Fashion Marketing Careers: Roadmap to Success

The fashion industry in the States is hot. And I mean red hot. The United States is one of the largest clothing retail markets in the world. 

And you know what? It’s not slowing down anytime soon. By 2029, fashion market revenue will reach a marketing volume of US$321.80bn.

That’s excellent news for all of you fashion enthusiasts. As the industry expands, so do the opportunities to work in fashion marketing.

But how do you get your foot in the door in such a highly competitive industry? Well, this guide explores the different types of fashion marketing and helps you narrow down your niche and specialize.

Let’s get into it.

Key Takeaways

• Fashion marketing is a growing industry in the United States, with revenue expected to reach US$321.80bn by 2029. 
• Product, content, social, and influencer marketing are all part of the fashion marketing mix.
• Successful fashion marketing success requires finding innovative ways to reach new customers, like virtual reality and try-ons.
• Fashion marketing offers various roles, including PR, product co-ordination, and visual merchandising. 
• Fashion marketers need strong creative, communication, and research skills. They must also adapt to newer technologies; many roles require a bachelor’s degree.

What Is Fashion Marketing?

Because we interact so often with fashion marketing from a consumer perspective, we may think we have a clear picture of what goes into it. We may have some idea of what fashion marketing is, but maybe we don’t understand all the logistics behind it.

Fashion marketing is about advertising and promoting fashion to the right market in various ways, from print to online, in-person to digital. Remember that it’s more than clothes; accessories, including hats, shoes, jewelry, and outerwear, help people connect with and showcase a particular style.

As technology evolves, fashion brands change their approach when connecting with shoppers. 

Personalized experiences and augmented and virtual reality are adding new layers to how businesses market. This means that fashion marketers need to understand precisely what their audience wants. Additionally, they must be tech-savvy to succeed in this industry and thrive in a competitive landscape.

Top fashion brands know this, so they’re upping their promotional games.

For instance, H&M has a virtual showroom to bring fashion alive for buyers and invites them to “chill with the latest collection.” How cool is that?

In a nutshell, fashion marketing is all about getting creative to reach customers in exciting new ways. 

These days, fashion marketers also have to consider sustainability as shoppers become more conscious about the environmental impact of their purchases.

Fashion Marketing Jobs and Roles

With such a diverse landscape, there are fashion marketing jobs for pretty much everyone. Here are some roles you can choose from:

Brand Strategist: This position involves devising killer strategies that help fashion brands achieve their business goals. They dive deep into marketing trends, shopper behavior, and brand performance to find growth opportunities. Then, it’s all about crafting brand messaging, planning epic marketing campaigns, and boosting brand awareness.

Fashion Coordinator: These trendsetters are the visionaries for clothing or fashion departments. They look out for the latest trends and are the creative brains behind a company’s overall look. Through understanding trends, a fashion coordinator learns what’s popular among consumers and creates a consistent look throughout the store or department.

Fashion Publicist: A fashion publicist promotes a brand’s clothes or accessories. As part of their role, they’ll be busy creating press releases, teaming up with influencers, and getting the brand on social media. They’re also the masterminds behind creating promotional materials like lookbooks, videos, and press packs. Building relationships with high-profile people like celebrities and industry insiders to promote the brand is also essential.

Here’s an example of a typical job post for a media advertising manager for a clothing brand.

Here’s an example of what a typical job post looks like:

Essential Strategies for Fashion Marketing

The fashion industry has always been highly competitive, especially with the rise in e-commerce and social media. That means brands must have the perfect fashion marketing mix to stand out from others and build a loyal customer base.

I’m talking about product marketing, social, influencer, and content marketing. I’ll break these down for you next.

Product Marketing

Product marketing promotes and sells clothes, accessories, and other fashion-related items. It’s all about marketing, creating product demand, brand awareness, and getting sales rolling in.

That means being hands-on with:

Product positioning and branding: How does your brand position itself in the market, and how do you want consumers to perceive it? Good product marketing means carving out a brand identity and ensuring it speaks to customers.

New product launches: Comprehensive market research is required to determine what customers want and what’s hot. Once that information is gathered, a marketing strategy must be developed to get people pumped and ready to spend. 

Here’s how Hugo Boss used brand marketing as part of its image reboot to attract a younger audience.

Planet Hugo creates custom virtual worlds by creating interactive experiences like Hugo Fashion Match and the Roblox Game.

Social Media Marketing

Social media platforms are like a dream come true in fashion marketing. That’s because they’re the perfect way to reach an ideal audience, get your brand out there, and drive engagement. 

Your social media strategy should include:

• Figuring out your target demographics. (You can use a customer persona for this.)
• Selecting the right channels (Instagram and Pinterest are great for sharing stunning visuals.)
• Deciding on your brand’s positioning, voice, and messaging. In other words, how do you want to come across, what’s your brand voice, and what message do you want to send?
• Creating content that hits home with your audience and aligns with your business’s marketing goals.

You also need to create a community vibe. Get your fans involved with user-generated content, hold contests, and offer exclusive groups and events. 

Giving your customers the VIP treatment makes them feel like they’re part of something special. This community feel promotes customer loyalty, and brands like Glossier and Victoria Secret’s PINK are among those taking this approach.

Influencer Marketing

According to the latest State of Influencer Marketing report, sixty percent of marketers intend to increase their influencer budgets this year. 

Basically, an influencer’s job in fashion marketing is to get your fashion items in front of fresh audiences and build trust around your brand, just like Louis Vuitton does when working with actor Chloe Grace Moretz.

Check out the profile and you’ll see it’s full of images from the Louis Vuitton partnership.

Marketers develop a campaign strategy by outlining the goals they want to achieve, the audience they want to reach, and the messages they want to convey.

That’s easy enough, but how do you find the ideal influencer to promote your product? 

The most basic way is to look on social media channels for users in your niche with large numbers of engaged followers. You could also link up with influencer agencies that connect you with potential partners for a more targeted approach. 

Micro-influencers can also be a valuable way to target niche audiences, as they’re usually experts in their field, theymore cost-effective to work with, and tend to have higher engagement rates as they interact closely with their followers.  

When the campaign is over, check its success using metrics like engagement, conversion rate optimization, brand awareness, and follower growth.

Content Marketing

Want to attract organic traffic, improve search results visibility, and attract customers? Then, you need to use SEO for your fashion e-commerce campaigns and work on content strategy.

By optimizing your fashion e-commerce website, it’s easier for customers to find you. That means:

• Doing keyword research.
• Using on-page SEO, like meta tags, URLs, optimized item descriptions, and headings.
• Maximizing site speed and ensuring your site looks fab and loads properly.
• Ensuring sites and emails are mobile responsive.

Then, pair up your SEO with content marketing. 

Producing high-quality blog posts, keyword-rich product descriptions, comprehensive guides, and email marketing can help you gain backlinks and social shares.

You can also use content to showcase your expertise, boost brand authority, and build a loyal customer base that can’t get enough of your brand.

Here’s how Nike uses SEO in its fashion marketing:

See what it does? 

Nike naturally includes keywords throughout its text. It also avoids adding too much information by providing links underneath for anyone wanting more details and for online visibility through the written content. You’ll also notice that Nike adds product names to its URLs, providing another keyword opportunity.

Experiential Marketing

Remember I mentioned the use of virtual reality and augmented reality (AR or VR) in fashion marketing earlier? Well, that’s all part of experiential marketing. Here’s a rundown of some common types of experiential marketing that can get you noticed:

Pop-up stores: These stores offer a unique experience and allow brands to connect face-to-face with customers. They may feature limited edition products and interactive elements to create a buzz.

Fashion events: From runway shows to launch parties, fashion events let brands showcase their collections and create immersive, creative experiences. This builds brand awareness and generates media coverage. They’re also a good way for fashion marketers to meet with industry professionals and spot emerging trends.

Immersive experiences: Interactive experiences are gaining serious traction. AR and VR give marketers a new way to reach their audience. For instance, eyewear brand Marcolin recently promoted its eyewear through a try-on app. 

The result? Pretty impressive 20% engagement rate and over 3 million unique interactions with the campaign. 

FAQs

What kind of companies hire fashion marketing professionals?

Fashion marketing professionals work with department stores, marketing or advertising agencies, clothing brands, magazines, fashion retailers, and e-commerce platforms.

What skills are essential for a successful career in fashion marketing?

You need to have creativity in spades. Understanding buyer behavior and having sharp analytic skills are also crucial. And you need to keep on top of trends.

Social media skills, the ability to adapt to new technologies and platforms, and the ability to develop strategies for them are essential, too.

What degree is best for a career in fashion marketing?

If you’re in the United States, a Bachelor’s degree in marketing is your best bet.Over in the UK, options include a BA (Hons) in fashion marketing or a level 4 Fashion Retail diploma course.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in fashion marketing?

You need to understand what’s hot. That means keeping up with the newest fashions and spotting emerging trends before others do. You’ll also need to spend time researching.

And don’t expect to start at the top. Take an administrative or assistant role to get to know the industry better.

If you’d like a fashion PR job, start a blog or dedicated Instagram profile and use it to build relationships with fashion companies and PRs so you’re among the first to get the hottest news.

How can I stay up-to-date on the latest trends in fashion marketing?

Blogs, Google news and alerts, podcasts, and trade publications all give a solid grounding in what’s new. For instance, there’s the Business of Fashion podcast, and Chanel, Gucci, and Dior have dedicated podcasts. Trade publications include Women’s Wear Daily.

Conclusion

Every clothing and accessories brand needs effective fashion marketing. Whether a brand is thrifty or luxurious, they all have in common the need to understand their target audience and why they wear what they wear.

E-commerce fashion marketing touches on everything from the actual products to aspirations and greater causes. Consumers can hear from loyal customers about what they love about your products, how they are made, what your brand stands for, and more.
Are you a fashion brand looking for help with your strategy? Our agency can help with everything from SEO to social and paid campaigns. Reach out if you want to hear more.