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Digital Marketing within the female fashion sector
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Digital Marketing Trends Within The Digital Marketing Trends Within The
Female Fashion Retailer SectorFemale Fashion Retailer SectorFemale Fashion Retailer SectorFemale Fashion Retailer Sector
20907671 ~ 20914667 ~ 21003398 1
CCONTENTSONTENTS PPAGEAGE
Introduction....................................................................................................................Page 3
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)...............................................................................Page 4
Pay Per Click (PPC)........................................................................................................Page 6
Keyword Analysis...........................................................................................................Page 8
Online PR........................................................................................................................Page 9
Social Media....................................................................................................................Page 10
Online Partnerships.......................................................................................................Page 18
Mobile Marketing...........................................................................................................Page 20
Link Building..................................................................................................................Page 22
Online Sponsorships......................................................................................................Page 28
Affiliate Marketing........................................................................................................Page 29Affiliate Marketing........................................................................................................Page 29
Interactive Advertising.................................................................................................Page 32
Behavioural Targeting..................................................................................................Page 34
E-mail Marketing..........................................................................................................Page 35
E-mail Design................................................................................................................Page 37
Viral Marketing.............................................................................................................Page 40
Conclusion......................................................................................................................Page 43
2
IntroductionIntroduction
The purpose of this report is to analyse, critique, compare and contrast
real life examples of digital marketing, all within the female fashion
retailer sector.
This reports follows on from a previous one, in which it discussed the
various websites within this sector. The websites that were previously
analysed were, ASOS, Next, Topshop and Dorothy Perkins. These were
chosen on a basis of primary and secondary research, which showed these
to be some of the most popular within this sector.to be some of the most popular within this sector.
Within this report there will be the analysis of digital marketing in female
fashion online. This is to have a more varied analysis and comparison of
other retailers websites in the sector.
Some of the aspects to which were analysed were, the use of social media,
e-mail marketing, pay per click (PPC) and affiliate marketing.
3
Search engine optimisation involves ‘achieving the highest position or ranking practical in the natural or
organic listings on the search engine results pages after a specific combination of keywords has been typed
in.’ (Chaffey and Smith). Therefore for any business that has a website or online shop, they will be
wanting to achieve the highest rank in any search engine.
In order for companies to achieve this, they have to ensure that the keywords that
are associated with their website are going to be those used by customers. So,
‘the position or ranking is dependent on an algorithm used by each search engine
to match relevant site page content with the key phrase entered’ (Chaffey and
Smith). There is no charge for companies in relation to the listings to which their
company would be found on a search engine.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
It has been said that SEO can’t be left to an agency to do, it needs the work of
content owners and editors within a company. There are four main processes
search technology involves, these are;search technology involves, these are;
Crawling
Identifying relevant pages for indexing and assess whether they have changed.
This is done through search engines running automated programs, that use a
hyperlink structure of the web to ‘crawl’ the pages and documents that make the
World Wide Web.
Indexing
An index is then created to enable the search engine to find the most relevant
pages containing what has been searched. This database needs to be managed, so
that each search can be sorted out in a fraction of a second.
Ranking or Scoring
Once the index has produced pages that relate to that of what has originally been
searched, they are sorted in terms of relevance.
Query request and Results serving
Once the search engine has determined which results are a match, the engine’s
algorithm runs calculations to work out which is most relevant to the search. These
are then sorted on the results page in order from the most relevant to the least.
4
It can be seen that when searching
for ‘online fashion’, there are various
websites that come up. Those that
are found on the first page and
towards the top, are likely to be
those that will get the most traffic.
Along with the fact they have used
the appropriate keywords in order to
achieve this.
When the search is changed to
‘womens fashion online’, it can be
seen that some of the same
websites still appear in this
search. Therefore showing that
these websites are likely to have
the most relevant key phrases
associated with the website.
Along with this, it could be said
that as these websites do come
top of the search, they may have
the highest traffic to their
websites. 5
Pay Per Click (PPC)Pay Per Click (PPC)PPC is seen to be similar to conventional advertising, this is because PPC involves ‘a relevant text
ad with a link to a company page is displayed when the user of a search engine types in a specific
phrase.’ (Chaffey and Smith). These are usually displayed as sponsored links on the search engine
page.
These sponsored links are found to not always be clicked on, as many searchers prefer to click on
the natural listings. However, around a quarter or a third of all clicks are through the sponsored
links, these are found to be highly profitable for Google, as well as the company themselves.
Sponsored
Links
6
PPC is becoming more and more used throughout many companies, as it is seen to have its own
benefits to it, especially in terms of comparing it with conventional advertising. There are 2 main
advantages to the use of PPC these are;
1. ‘The advertiser is not paying for the ad to be displayed’ (Chaffey and Smith, 2009) – This is due
to the fact that, cost is only incurred when the visitor actually clicks on the link.
2. ‘PPC advertising is highly targeted’ (Chaffey and Smith, 2009) – The link to an ad is only
shown when the user types in a specific phrase, therefore meaning that there is a lot less
wastage in terms of the advertising being used.
Overall, it can be seen as to why there has been an increased use of PPC as there are many other
ways to achieve the same benefits of conventional advertising.
7
Keyword AnalysisKeyword AnalysisIt has been said that the key to successful SEO and PPC is ‘achieving keyphrase relevance’ (Chaffey and Smith,
2009), this is the overall aim of search engines as they aim to match the combination of words that have been typed
into the search box, and this then leads to showing the most relevant destination content page.
The keyword analysis can also be looked at through each individual website that is being analysed, this is so to see
what keywords they have associated with their website. Therefore, they can ensure that when people are searching
for items that are linked with their website, that they will benefit from it.
There are a few ways in which the keyword analysis can be looked at, one of these is Google Adwords;
8
Online PROnline PROnline PR involves maximising mentions of the company, brands, products or websites on third party websites,
that are likely to be visited by the target audience.
There needs to be the assurance that there is some kind of control over the reputation of the company or
brand, through monitoring and controlling what is placed about the company online.
Ranchhod et el. (2002), identified 4 key differences between online PR and traditional PR, these are;
1.The audience is connected to the organisation.
2.The members of the audience are connected to each other.
3.The audience has access to other information.
4.Audiences pool information.
(Chaffey and Smith, 2009)
In order to be able to manage online PR there are four key activities that need to be considered, these are;
1. Search marketing activities (SEO) – This is that there is the need for other links, which will assist with this 1. Search marketing activities (SEO) – This is that there is the need for other links, which will assist with this
technique.
2. Brand engagement activities – engagement is all about creating interaction or dialogue with online
audiences to help understand needs and potentially influence them. This is most likely to be through the use
of a companies own website or through blogs.
3. Buzz-building activities – Through the use of social media, in order to create some kind of ‘noise’ about a
campaign or message. This is likely to then help spread the message through the help of viral marketing.
Along with these methods there is the option to be able set up a press release area on the website, create e-
mail alerts and submit news stories to online news feeds.
4. Defensive and crisis PR – There needs to be the use of online reputation management tools, in order to be
able to track the health of a brand online. These then need to be responded to quickly, so to escape a
potentially negative incident occurring. 9
Social MediaSocial MediaFacebook
Facebook has become more and more of a tool and
essential for any company. As with today’s generation,
Facebook and other social media websites are a key way
for a business to communicate with their customers. As it
can be seen below, all varieties of female fashion retailers
have a Facebook page.
Topshop
Missguided.co.uk
ASOS
Gucci
Burberry
River Island
New Look
10
It can be seen that each of the retailers that have a Facebook page all have
different ways of using them. ASOS use there’s as a way of letting their
customers know of any offers, and the ‘daily discovery’.
Whereas, a high end brand like Burberry use their Facebook page to show
their customers their latest ranges, along with having various videos of
behind the scenes footage.
11
TwitterTwitterTwitter is used by businesses to connect them with their customers, in that
they are able to quickly share information with those individuals who are
interested in their products. Twitter has been seen to constantly grow over
the years, this now includes people being able to access it on-the-go.
A few facts
about Twitter;
•Launched •Launched March 2006
•175 million registered users
and growing
• 95m tweets are written per day.
12
Tweets used to promote an
event that Topshop have
coming up.
Tweets used by Next to
announce the winner of a
competition.
Twitter is slightly different to Facebook in that,
they can’t have photo albums or videos to any of
their products. However, as it can be seen with both
of these Twitter pages, they put links to the
collections they are talking about.13
BlogsBlogsBlogs are best known as an ‘easy method of publishing personal web pages which are online
journals or diaries’ (Chaffey and Smith, 2009). These are usually created by individuals, however
they are best suited to having different columnists writing on different topics.
Blogging software is incredibly cheap, as many of them have free tools to be used. It’ll become
more expensive once it is ‘more closely integrated with the main site since this will require
additional development costs for coding.’ (Chaffey and Smith, 2009).
The format and template of a blog is important as this
enables the content on a website to be delivered in different
ways. The different ways in which this can be done are;
- By topic – in categories or topics to help with browsing.
- By tag – each article will be tagged to help them appear in
By Topic By Time
- By tag – each article will be tagged to help them appear in
searches.
- By author – these could be features from different authors,
whether they’re internal or external.
- By time – this helps the reader in searching for a specific
blog entry.
There are however risks to using blogs, which may put
some companies off blogging these are;
1- Damage to reputation – members of the public could
write negative posts or comments about the posts or
company.
2- SEO spam – These are spam links to other sites, which
people may not want to click on.
3- Poor levels of traffic – This could be if the blog is labelled
wrongly, it’ll put people away from seeing or bookmarking
it.
14
Blogs are used as a way for retailers to be able to
share with their customers the latest trends. The blog share with their customers the latest trends. The blog
will then show the follower that they can purchase
this from the retailer.
15
Each retailers blog are used for the same kind of
purpose, to inform their customers of any latest
trends or products. However, some of them have
other parts that make them stand out from the
crowd.
Topshop use their blog to share any videos or music
that they are liking.
Dorothy Perkins have
used their blog to
show their products
in use, through
various fashion
bloggers.
16
YouTubeYouTubeAs the growth of social media
websites such as, Facebook and
Twitter have emerged, there
has also been the emergence of
many retailers to have their
own YouTube channels.
The YouTube channels are
used by all kinds of retailers,
going from high street stores,
to pure play online retailers
and designer brands.
Within these YouTube channels,
there are various videos which
show behind the scenes footage of
photo shoots or catwalk shows
that have been produced by the
company.
17
There are three key types of online partnerships that need to be managed: link building, affiliate marketing and online sponsorship, using a structured approach to manage links which directs users to the site.
Link building is a key activity for search engine optimization. ‘More quality links from relevant sites means more quality visitors and more marketing outcomes.’ (Chaffey and Smith, 2009)
There are various
female clothing
retailers who have
partnered with
Fairtrade, creating a Fairtrade, creating a
range of cotton
clothing. This shows a
list of women's fashion
retailers providing
Fairtrade clothing
providing links to
sites.
18
Here is an example of an online partnership
in which, Missguided have partnered with
Apple. This allows Missguided consumers to
download an app using their iphones/ ipad,
enabling their consumers' to access and shop
for Missguided content through these Apple
products.
19
MMOBILEOBILE MMARKETINGARKETINGIt has been said that marketers can no longer ignore the potentially powerful tool that mobile
marketing is, especially with ‘penetration in many western countries already exceeding 80% and
estimated mobile use worldwide exceeding 2 billion’ (Chaffey and Smith, 2009). There are many
technologies within mobile that have seen this market expand, and made it easier for companies to
communicate with their customers. Such examples are, live e-mail downloads and Bluetooth
technology.
One of the most used mobile marketing techniques is through the use of SMS, this has ‘proved a
great way to get closer to customers, particularly those in the youth market who are difficult to
reach with other media.’ (Chaffey and Smith, 2009).
Along with the use of SMS for mobile marketing there are other marketing applications such as,
games, applications (B2B inventory and order tracking), MMS messaging, text and win, and
quizzes.
In a recent newspaper article by Rik Haslam, a group creative architect
at RAPP, he expressed how ‘the marketing world has suddenly realised
just how many handsets consumers are carrying around.’
(Rik Haslam, Guardian Newspaper, 2009). It has been said that
mobile feels cheap, however in the current climate it is the perfect
way to have a low-cost opportunity with your customers, while
being ultra-repsonsive.
20
Within the fashion market
there has been an increased
use of mobile marketing, this is
in the way of applications being
created for iPhones and iPads,
which mean the customer is
able to look for and even shop
for items through the retailers
app. Also, there has been the
use of movies on iPhones, in
order to show customers of new
products.
Chloe have also launched an iPhone
app, which enables consumers to
‘stay connected with the luxury
apparel and accessories brand while
on the go.’ (Mobile Marketer, 2008)
Dior used mobile
marketing to
promote its iconic
Lady Dior
handbag. They did
this with a black
and white film ‘The
Lady Noire Affair’,
which was only
available to iPhone
users.
Ralph Lauren created an iPhone app
which enables customers to view
Collection styles, along with video
highlights from their latest catwalk
shows, and a Lookbook feature. 21
This is an approach to link building, in
which a campaign is run through partners,
providing traffic for the site.
Here Dorothy Perkins have
partnered up with Glamour.
Sponsoring the magazines 10th
anniversary offering readers 20% off
all dresses, linking back to the site to
make purchases and gain the 20% discount.
22
Another approach to link
building is, allowing sites to
create their own external
links, by using blogs and
forums which links users
back to their site.
Here Dorothy Perkins has
used their own blogging
site and embedded a link to
the site in the article.
23
Another approach to link building is, placing links
through partners. Above shows examples of how Look
magazines shopping section provides a channel for users
to make purchases from a list of fashion brands. They’d
like to browse on directing them back to the original site
when they make the purchase.
Debenhams is a partner of
Nectar. When customers use
the Nectar card to do female
shopping, Debenhams is the
brand that appears linking
back to the site allowing
users to shop on the site.24
Site owners
may decide to
purchase links,
this one has
appeared on
the Look
magazine
website. Along
with an ad with an ad
placed by
Google,
providing a
link to the
New Look site.
25
Here is an
article created
on Dorothy
Perkins about
the Breast
Cancer Cancer
campaign
which contains
links back to
the site.
26
Placing links into articles help to
build traffic to the site as users
reading the articles like to find out
more and this directs them to the
site.
Cosmopolitan magazine has written an
article about a new range of clothes for New
Look, in which a link has been put within it.
The same has been done by Look magazine
for Dorothy Perkins, on news about the
retailers with links placed in the article
directing them to the site.
27
Online sponsorship is defined as ‘ the linking of a brand with related content or context for the
purpose of creating brand awareness and strengthening brand appeal in a form that is clearly
distinguishable from banner, button or other standardized ad unit’ (Chaffey and Smith, 2009).
The benefit of using online sponsorship is that, it allows sites to be associated with an online brand
that the site visitor is already familiar with. Therefore, the use of online sponsorship just build upon
the existing relationship and trust.
Fashion Retail Academy and London Fashion Week are sponsored by various female
retailers. These types of partnerships help to enhance the brands, as London Fashion
Week and the Fashion Retail Academy play a big role in the female clothing market.28
Affiliate MarketingAffiliate MarketingAffiliate marketing is a ‘commission based arrangement where the merchant only pays when they make the sale or
get a lead’ (Chaffey and Smith, 2009). With the use of affiliate marketing it means that, it can drive a volume of
business in a range of sectors. However, it isn’t suitable for lower priced consumer products, as it won’t be as
profitable as it would be for others.
There are many benefits to the use affiliate marketing, some of these are;
- Gain more visibility in the paid and natural listings of searches
- Can use different affiliates to target different target audiences
-Enables you to reach customers on generic phrases at a relatively low cost
-Increase the reach of your brand or campaign
- Pay per performance – the costs of acquisitions can be controlled well.
But of course there are many negatives to the use affiliate marketing, some of these are;
-Affiliates may exploit your brand name – This is when affiliates exploit brand names by bidding on variations
- May damage brand reputation – Ad may be displayed on sites not associated with the brand image.- May damage brand reputation – Ad may be displayed on sites not associated with the brand image.
- Programme management fees – An affiliate may take up to 30% of each affiliate commission.
- Programme management time – Affiliate marketing is found on forming and maintaining good relationships.
29
Here H&M and River Island have
placed banner ads which directly links
back to their site. 30
This a form of
affiliate marketing
that can be done.
Here Dorothy
Perkins have placed
an ad of the offers on
a voucher code site,
enabling users to
find out more about find out more about
the offer they are
directed to the site.
Voucher code sites allow users to search for offers and deals on various
categories, here lists the female clothing deals from various retailers.31
A visitor who clicks on an interactive banner ad is then forwarded onto the site of the company
who paid for the banner ad, which then links through to a destination site.
Interactive advertisements can help build traffic, but also have a role in building brand
recognition. Rich media and large format ads are effective in targeting visitors through placements on specialized portals and dynamic or behavioural ad targeting.
Here are examples of various
interactive advertisements
that Boohoo do on other sites
allowing users to navigate on
the banner ads.
32
Here is an example of interactive
advertisement for John Lewis, allowing
users to interact with the ad. Viewing
various spring outfits and prices of the
items listed, it even allows consumers to
view more or buy it and even bookmark
items on social sites.
Here users can
scroll through to
next images.
There is also a
direct link to the
site
33
Here is an example of
behavioural targeting,
where audiences are
targeted to how they
use the web or an
individual site. The
following interactive
advertisement has
applied the following as
Boohoo advert Boohoo advert
appeared when
browsing on the
Channel 4 beauty site,
this shows how
audiences have been
targeted due to the
content they are
viewing.
34
EEMAILMAIL MMARKETINGARKETINGWhen running an e-mail marketing programme, there
needs to be the combination of both excellence in
devising effective outbound e-mail campaigns, and
managing incoming emails effectively.
Many companies use emails as a prospect conversion
and a customer retention tool. This is with the use of
an opt in house list of prospects and consumers who
have given permission to be contacted by a company.
Many online fashion retailers have adopted this method of
marketing. Consumers are most likely prompted to
subscribe whilst making an online purchase, or consumers
can sign up upon entering the site.
35
Sites such as boohoo.com are regularly updating their consumers’
with sales promotions, trends and any other news and
information via e-marketing.
As well as this, boohoo.com regularly tries to gain one on one
feedback from its subscribers, in order to find ways in which it
can improve the website.
For a company to be successful at e-marketing, the
content needs to be regularly updated, however not to the
extent where the user feels bombarded by the messages
received.
36
Link to online version
of e-mail if it has been
blocked as spam.
EE--Mail DesignMail Design
Links to the
website through the
e-mail.
Prices and discount on
their products made clear.37
Chance for recipient to
enter a competition.
Links to social media
sites.
Link to Terms
& Conditions
Information
about the
competition.
Feature to
unsubscribe to the e-
mails
38
Viral Marketing Viral Marketing Viral marketing is described as being ‘a clever idea, a shocking idea, or a highly informative idea which makes
compulsive viewing.’ (Chaffey and Smith, 2009). Viral marketing comes in the form of various forms some of these
are, a video clip, TV ad, a cartoon, a funny picture, or a song. What makes viral marketing such a successful
method is that because it is likely to be such a different thing, that it makes people want to pass it on. Therefore,
viral marketing can be effective in reaching a large number of people rapidly.
Kirby (2003) believes that there are 3 things that are needed to make a viral campaign these are;
1. Creative material – This is the creative message or offer and how it has spread.
2. Seeding – Identifying web sites, blogs or people to send e-mail to start the virus spreading.
3. Tracking – This is to monitor the effect and to assess the return from the cost of developing the viral.
An example of a viral campaign run by a
fashion retailer, is that done by H&M in
which they used a viral campaign to
‘tease’ their customers with the unveiling
of a new designer for the retailer.
39
Viral marketing campaigns are a great way to
generate a huge amount of buzz surrounding a
product or brand, whether it be done via online
or offline.
The purpose of a viral marketing campaign is to
introduce web users or website developers to
pass on a marketing message to other websites
or internet users.
Fashion websites are increasingly adopting
this marketing strategy to create buzz for a
new product or service, which more oftennew product or service, which more often
exposure can be generated that is more
valuable than traditional advertising.
Above is a link to an article in which, explains
how in order to promote Jay-Z’s new
autobiography he used various forms of viral
marketing.
40
Viral marketing has grown greatly over the past few years, as more and more
companies are noticing the big response and network of people that these
campaigns can get to.
Here are some of the biggest viral campaigns recently put throughout the
world and UK;
41
CCONCLUSIONONCLUSION
Altogether from looking at the digital marketing trends within the female fashion
market, it is clear to see that there are some trends that all companies have followed,
to ensure they are making the most of getting brand recognition. These trends for
example are that of having a presence within social media, whether it be just a
Facebook page, or having all aspects of social media.
However, there are other aspects such as viral marketing that not all fashion
retailers have gone into and focused on. This could be due to the lifestyle of this
sector, as they’re not likely to grab the right kind of attention from their customers.sector, as they’re not likely to grab the right kind of attention from their customers.
Also, from looking at previous research conducted in the previous report, it was clear
to see that the typical age of online shoppers was between 35 and 44, therefore being
digital immigrants. This means that this age group are just discovering the wanders
of technology, therefore are more likely to be aware of and use all or most aspects to
digital marketing. This is in terms of them having the use of various apps for their
phones.
42