Thousands of people across the globe seek and find their perfect fit on an hourly basis, ensuring that there’s plenty for brands to tap into when it comes to the global luxury footwear market. To put this fact into figures:
– Formal shoe luxury footwear led the market and accounted for 58.3% share of the global revenue in 2019.
– The global market size is anticipated to reach USD 49.01 billion by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 5.6% from 2020 to 2027.
Millennials with a passion (or an undeniable obsession) for luxury shoes are one of the primary reasons for the consistent rise in market growth. With the growing demand for luxury shoes among the millennial population worldwide, many luxury footwear brands have started catering to the casual shoe category as well in order to attract the young shoppers.
One of the quickest ways to reach millennials is to find them where they practically live – online. In 2014, McKinsey published a report suggesting that digital now influences at least 45% of all luxury sales.
It’s important to understand that when it comes to premium products, you are fulfilling a want, and not just a need; you are addressing a desire, and not just a dream – which is why you have to sell harder and better. As a premium brand, be it for any luxury product, you have to be selective in your approach because your audience is selective in nature – every move of yours has to mirror their aspirations.
Here’s what you have to be mindful of while creating effective digital marketing strategies for footwear products-
Building a brand story is one of the most cost effective techniques for footwear marketing. Here, more than your money, you have to put your mind to work. Highlighting the purpose of your products, narrating the story of how they came to be, and explaining why they deserve to stay lies at the foundation of an effective online marketing for footwear brands. Keep reminding them as to how your brand embodies luxury, exclusivity, quality, performance, and more.
Moreover, serving a social cause only gathers more appreciation for the brand. When shoe industry customers were asked if they made a purchase because of the social mission of a brand, 27% of respondents in a 2018 survey said that they did. That figure was even higher for Millennials, at nearly 40%.
Needless to say, luxury brand websites have to be great looking. That’s not to say that they cannot be highly functional. As a luxury brand, you must invest in websites that are intuitive and make for a great user experience. A visually impressive website that is easy-to-use and will not only help shoppers explore more, but also encourage them to embark on their journey from ‘Add to Cart’ to ‘Buy Now’.
When marketing luxury products, seeing is believing. Evoking emotions and a sense of exclusivity would be a near to impossible task without visual content. Looking at the product and the experience it provides helps the shopper to visualize just how exquisite life could be with your product by their side. Show them what it would be like to stride into town with a pair of perfectly fitting luxury leather shoes proving them all the comfort and confidence in the world. Paint a picture and convince the shopper that they deserve to be in it.
Owing to the segmentation and targeting feature that it provides, social media marketing can drive a lot of traffic your way. Segmentation helps narrow down a large market into smaller groups. This is where things get interesting – you can target people by what college they attend, where they work, what their job title is, what music they listen to, and more. It becomes easier to curate effective content that each segment can relate to, helping them make the purchase decision faster.
SEO brings a treasure trove of opportunities for luxury footwear brands. Google is the go-to platform for shoppers to find luxury products and learn more about brands. Turning a blind eye to SEO makes it difficult for brands to rank on the top on Google SERPs, causing them to miss out on potential shoppers and the revenue sitting in their pockets.
There’s nothing better than word of mouth marketing, especially when it’s a fashion influencer talking. Popular social media influencers hold the undivided attention of a large number of followers. They are perceived as fashion gods and trusted sources of information. Leverage this faith that your target audience has in them to promote the brand and generate awareness. With the rise of Instagram and the likes, this is one of the most reliable shoe marketing ideas today.
Email marketing is the key to increasing eCommerce sales and brand loyalty. They are your chance to educate potential consumers – send them timely reminders of the services, products or the exclusive experiences that your brand offers. You can also keep them well-indulged with industry facts and figures that put your product in a good light.
Here are the top 7 digital marketing strategies for footwear brand:
1. Don’t Just Sell, Tell Stories.
2. Build A Visually Exceptional + Functional Website.
3. Place Your Faith In Visually-inclined Social Networks.
4. Enchant The Audience Through The Power Of Social Media.
5. Good SEO = Great Traffic.
6. Let The Influencers Do The Talking.
7. Email Marketing For Product Awareness.
Granted that creativity does not come easy, but when it comes to consumer goods brands, you can go wild with your ideas. Here is how you can come up with a good slogan for shoes:
-Make it easy to read.
-Wordplay works best!
-Keep it crisp and catchy.
-Highlight a unique feature of your product.
-Make sure no one else has it trademarked or copyrighted.
Some examples:
-Stride, In Style.
-Take A Revolutionary Step Forward.
-Tap Into Excellence.
A big part of Nike’s success comes from the brand’s well-founded marketing strategy. The Nike strategy is simple at the foundation, but complex in its intricacies. They invest in building the brand through emotional marketing and sports celebrity endorsements. They also develop products that have high-quality, market-leading technology and buy out competing sports brands. Their brand is the #1 brand in the sporting goods industry and is the 14th most valuable brand in the world.
Adidas’ marketing strategy is as direct as it gets. A key part of their marketing strategy is digitization. They focus on designing, building and selling the best sports goods in the world. The company spends 90% of its marketing budget on digital campaigns and social media. High-speed manufacturing is another key part of Adidas’ digital marketing strategy. They digitized the production process with 3D printing technology and robotics at Speedfactory in Ansbach. They even curate personalised experiences for their consumers in order to build a long-term connection with them.
Here are some of the effective ways to market shoes:
-Use Social Media and put your product on display from the best angles.
-Use Influencer Marketing to reach different customer groups.
-Leverage Video Marketing to indulge and educate consumers about your products.
-Curate Personalized Experiences when it comes to offers and marketing messages.
-Create highly-targeted Ad Campaigns.
Footwear marketing is no easy feat. A footwear marketing agency or a 360° digital marketing agency keeps up with the latest trends and technology to build the right marketing strategy for the footwear industry.
BrightBrain Tech is a Digital Marketing & Advertising Agency with a focus on building digital solutions for Branding and Increased Sales efficiency. Our expertise includes Digital Advertising Campaigns, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Web Development and Online Branding. Our Google Partnership brings a unique opportunity to work with the internal team at Google, adding even more value to our team & clients.
Are you ready to help your footwear brand march forward in a digital-first world, and stylishly so? Contact us today!
Suhail Bajaj is the CEO of BrightBrain Marketing Technologies LLP that has now grown into a full-fledged digital marketing agency with 55+ employees and clients from 7+ countries – all under his supervision. Graduated with an MBA from the esteemed Cass Business School, he brilliantly puts his learnings into practice, helping brands meet their business goals and succeed in a digital-first world.
