Five ways to use social media for your modest-fashion startup

FashionValet co-founder Vivy Yusof. Photo supplied by FashionValet

As one of Malaysia’s biggest social media stars, she leveraged her fanbase to build a thriving business in Southeast Asia; now, Vivy Yusof, a.k.a. @vivyyusof, has set her sights on the Middle East, bringing her ecommerce venture FashionValet to the region last week for the first time.

Hosting a launch party in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Vivy and her co-founder husband Fadzarudin Anuar showcased the platform, promoting Malaysian brands to regional buyers and media, FashionValet’s first event in the region is part of a wider plan to eventually launch a standalone Middle East portal for FashionValet.

“We already have customers here organically (we didn’t do any marketing here), so having that shows a really good response already,” Vivy told My Salaam. “It’s just growing; the customer base is purely [from] word of mouth or through my own Instagram.”

And Instagram has been key. Although 60 per cent of FashionValet’s customers are Malaysians, Vivy said that the website is seeing increasing interest from the GCC, particularly Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. And it’s all down to her social media presence, for Vivy has racked up 1.4 million followers to date on Instagram alone.

FashionValet co-founder Vivy Yusof. Photo supplied by FashionValet

So how can you use social media to promote a modest-fashion startup? Vivy gave us her top tips:

1. CREATE GOOD VISUALS

The first step is as simple as taking a good photo, Vivy said. “I don’t like brands who just do it haphazardly; just like, take a photo and upload them. At least put them on a nice hangar and use good lighting. Nice lighting is everything. I don’t get people who take photos at night. You can’t see anything.”

When it comes to equipment, you don’t have to splurge to get a good shot. “I’m an iPhone girl. I mean, yeah, obviously, you should use good gadgets to take your photos, so you should invest in that a little bit, but even [smartphones] now produce amazing quality.”

2. CREATE A VOICE

“A brand should come with a voice,” said Vivy, and references her second venture, the lifestyle clothing brand dUCk: “[Products are] fronted by an ambassador called D. So, if you look on Instagram, everything is from [a character called] D’s voice. There’s a caption always ‘signed off’ by D. People relate to that; they feel like they’re talking to a person, so I think that personal touch is important.”

3. STAY ENGAGED

“Engagement is very, very important!” said Vivy, emphasising the importance of responding to comments and direct messages (DMs). “Apparently, if you post more videos, you get featured more. [...] If you reply to DMs and you reply to comments, you’re flagged as an active account and you get shown more on the Explore page.”

4. PLAN YOUR FEED

Even the way content is posted should be colour-coordinated and planned, Vivy said. “I care a lot about how the feed looks. First impressions are so important, and you can’t take them back, so make sure your feed is organised in a nice colour palette and looks neat, because the first thing people see when they go to your page is your feed. If it’s all jumbled up with selfies and this and that, I find it really messy, and it puts me off the brand.”

Planning is also key: “Plan your posts! There’s this app called Planoly where you can plan your Instagram posts, and you can even switch it around to see which photo looks nice with what. It’s really important.”

5. AND REMAIN CONSISTENT

To get ahead in the race, it’s important to stay dedicated and consistent in what you do. “It’s part of the engagement process, because then you get featured more often, people see you are active, and they want to talk to you. If not, they’re like, ‘Oh, she only posts like [once a week].’ You should be posting every day.”

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