ASOS are a British online fashion retailer, selling cutting edge fashion to young trendy adults. ASOS offer a wide variety of fashion-related content, making them a powerful and thriving fashion community.
The company sell over 80,000 branded and own-branded products through localised multi-channels including the web, mobile and tablet devices.
ASOS’s goal is to become the number-one online fashion destination for ’20-somethings’ in the world and strive everyday to achieve their mission:
ASOS have a huge passion for Integrity and believe both this and fashion go hand in hand which is why they have a Corporate Responsibility Programme.
This programme focuses on four key values, the products, the environment, their customers and the community.
When sourcing products ASOS don’t just focus on ‘making profit’ and the commercial criteria, they make it their job to find ethical and sustainable sources, growing the business in a environmentally friendly way.
ASOS also take a diverse approach in helping young people feel and look their best. The brand believes cultural, physical and individual differences should be empowered which is why they have one of the best customer service programmes we’ve seen with the brand focusing on disability and positive body image.
In 2015 ASOS created the campaign #MySenseOfSelf promoting positive body image. Much like our new campaign #ASOSMOVEMENT the #MySenseOfSelf campaign was to help tackle the issue of body image within young people. ASOS partnered with the Diana Award- an anti-bullying charity which helped create a teaching resource for those not entirely comfortable with their own appearance. Cleverly the campaign was marketed through 3 recognised organisations including the PSHE Association, the Diana Award anti-bullying charity and through ASOS. Promoting over various social media accounts/platforms can reach a huge following and gain mass awareness- this strategy worked as the programme has been downloaded 19,444 times and has potentially reached over 50,000 young people.
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ASOS have to make sure every marketing tool is available to the brand, this opens up the company to huge marketing potential whilst saving time and being cost effective. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest are all social media channels ASOS utilise on a daily basis adding content such as photos, videos and text. Posts, blogs, instant messaging and status updates are tools available to ASOS that encourages followers to revisit, share or start discussions with people they interact with, this intern can create brand awareness and grow their market. Google Analytics and social media insights can also help ASOS measure and study the traffic and demographic of customers heading to their website and social media channels. ASOS can also manage the campaigns performance through Google Analytics as they can find out traffic sources, research keywords and improve SEO.
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Vlogging (video blogging) is also a huge marketing tool ASOS monopolise, having become more and more popular, videos can help market a product or service really effectively. Videos are a quick and easy way to convey your campaign- Youtube is a great social platform to use as its the second largest search engine in the world.
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Since the rise of online shopping ASOS has gained competition including Misguided and Topshop. Social media is now a huge part of business, whether it’s to promote products, engage with customers, collect data or used to create campaigns all businesses now use various social media platforms to shout about their brand.
Missguided is a UK-based retailer, established in 2009. Using various multi-channels Missguided sell a wide range of clothing aimed at 16-35 year olds.
Social media has had a huge influence on Missguided’s success helping to drive the brands client base and provide a healthy conversation between customer and brand.
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Topshop is a British multinational retailer selling clothing, shoes, make-up and accessories. As well as bricks and mortar stores they also operate online. Since opening Topshop’s first store in 1964, they have had to adapt to the online demand and social media influences.
Missguided and Topshop have very strong social media content, this has resulted in a huge customer following and massively profitable businesses.
When it comes to marketing on social media, budget can become important depending on how large or small the brand maybe.
ASOS, Missguided and Topshop are all big brands making their budget a healthy one to spend on marketing. Some smaller brands might not have the budget or time to spend on marketing, therefore they may have to employ or source help from outside the business. This then puts pressure on the budget but can have positive effects on customer acquisition and retention and can lead to sales and social user conversion rates.
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Targeting and amplifying ASOS to the target market is important however this is a two-way thing between the brand and the customer. ASOS can socially share the digital content to their social channels but amplification happens when your content is shared either through organic or paid engagement via social media platforms.
Amplification can benefit ASOS as it aids promotion. A campaign or any digital content can be amplified through employees, customers and/or influences by sharing your message to their own personal network, this can then create a domino effect amongst customers as friends of theirs can share and so on. This can be hugely beneficial for a brand as the more your content is shared the more exposure they get. Social amplification can build ASOS’s ‘authority’ within the fashion industry, it can also increase a brands social following, drive custom, improve SEO and build overall brand awareness.
Amplification can be free but it can also come at a cost- Paid Amplification.
Although budgets must be in place social networks have made this easier, ASOS can therefore advertise directly through social websites for free and depending on the content their advertising they can tailor it to their target market. A brand can choose who sees the ad by specifying their potential customer’s interests, location, age and gender. Facebook specifically lets a company create a very detailed advert, as well as the above it allows you to tap into the personal demographics of the target market including relationship status and education this then relates to the whole ‘creepy or cool’ concept.
Consumer engagement is a key part of any marketing strategy, once a brand is connected with their audience they can then keep up with the needs and wants of the consumer and adapt to stay relevant.
Increased Brand Recognition - you can never have too many opportunities to market brand content, the more ASOS post the higher the chance of increasing brand awareness.
Improved Brand Loyalty - ASOS have a huge social media following already but keeping those follows and returning customers is down to engagement. The more you post the more you can connect with your audience.
Customer Conversion - Every post ASOS make to social media is an opportunity for visitors to convert, be it an image, video, promotional advert, blog post and like or comment is a chance for someone to react-this can then lead to site visits, an increased following and possibly a sale.
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However encouraging engagement can have some consequences. While it’s important to stay connected with your followers, posting too often can have a negative impact on your brand. If ASOS post too much customers may get caught up in posts and get ‘turned off’ by the brand, too much content can clog up user feeds and can be annoying results in customers unfollowing the brand.
Asking followers to engage with your brand via comments, sharing and retweeting your content can also be hard for a brand to monitor and reply too, leaving customers with unanswered questions which could have a detrimental effect on the customer service of your business.
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When planning a marketing strategy social media defiantly needs to be factored in. ASOS have a huge social media following across all platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube - all of which will be included within the marketing plan. Goals need to be put in place to measure progress and to define the objectives of the campaign.
When deciding which social platforms to use ASOS must consider various factors including budget, the target market and what content they are going to promote.
Although social media is free, paid engagement is available to all business users. Dependent on budget, paid adds can aid to the promotion of a post by reaching out to a wider audience creating further awareness which can lead to an increase in followers, conversion rates and consumer activity.
ASOS’s target market are ’20 somethings’ therefore all social platforms are key to the performance of the brand. Facebook is the most popular social media channel with over 1.1 billion unique monthly users (ebizmba.com). Facebook is a great marketing platform as ASOS can build campaigns around the target market, choosing specifics including age, interests, location and gender etc.
Facebook and other social channels encourage engagement with the consumer allowing users to share, like, comment and hashtag your content onto their followers organically, resulting in free marketing.
Content is another factor that needs to be considered into ASOS’s social strategy. Is it engaging? Does it relate to the #ASOSmovement campaign? What time of day are ASOS posting? Without exciting and relevant content users might become distant, ASOS must keep up to date with timely posts that are engaging and interactive.
Describe the methods a business can use to measure and identify success of different social media tools and channels.
Once launching the new activewear campaign we will be able to measure the success of our different platforms by looking at insights, customer engagement and sales. For example, on Instagram we can look at impressions, reach, profile views and website clicks which are all accessible via the app when using the business setting. Aside from the insights there are more obvious aspects to measure for example how many people use the #ASOSmovement when sharing photos of themselves wearing the new range. As well as the general response and interaction in terms of likes and comments on pictures posted that are to do with the new campaign. This is much the same for Facebook, Twitter and YouTube where we can see how popular the content we are sharing is, directly through likes, favourites and views. We will then be able to compare this information and discover which social media channels are most popular with our customers. Over time we can also see how the successful the campaign is by looking at how it has helped to shift the most important business KPI's such as sales, profits, customer retention and satisfaction rates. We can measure these factors by comparing the results with previous campaigns and the business's annual performances.
It is essential for all fashion businesses to use social media as a promotional platform regardless of the size or type of brand. Competitors of different sizes to ASOS such as Topshop the and Pretty Little Thing, would use very similar methods of measuring success of social media campaigns depending on the goals and objectives they set out to achieve when developing their campaigns. For example, Topshop might aim to increase the amount of engagement they have with their customers online through a campaign and would therefore focus on measuring aspects like, comments on their posts and the amount of likes they are getting. On the other hand, Pretty Little Thing might want to drive sales using a new campaign so would need to be measuring click to conversion rates and looking at an overall increase in sales across the business when measuring the success of the campaign.
Describe what success could look like when using different social media tools and channels for different types and sizes of business.
Following ASOS' on-going Instagram campaign #asseenonme which currently has over 400k uses of the hashtag, we would hope to see a similar reaction to the new #ASOSmovement campaign for the new activewear range, with hundreds of thousands of people sharing their photos wearing the new collection on Instagram. We would also hope that socially the campaign will have an impact and help women to feel more comfortable in their own skin, whilst addressing
the issues that have occurred in recent years regarding the sometimes negative affect social media has on society. An increase in brand awareness on social media as well as offline would also indicate success, as we would like the campaign to start a conversation socially and change people’s perceptions of themselves in a positive way. As well as this, we would like to see a high percentage of current and new customers buying into the new range and boosting sales across the whole business. We would also hope to see an increase in followers, particularly on our Instagram page, which is where the majority of the campaign will be promoted.
When analysis competitive activewear brands I found that when Nike introduced their new plus size range there was a large amount of coverage from the likes of The Independent, Cosmopolitan, Metro and Teen Vogue. This shows that the campaign has been successful in terms of raising awareness about the brand and its new range. Fabletics released a YouTube video, which featured Kate Hudson (brand creator) in 'Real Moments' wearing the Fabletics range. This video was extremely successful in that it got 15,281 views on YouTube and the actual Fabletics YouTube account only has 14,257 subscribers. This shows that the video reached potential new customers that may not have been aware of the brand before seeing the video.
Describe the components of a business' social media policy and guidelines & Explain the importance of having a social media policy and guidelines.
It is important for companies to develop policies and guidelines when using social media as a platform for advertising. ASOS ensures that their employees in various different countries are trained in using all social media platforms, so they know what to post where, when to do it and what content to include. They are given guidelines to keep in mind when sharing content on behalf of the brand. With a target market of 20-something men and women it is important for ASOS to be innovative in everything they do, for this reason ASOS includes a diverse range of content across all social media platforms. For example, on Instagram they share pictures from behind the scenes in the head office to make customers feel involved and give them an insight into the brand. ASOS are also extremely consistent across all their social media platforms and will post approximately 2-3 times a day on each. This helps to raise brand awareness, boost the brands SEO and keep customers interested. They are also consistent in terms of the content that they share, keeping all their posts in line with the brand image and relatable for customers. ASOS also ensures that all their platforms are easy to navigate so that the user experience is positive and the audience will be more likely to start following the brand on social media. ASOS also makes a conscious effort to post a variety of content and not just push products. For example, on their Facebook account they often post fashion related articles, funny pictures and videos alongside tutorials and tips. This is important as it makes following the brand more worthwhile for the customer and shows that ASOS has an idea of its customer’s interests and needs.
As with any brand or person on social media, it is vital that all content shared doesn’t offend anyone or send negative messages out. If the content that is shared is offensive, disrespectful or harmful to others it will be reported and taken down. It is important for ASOS to keep this in mind and make sure that what they share cannot be misinterpreted or deemed inappropriate. ASOS aims to have transparency in every social media engagement so that the customer knows that what they are reading or seeing is from a reliable and trustworthy source. This is especially important, as one slip up could be extremely detrimental for the brand. An example of this would be in September of 2016 Volkswagen was found to have cheated emissions tests and falsely sold 11 million 'low emission' cars to their customers. It is fundamental that adverts and campaigns are not misleading in anyway. Customer privacy is also a huge component for ASOS as they use a lot of user generated content across all their social media platforms, they have to be careful and make sure they have consent. ASOS also has to respect copyrights and trademarks when sharing other people’s content for example pictures on their Instagram or Pinterest and articles on Facebook. If ASOS runs a competition on social media, they have to ensure that they abide by the rules and regulations set by the social media platform in use. For example, Facebook asks users to state when the competition closes and that only the brand that sells the product can run competitions. It is important to stick to these rules otherwise there is a risk that competition posts will be taken down.
Explain the importance of having a reputation management policy.
It is vital for businesses to take action and manage their online reputation so that their current customers and prospective customers see the business in its best light. It is important that ASOS keeps on top of customer reviews, especially as the company continues to grow and more people have their opinions about the brand and its products. This is something that ASOS does really well; predominantly on twitter by having the @ASOS_HeretoHelp page they are separating any negative comments from the main ASOS account and dealing with them swiftly in a professional manner away from where the majority of their customers can see. It is also important that ASOS shares as much as possible about the brand with its customers so that the customer knows exactly who they are buying from. ASOS has an extensive 'About Us' page on the website, as well as a customer care page where customers can find out everything they need to know about deliveries, returns and how to get in contact. This is important because consumers often complain about not being able to contact brands when something goes wrong.
Describe the benefits of managing perception changes in a business's reputation.
When the public perception of a business changes is it important that the business can either maintain a good perception or work to build up a good perception again. If for example ASOS experiences negative press and in turn their sales decrease, then it is essential that the negative press is eliminated from the public eye and positive press is released. This is where the PR team comes in and works to get ASOS back in the public eye in a positive way. Otherwise the brand will continue to experience a decrease in sales because less people will want to buy into the brand if they see negative comments in the media. It is beneficial for ASOS to have a management process so they can plan how they will respond to any negative perception changes before they occur. It will also allow them to prevent perception changes on the whole.
Describe how to manage perception changes in a business's reputation.
Firstly the brand should publish a formal apology in response to any negative backlash. Admitting that they were in the wrong and that it will not happen again. People tend to have more respect for companies that admit their mistakes rather than try to cover them up and make excuses for themselves. After this, the brand should do its best to highlight the positive aspects of the company that will bring customers back. For example, if ASOS was to receive any negative press they could react by drawing attention to the 'Corporate Responsibility' page on their website where they have a section called 'Our Customers'. On this page ASOS have outlined all the ways in which they work to care for each customer as individuals. For example, customer care and data security, focusing on disability and positive body image are all positive aspects that ASOS works on to ensure that all customers are cared for. Drawing attention to the community page ASOS provides would change people perceptions of the company to be positive after they have been exposed to a negative side of the company. It is all about playing your strengths and making sure that following a negative backlash the brand does everything to try and change people's perceptions to be positive again. ASOS can also achieve this through their PR team, who will work to ensure that ASOS continues to build good relationships with organisations that promote the brand.
Monitor how a business is using Social Media.
Having a young target audience makes it essential for ASOS to be present on a variety of social media channels and to be posting the correct content frequently. ASOS’s Facebook page currently has 4,708,383 likes making it one of the most popular retail brands on this platform. In comparison with Topshop, which is close behind with 4,249,440 likes and Missguided, which has 1,029,305 likes. On average ASOS posts twice a day and the content often includes new collection promotions and sales as well as pictures of customers wearing ASOS clothing with the hashtag #asseenonme. They also share links to articles from their blog and helpful how to videos for example, ‘How to do natural make-up for men’. Facebook posts normally get at least 100 likes and around 20 comments as they are engaging and start a conversation with the customers. Some customers also use Facebook as a way of putting across any questions and concerns they have, these are dealt with immediately by the team in a professional manner.
ASOS are also extremely active on Twitter with 1 million followers on their main account. However, they have a number of twitter accounts that are specific to their different markets for example @ASOS_menswear, @ASOS_US, @ASOS_Au. This is beneficial for the customer as they can follow the account that is most relevant to them as well as the main account. On a typical day ASOS will tweet and retweet approximately 5-6 tweets, as Twitter is more casual and snappy they are able to post more often without overwhelming the customer and putting them off. ASOS will often tweet about products, collaborations and ASOS blog articles as well as retweeting customers who have positively tweeted about ASOS. This makes the customers feel involved and bridges the gap between the brand and the consumer.
Alongside the main accounts for each market ASOS has an account where customers can contact them directly about any problems or complaints called @ASOS_HeretoHelp. As I mentioned previously, this allows ASOS to keep their correspondence with possibly unhappy customers separate from the main ASOS twitter page. They are generally really attentive and respond very quickly to customers across all accounts. Competitors Topshop and Missguided also use this strategy of having a separate help accounts, for example @Missguided_Help and @TopshopHelp. However, the @ASOS_HereToHelp account has the most followers with 181.6K.
Instagram is ASOS’ strongest social media platform with a following of 6 million. The success of this channel is down to the eye-catching visuals and relevant content that appeals to the ASOS customer. ASOS posts approximately three times a day on Instagram and posts often receive over 50,000 likes and hundreds of comments. This is an extremely strong engagement that proves the importance of using social media for brands today. ASOS will often run Instagram campaigns such as the #asseenonme campaign I have mentioned which involves customers and creates user generated content for the brand to use. This is very similar to #babesofmissguided and #topshopstyle but the #asseenonme campaign has its own Instagram account dedicated to the hashtag with a huge 61.8k followers.
ASOS is also extremely successful in using the visual platform Pinterest to drive traffic to the website and build a strong brand image. ‘Content from ASOS generates an average 7,202 pins a week, which is nearly five times more than Amazon (1,620 pins) and almost seven times more than John Lewis (1,096 pins).’ This shows how popular ASOS is on Pinterest regardless of the fact they only have 568,803 followers which is much less compared to Facebook and Instagram. ASOS has various pin boards, some that include actual ASOS products and many that are non-related for example ‘Food Porn’, ‘Celebrities’, ‘Tattoos’, ‘Hunks’. By understanding their customer’s interests aside from fashion they have appealed to their audience and given them more of an incentive to follow them. Although this may not lead directly to sales it will raise brand awareness and give customers a positive association with the retailer.
Considering YouTube is the second largest social media platform at this time, ASOS only has 75,369 subscribers which in comparison with other platforms isn’t very much at all. This may be down to the fact that videos can be viewed via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter so the customer doesn’t feel the need to watch via YouTube. ASOS has shared over 1000 videos that range from fashion and make-up tips to fashion discovery insights. ASOS post YouTube videos much less frequently than their other platforms, for example 2-3 times a month. Overall, ASOS has a very effective digital marketing strategy across multiple social media channels.
Identify improvements to a business’ use of social media.
Overall ASOS has a very impressive social media presence and is considered to be one of the most popular online retailers on social media. However, there is always room for improvement and although ASOS seems to have Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest very well covered YouTube is still fairly small in comparison. With the launch of the new activewear range and the #ASOSmovement, ASOS should tap into the 1billion active users that are on YouTube each month. They will do this by posting videos of healthy recipes and cooking classes with Deliciously Ella who has 125,584 subscribers and promotes healthy living through a balanced diet. To touch on another aspect of healthy living that is better linked would be workout videos and tutorials featuring the activewear range. These would be in collaboration with Iskra Lawrence who is an inspiring woman that speaks openly about the struggles of maintaining a positive body image; she also has an ever-growing number of 53,403 subscribers. The combination of the two influencers would allow ASOS to reach two separate audiences that are interested in a healthy lifestyle and who are likely to want to buy into the new activewear range. In terms of competitors, Topshop and Missguided could tap into ASOS' success with the asseenonme Instagram account and create Instagram accounts for babesofmissguided and topshopstyle in order to show their customers real people wearing the clothes and providing them with another way to shop.