Best ways to utilize social media in your business. A case study of Pretty Little Thing

Social media. There's no doubt you've heard about it a million times and you probably know a lot about it, but the real question is, what do you do with it? To have fun and stay connected with friends and family? In that case, you are really missing out on all that social media has to offer. The potential of social media for business growth is there if you know how to use it.

A business's soul lies in its ability to be on time, where it is needed, and when it is needed.

A business is an enterprise engaged in commercial, industrial, or professional activities. Producing and selling goods and services for profit is an organized effort and activity of individuals. Businesses exist to maximize profits for their owners while maintaining corporate social responsibility.

What’s Social Media?

Virtual communities and social networks are platforms for creating and sharing information, ideas, and other forms of expression using social media. While there are numerous social media examples, let's look at examples like Facebook, Twitter. Media sharing networks such as Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, etc.

People and organizations use these social networks to connect online and share ideas and information. They are invaluable for building brand awareness, generating leads, engaging audiences, and most of your social marketing goals.

Wonders of social media for your business

  • Increases brand awareness
  • Humanize your brand
  • Remain top of mind
  • Promote sales
  • Influencer partnerships
  • Virality
  • Reputation management

Now let’s take a look at how Social Media has helped the popular “Pretty Little Thing”

Fashion retailer, PrettyLittleThing is based in the UK. Its products include women's apparel, footwear, accessories, and beauty products for women between 16 and 35 years of age. In the beginning, the brand was only marketed as an accessory brand with limited products. Having expanded since then, the company now operates in several international markets including the US, Ireland, Australia, Middle East, France, and Canada. PrettyLittleThing was co-founded in 2012 by Umar Kamani and his brother Adam Kamani until January 2017, before being acquired by their father’s Mahmud Kamani’s company Boohoo.

It has 6.3 million active customers and generates an eye-watering $694 million in revenue.

The Secret

According to Founder and CEO Umar Kamani, the secret to exceptional success is "always being there for the customer." In His words, He said, “we react to what the customer wants and what customers need”. How was he able to achieve this? He said “we don’t have an expensive brick and mortar retail estate and we don’t do costly TV advertising. Instead, we use the wonder of Social Media”. That's it? Certainly. As simple as that.

Social Media works wonders for those who know how to harness it.

Pretty Little Thing Social Media Strategy

Pretty Little Thing has about 15million followers on Instagram alone. This they use to their advantage. Most people use Instagram as a reflection tool. People can tell a lot about who you are from your Instagram, including your interests, what you do, and who you do it with. That's where social media marketing comes in. Instagram themes are vital (or, social media marketing), as they create an image of a brand. Social media marketing is becoming an increasingly important part of brand building for all brands.

PLT case study

For its marketing campaign, Pretty Little Thing chose to use 'real life and real people. All of this is a part of social media marketing, which tells people - Look at our beautiful Instagram that tells a story and looks amazing. Buy our products and you can look just like this.

In Pretty Little Thing's Instagram, they use stories and they have matching cover photos for their highlights. The brand takes over social media feeds with striking looks and next level aesthetic.

As a result, they engage consumers using influencer marketing, and they post up to 4 times daily, which increases the likelihood that their posts will get noticed. Pretty Little Thing is an expert at social media marketing, as they know who and how to target their audience.

Brand development takes time, especially in the current social media market, but Pretty Little Thing has been able to grow quickly thanks to its professional images and video contents. Rather than merely showcasing a product, they create content that people want to engage with. Pretty Little Thing's followers are drawn to the content on their feed because it looks appealing, which is achieved by making every element of the content look professional.

To reach as many people as possible, Pretty Little Thing uses hashtags, but much less than they did in the past. The use of hashtags nowadays is generally used to promote trending content.

Pretty Little Thing Social Media Strategy

  • Media sharing networks such as Instagram and Twitter are used to create an image of their brand
  • Their marketing strategies entail selecting real-life people (celebrities like Molly-Mae Hague and Doja Cat wear their products).
  • They engage consumers by using influencer marketing and post on average six times a day
  • They create content that people want to engage with, rather than just showcase a product.
  • Campaigns are launched on social media and hashtags are used to promote their content.
  • They engaged in giveaways—nothing was off-limits to them when they started out

Conclusion

Just like Pretty Little Thing, you too can benefit from social media. Just target your audience rightly, give them what they want and need and be right there on time.

Reference

  • 22 benefits of social media for business. Stacey McLachlan, Christina Newberry (June 29, 2021). Retrieved from Hootsuite 
  • Meet the millionaire behind the soaring global fashion empire. Ceo Magazine (2020). Retrieved from Ceo Magazine
  • The rise of pretty little thing. Matta Busby (2018). Retrieved from Drapersonline 
  • What to consider when starting out on social media. Cimpress (2001). Retrieved from Vistaprint