attributed to press, a consistent increase in traffic is rarely seen. Why is this?
1. Search Engine Optimization: Search may just be the most important element in any web position. Building your website to be indexed by search engines goes beyond the basics of having your site rank at the top for searches on the brand name. From the name of the creative director to the names of each and every new collection, product and campaign message, keyword strategy should be constantly adapting to ensure your site turns up when it’s most relevant to a user’s query. This will ultimately increase not just traffic, but the amount of qualified visitors to your site.
2. Lack of Utility: Whether it’s the Tumblr or the Ecommerce site, ask yourself, “What does this site allow users to do?” Utility should always be action-oriented. When in doubt, stick to the basics of See (browse product and content), Share (interact both with the brand on-site and off-site with the larger social graph) and Shop (purchase). Now that the site’s purpose is clear, is the functionality in place to make this easy? Sites without a clear utility don’t provide enough purpose to attract users on an ongoing basis.
3. Stagnant Content: Is your site content getting stale? What engaging content are you using to hook in your audience and keep them coming back regularly for more? The sections of a site that are most expected to be updated are the homepage, collection pages for ecommerce, and the blog.
4. An Absent Community: Depending on the nature of the site, your brand may or may not feel comfortable allowing user generated content. Regardless, though, each digital property should foster a sense of activity, even if that’s by showing the number of likes or pulling in a Twitter stream.
5. No Form of Outreach: If you’re relying solely on just one item above to drive traffic without outreach, chances are that you’re in store for an uphill battle. Whether it’s email campaigns, search engine marketing, paid advertising or blogger collaborations, outreach is a critical component to increasing the breadth and depth of any audience.
Bottom line: a “Field of Dreams” approach to marketing in today’s digital age isn’t enough to drive true, long-lasting impact and exposure.
Photo Credits: Jasper White
