Garage sales, vintage markets and bazaars are part of the increasingly strong love for second-hand shopping, a sustainable activity from an economic and environmental point of view.
If you own a thrift store then this is for you. Here is a guide on how to use branding on Instagram to create a solid brand identity that is easily recognizable by your customers and will help you increase your sales.
Tell your brand story
Online thrift stores are usually locally owned 50 instagram followers. This means you have the opportunity to tell the story of your small business to connect with your customers on a personal level and encourage them to support local businesses like yours. To achieve this you can use some of the design templates that you can find in Simplified.
3 steps to make the most of branding on Instagram
1.Logo of your brand
Your thrift store logo should be clearly visible in the Instagram thumbnail. Choose solid colors with minimal shapes, and use only your store name as text in the design, otherwise the graphic may look saturated.
2.Grid your feed
While your focus should still be on offering high-quality products for your customers, pay close attention to how your Instagram feed looks to an outsider. Instagram boxes are divided into multiples of 3, and this simple numerical information should influence your posts in the feed. If you upload a promotional post for marketing, the other two posts should ideally be about products you are selling.
3.Color palette and fonts
The color palette you choose for your brand logo doesn’t have to influence all the color schemes in your posts. However, to ensure consistency, keep in mind that consumers will respond to feed posts, reels, and Instagram Stories that are clearly aligned. with the aesthetics of your second-hand store.
This means, for example, that the font you use for your brand logo should be repeated in all your marketing materials.
Design ideas to promote your second-hand store on Instagram
Marketing and design in visual media is about balancing aesthetics and function. When using Instagram’s branding features to build your brand, it’s easy to get carried away by the numbers and the infamous Instagram algorithm that has been the bogeyman of many small shops and artists.
Don’t be discouraged. If you are consistent with your content and regularly schedule your posts, you will get results!
3 fun Instagram branding ideas
1. Publish moodboards:
Pinterest moodboards are a great way to explore color palettes and find inspiration for content. If you have a post scheduled, try selecting the pieces you plan to sell and find similar images in the Pinterest app.
Moodboards are an effective marketing strategy on Instagram because the background can be edited to match your brand colors. Use this marketing strategy as a teaser for your next post.
2. Link your personal account to your second-hand store:
Although many thrift store owners are skeptical about linking their private and professional accounts for security reasons, including your personal account in your store bio contributes to your brand identity.
Those who visit your online store will trust the brand more if it is public knowledge that someone passionate about fashion and art manages its operations. Customers trust what they can see.
3. Watermark on stories:
Instagram branding can be very rewarding, especially if you actively interact with your customers. If you sell vintage shoes, choose 3 or 4 images from Pinterest and post a “this or that” poll on your stories.
To make sure your audience knows it’s you, differentiate yourself by adding a small watermark to each of the polls and questions you upload to your stories. Match the font on your watermark to that of your logo.
Running an online thrift store is an exciting project. Building a solid brand identity will help you stay active in your audience’s memory and constantly improve your sales. Above all, express your personality through your store: remember that behind the screens there are people and they respond positively to authenticity.
Promote your second-hand store in a practical way with Simplified tools
The time has come to show the best content about your second-hand store on your social media profiles. Display all the products you have in your business in an aesthetic and eye-catching way.
To achieve spectacular posts, you can do it in a matter of minutes with the design options for Instagram that we have in Simplified. You can use our templates to add your products in an innovative way.