Digital Marketing Strategies for Luxury Brands
By: FRANK DEPINO-Principal and Founder of Mediaboom
Often termed “the most democratic of media,” the internet may not appear as the ideal medium to market luxury brands. However, the internet now houses most of our transactions, exposure, and even our work platforms. As a result, an online presence is now mandatory, even for well-established luxury brands or companies specializing in significant purchases.
What are digital marketing strategies for luxury brands?
Digital marketing strategies should target the same crowds that used to be found on traditional media. This includes advertising in websites with a more affluent user base, inspiring the same sense of exclusivity and desirability, and excluding “budget-conscious” vocabulary from your ad copy.
Why should I specialize my marketing strategy for luxury?
When it first began, the luxury niche directly contradicted many of the established rules of traditional marketing. Rather than widen the user base as much as possible, luxury marketing does not pander to its customer’s wishes and does not seek to position itself at the top-seller position. When accompanied by a solid and exclusive brand, luxury marketing can attract much higher prices than regular products.
Naturally, any marketing strategy that aims to break into the luxury market needs to become desirable by the right people. After all, it is not enough for something to be expensive to be luxurious: luxury is the one that makes a high price, not the other way around.
Because of its open nature, online media is often at odds with the idea of exclusivity. Unlike a social club or an alumni network, most sites and online stores are available and visible by all. You will need to become recognizable and appear next to other personalities who are already associated with luxury.
Building such a reputation is rarely accomplished overnight or by accident. Below, you will find three digital marketing strategies for luxury brands that can help you position your product on the premium tier.
1. Thorough brand storytelling
Your brand’s story will play an essential role in making it coveted. In traditional marketing, stories are used to create a new need among potential clients. However, luxury brands are rarely needed, so you should focus on making them wanted instead.
Therefore, your story should focus on heritage, tradition, and beauty. Make sure to include these concepts whenever explaining the why of any new products or features.
This is an excellent opportunity to nudge your ideal client’s choice using inspirational pictures or by connecting critical parts of your products with specific or unorthodox lifestyle choices. Keep in mind that the story you tell on digital media (social media and mobile platforms included) should be coherent with the one you tell on your physical stores.
The online sales funnel tends to be much longer and more complex than the brick-and-mortar one. This means that the story you tell should be simple enough to be divided into “small bites.” However, you will also get more opportunities for repeated interactions.
When focusing on the how of your production methods, highlight the following instead:
●Scarcity of materials
●Difficulties in training
●Expertise
●Comfort
Steer clear from concepts such as convenience and effectiveness. Likewise, keep in mind that while all affluent customers may aspire to quality, they don’t necessarily know how to recognize it. This creates a wonderfully honest way to increase your recognition: offer content that combines aspirational visuals with the knowledge to make the luxurious surroundings that many can’t quite name yet.
2. Work with established influencers
The “influencer” market has been targeted by a few online jokes and mean memes – and yet, influencers are still among them, as they retain the power to influence purchasing decisions.
For luxury brands, the key to working with influencers is to select the right followers. If an established public figure is already a fan of your brand, do not hesitate to capitalize on that opportunity. However, when it’s your turn recruiting, you will have to turn to established figures that are admired by your target clientele.
When selecting possible influencer partnerships, make sure to consider the following within your digital marketing strategies for your luxury brand:
Their total follower base
The demographics of this fandom: how old are they? Where are they located? How much purchasing power do they really have?
The influencer’s brand: what sort of esthetic do they privilege? Who are their allies and supported causes?
Investing in Good Content
The factors we mentioned above will need to consider the personas you have chosen to base your marketing around. A younger demographic may be more willing to take direct sponsorships from non-traditional celebrities. Meanwhile, if you seek to conquer older clients, you may need to approach more established public figures.
This often poses an additional hurdle to enter the luxury market. The people who can afford to pay for these brands tend to be slightly older and significantly harder to impress. This is why candid pics showing your logo in a corner or “spontaneous” selfies may not be enough. You will need to invest in quality content creators and reputable figures.
3. Launch online-only offers
Luxury goods are meant to be coveted, and therefore, they need to be (or appear) scarce. Many long-standing luxury brands achieve this by slowly increasing their prices over several years. In other cases, the brand’s story is created around the idea of exclusivity with hand-crafted products, limited runs, or even serial numbers.
It is harder to transmit this sense of urgency online, where it is always possible to come back later. An alternative way to offer these is through time-sensitive offers. Make sure to differentiate these products from your regular stock.
Another good strategy is to offer special privileges for subscribers or “top followers” on your social media pages. People love being acknowledged as special, so this is a great way to turn a brand fan into a brand ambassador.
Keep track of the people who make repeat purchases, make large orders, or interact with your brand frequently. Ensure they receive personalized marketing messages, surveys, and additional discount codes.
Conclusion
In many ways, the luxury niche plays under different rules than the general goods section. Bringing these rules into the internet realm can be a challenge. The right digital marketing strategies for a luxury brand are those that will make you noticed and desired by big spenders. They have an eye for quality and different role models – but through a compelling story, the right influencers, and a sense of scarcity, your brand can climb to the top of their wish list.
