Digital Determination: keeping a strong digital presence post-lockdown
This week, we interviewed three bridal boutique owners who insist on the importance of a digital presence through social platforms as we emerge out of the latest lockdown.
How have you adapted your approach to social media during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Laura May Bridal: During the lockdown, social media was our main point of contact with future brides. It kept us in touch with everyone, and showed people we are still here and raring to go, despite our physical store being closed. We have had time to really focus on digitally connecting with our brides, utilising reels and TikTok, which have definitely led to an increase in our followers.
Natalie Ann Brides: Early on in the pandemic, I realised that my insights were roaring when I published Instagram stories based upon my own personal opinion. Customers relied on my thoughts as they assumed the information was evidence from my following. I used polls to ask the brides on their individual opinions, which collectively allowed brides from around the globe to gauge more evidence to help them with decision-making.
What social media platforms have you used the most and why?
Eva Ashley Bridal: Instagram has more features such as reels, music, and voting, which enable us to better engage with our audience, though TikTok has such a wide reach. It’s a great way to market your business for free in a really creative way.
Natalie Ann Brides: Instagram! Your followers truly become your friends: you need them as much as they need you. You build up a trusted relationship and eventually a great sale, without even thinking about it.
Laura May Bridal: For us, it has been Instagram all the way. Despite having double the followers on our Facebook and Twitter accounts, we use Instagram on a daily basis, as it shows a true reflection of our brand identity and our values. It’s all about documenting your current collections and what your boutique is up to.
What advice do you have for boutique owners who wish to grow their social media presence?
Laura May Bridal: Make sure your social platforms are being updated and regularly used. Keep up to date with the latest trends and apps to stay current and appeal to what your followers are seeing at the moment. The most important way to grow our social presence at the moment is to establish more of a brand presence on our feed, for everything to flow in unison. Our followers know who we are and what we are about before they even get in touch.
Eva Ashley: Don’t be afraid to show your face on social media - it’s important for your audience to see behind the business and to add a personal touch, and be relatable. It’s so refreshing for your audience to see you’re an approachable store.
What advice would you give to boutique owners who are looking to start a TikTok account?
Natalie Ann Brides: Keep it simple, short and sweet! No need for fancy filters or features.
Laura May Bridal: Set up an account, play around with it all and search for ideas - it will soon feel like second nature. Anything new can feel overwhelming, but the sooner you start the easier it will be.
Have you had to change your approach to social media since the return of non-essential retail?
Eva Ashley Bridal: Yes. We now ask our brides in advance of their appointments to ‘like and save’ images of dresses they are interested in, so we have definitely been more consistent with our content to ensure brides have lots of inspiration in readiness for their appointments.
Natalie Ann Brides: Social media is all about moving with the changes, though it’s important to make a smooth transition. We have added an FAQ’s highlight and weekly updates on our Instagram stories with coronavirus updates for non-essential retail.
Laura May Bridal: Absolutely. We use social media as a marketing tool and to showcase our business. We feel we have now shown a real personal approach to our followers. During the pandemic, we used it to sell our stock with virtual sales and highlight our new store events. The sale event was the best we have had in ten years, with more than half our stock being bought and not a single dress was tried on!
How have you coped with keeping up a digital presence during such a busy period?
Laura May Bridal: We allocate for it and have weekly plans for scheduling. We also have a designated social media manager whose responsibility it is to keep up to date with our platform pages and create new and exciting content. It is a vital part of our business and needs to be kept on top of at all times.
Eva Ashley Bridal: Quality is always better than quantity. Always plan time for your content.
Do you think your digital presence has helped conversion rates at your boutique?
Natalie Ann Brides: We have definitely seen an increase in sales conversions based on the content we have created. Our brides coming in are already in love with our dresses, and as lockdown has given brides a lot more time to plan their wedding, more and more are getting inspiration from social media.
Eva Ashley Bridal: Absolutely. We have brides travelling from all over the country now, and they come into the store in absolute awe. We have built up such an important relationship with our followers during lockdown that they have said yes before saying yes! Genuinely, it’s a full time job in itself, but if you put your heart and soul into it you’ll be rewarded with lots of sales and reliable customers.
What are your top tips for how best to manage social media accounts and the time spent on them?
Laura May Bridal: Have a social media manager who is the main organiser of your feed and stories. This helps keep consistency with your posts and new content appearing regularly on your pages. We make sure we don’t over post on our feed - one post could draw all the attention you need rather than bombarding your followers with several in the same day. Lastly, enjoy it! You can show you as an individual as well as your business which is something we had never done before, but the pandemic has shown us just how important this is and that our brides buy in to us as well as the labels we stock.
Eva Ashley Bridal: Do your research and analyse your data. Instagram will give you a glimpse into what days/times your audience is most active - post at those peak times to ensure you get the best reach and engagement from your audience.
For more inspiration, make sure to follow these social media savvy boutiques below:
Natalie Ann Brides
Instagram: @natalie_ann_brides
TikTok: @natalieannbrides
Eva Ashley Bridal
Instagram: @evaashleybridal
TikTok: @evaashleybridallounge
Laura May Bridal
Instagram: @lauramaybridal
TikTok: @lauramaybridalltd
You may also like
