Every business owner hopes to one day go viral and have many customers flock to the business. While going viral is not something that happens often, it does happen. As a fashion entrepreneur, you need to be prepared for it when it happens.
Recently, the Alexis dress by Melodia went viral on Twitter and dresses by Oyindamola Akinfenwa of the Janore brand trended for creating dresses that can be styled in at least 4 ways. No doubt, both brands must have had many customers knocking on their doors. If this can happen to them, it can happen to you also.
Last week, we reviewed a video on how to stop procrastinating and this week, we reviewed a video by Ronke Lawal on ‘What to do If You go Viral’. In it, she explained how to handle having one of your designs going viral as a fashion entrepreneur.
The video aims to help fashion entrepreneurs know what to do in case one of their fashion pieces goes viral and throws them in the spotlight suddenly.
This video review covers;
- useful points fashion entrepreneurs can learn from,
- important points missed out,
- the relevance of the information provided to fashion entrepreneurs.
What to do if You go Viral
Not every fashion entrepreneur is going to go viral and there is no way to force going viral. You cannot make your brand or your fashion products go viral.
Going viral is a term that is linked to online content being shared multiple times to the point where it becomes notorious on social media. Many people including the press and media share your content and it is everywhere for others to see.
On Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and so on, some posts are shared numerous times and become viral. As a fashion entrepreneur, it is not every time your content will go viral, but if you ever find that the image of one of your fashion products is shared everywhere organically,
1. Update your Platforms
The first thing to do when you realise your content has gone viral is to make sure all your platforms are in sync. When people go on your social media platforms because of that viral post and they don’t see anything of interest there except the viral post, it turns them off.
You need to work fast to update every of your social media platforms to show people what you have to offer them and draw them in to patronise your brand.
2. Be Consistent
People love to see consistency. Being consistent with your content on social media is important.
Before, during, and after the image or video of your fashion product has gone viral, you have to keep making great fashion pieces and sharing it for all to see. Don’t just rely on that viral piece of content to move your brand forward, you have to keep doing the work.
The people who have done well from their content going viral have maintained their brand visibility, are consistent and have merchandised other things outside of that viral content.
3. Merchandise
When your fashion product goes viral, you need to create other fashion products that match up to that image. Let people go to your website or social media and be able to buy other great content.
If you have a strategy for what to do when you go viral, you can strike when the iron is still hot. Begin to make items that are in line with your business practices and brand story and sell them in that week your content went viral.
Because the world moves on quickly, eventually people will get tired and bored and move on to other things. So, you have to make the most of your fame while it lasts.
Keep things interesting and relevant. Look for ways to use this momentum your brand has gotten to uplift your brand. Don’t shy away, use it. Allow it to let your business shine and thrive and enjoy the online fame.
Other Points Missed Out
4. Get All Hands on Deck to Produce more of that Fashion Item
Customers love to wear what everyone is wearing now. If one of your fashion products goes viral now, you need to work out a way to get all your employees to begin to produce more of that item and be ready for more orders.
If your capacity cannot carry it, you should look to outsource some of the production to others that you trust. Make sure whoever you are outsourcing production to is someone that won’t steal your idea and that will uphold the standards of your brand.
Afterwards, you can pay the production house their cut from your profits.
5. Use User-Generated Content to Spearhead a Campaign
Since lots of people will be talking about and posting photos of them in your product on social media, use this to your advantage. When they post photos or videos of themselves in that product, repost them on your social media pages to let everyone see how others are rocking that product and how much they love it.
When people see lots of testimonials from others on your page, they tend to be more motivated to buy something for themselves.
Read Also: Would You Replicate Someone Else’s Designs For A Client?
6. Be Prepared for the Copycats
When your designs trend, people will want to copy you. Just like with the Alexis dress, they will want to make your designs and sell them for cheaper. You have to be ready for them.
No matter what, always stick to your standard of quality and don’t let the copycat distract you.
The Usefulness of the Information to Fashion Entrepreneurs
As a Fashion entrepreneur, you never know when you will go viral so you need to always be prepared for the unexpected. This video provides useful tips to help entrepreneurs have an idea of what to do if they go viral.
It proves to be helpful to arm fashion entrepreneurs with useful information on how to make the most of going viral.
