vintage clothing

If you are unaware of what ModCloth is, you must not be into old-timey, vintage women’s clothes, accessories, and home décor. But really, who isn’t? I’m going to assume that most people are huge fans of this brand. I know I am. One thing I like about ModCloth is their amazing content marketing strategy. They really know how to organically sell themselves, and through this, they have shed a light on the retro, vintage appearance in general. Because marketing is so important, companies that do it well are always the ones people should be looking to follow. ModCloth is an example of these content leaders. For a group that is dedicated to vintage apparel, they sure are forward-thinking in their marketing. 7 Ways ModCloth’s Content Is Killer ModCloth has several content strategies that I love but here are six (and a half) things that they do that I think are especially innovative. 1. They use real models. If you go to the ModCloth website, you will not always see the average model. ModCloth sometimes even uses their own employees to show off their great designs. In fact a campaign they ran earlier this year took several of their employees of all different sizes and had them model the same swimsuit. ModCloth makes use of ‘real’ models in many different ways. They were one of the first retailers to sign the “Heroes Pledge for Advertisers,” which consists of guidelines on limiting Photoshop use in ads. They boosted their plus-size collection shortly after they signed the pledge. If you want to model for them, they make it easy for you to apply even if you do not have modelling experience straight from their website. In fact, they claim that they often find models in untraditional places, from, in their own words, “parties and shopping districts to airports and libraries.” The reason this works is because they are committed to making clothes for the everyday girl, and they realize that if they want to sell to that everyday girl, they need to show potential customers what someone like them would look like wearing that outfit. Plus, not for nothing, it got talked about in the Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Gloss, Cosmopolitan, and tons of other big name markets. Lesson to Learn: Be up front and honest about your product. If you try to flatter and deceive, customers might use you once, but they won’t come back. Plus, this is such a rare concept that when you do it, tons of people will want to cover it. 2. They keep their retro-y vibe even in modern-y formats. As does any e-retailers, and hopefully most if not all retailers, ModCloth has a blog, a Twitter account, Instagram, Tumblr, and you get the picture. All of these social media platforms have something big in common: they are all decidedly un-vintage. How can a company that is dedicated to celebrating all things retro use modern forms of marketing? The answer is by turning those modern forms into a retro playground. If you look at ModCloth content, you still get that vintage feel that you would expect from them. Through color schemes, images, and product descriptions, you forget that you are using technology from this era as you are transported back to the time that ModCloth wants you to envision. What is the lesson here for all employees, though? Remember who your audience is. You might not have young women who love that old-time feel as your target reader. So don’t advertise for them. But do figure out who you want to target, and then make sure your content reflects the image you want those people to feel. Don’t let technology control you. To an extent, you have to follow the crowd. If Twitter is where the people are, you have to be on Twitter. However, just because you need to use these modern marketing methods does not mean you have to market on their terms. Turn these formats into platforms to showcase your visions. 3. They let their customers upload images. Similar to the real life models point, ModCloth is great about encouraging people to upload their own images. Other places do this, but I have never seen it done quite as much as I have on ModCloth’s site. When you go to view an item, you can see whole galleries of real customers wearing that same piece. This is a great concept for so many different reasons. Free models. The more you get people to show off your product without having to pay them, the better it is for you. Customers feel like they are part of your team. When you let them help, customers feel like they are part of the family. And the more they feel like they are part of the family, the more they are likely to remain a loyal customer. People see what it looks like off the shelf. One of the worst things about shopping online is that you cannot see how you will look in an outfit before purchasing. Just because it looks good on a model, does not mean it will look good on you. And even if the model is just an ordinary person, the photographer is taking the picture at just the right angle with just the right light. However, if you get to see the outfit worn by someone of the same size as you (the uploaders include their measurements and the size they ordered to help make picking the right size easier) in a real life situation, you are more likely to purchase it. What should you take away here? Let your customers get in on your content marketing plan. They’ll give you free marketing and will want to keep coming back.   4. They give you access to their stylists. ModCloth makes it easy to get the information you want most through their ModStylist feature. Most sites have a chat feature where you can talk to a customer service rep. But ModCloth takes it … Read more