Rationale

The choices I've made for my strategy for the Gosha Rubchinskiy brand are somewhat reflective of the competitor that I highlighted earlier in the process doc, Off-White. The competitor examples stood out to me because of their aesthetic, design, and simplicity, so I chose to imitate those posts that I admire in my original content examples. I chose to showcase images that were eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing because I want my audience to feel the same way that I felt when looking at the examples from Off-White. Both brand are of the same genre of fashion, therefore it would make sense to model their social profiles similarly.

We discussed this briefly in class, but I chose not to include any hashtags in my posts because I feel that hashtags take away from the image. When I'm scrolling through Instagram and I see a post that has been hashtagged, I immediately think that the poster is desperate for engagement. It is my own belief that a good brand, company, or organization, doesn't need to use hashtags to promote their business. In an article I found from AdWeek, a study on Twitter was conducted regarding the correlation between hashtags and engagement on social profiles. The study found that hashtags don't actually lead to an increase of engagement on promotional campaigns. Although this study was conducted about 3 years ago, I think that the findings still hold true. Hashtags are becoming flooded more and more with spam, so it doesn't make sense for companies to use them when their posts will get lost in the clutter.

I chose also to only use Instagram for posting content. In an article that I found on Forbes, 60% of a surveyed group of influencers say that Instagram is their best platform for engagement. Forbes outlines multiple reasons why it is the best, but one factor stood out to me: Instagram's visual nature. Visual marketing has become increasingly popular, as humans are more drawn to images rather than words in advertisements. I believe that especially for a fashion brand, Instagram should be the primary social platform used because it gives consumers the ability to associate visuals of the clothing with the name of the brand. Instagram is the perfect way to promote the Gosha Rubchinskiy brand because clothing is meant to be seen. Other social platforms would not have the same effect on catching the attention of current and potential customers.

Works Cited:

• Coffee, Patrick. “No One Uses #Hashtags Anymore.” – Adweek, Adweek, 10 June 2015, www.adweek.com/digital/no-one-uses-hashtags-anymore/.

• DeMers, Jayson. “Why Instagram Is The Top Social Platform For Engagement (And How To Use It).” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 28 Mar. 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2017/03/28/why-instagram-is-the-top-social-platform-for-engagement-and-how-to-use-it/#567ff98636bd.