Instagram Best Practices For Forever 21

Forever 21 is a well-known brand that keeps up with the latest trend at an affordable price. Despite Forever 21 filing for bankruptcy in September 2019, they still stand with new owners such as Aeropostale, Barneys, Nine West, and more.

Ideal Character Count

The ideal character count for forever 21 on Instagram will average between 80–100 characters. The brand is very simple in writing their captions when it comes to posting photos on their feed. The focus is more so on the content itself (content is king)— showcasing a visual story. This photo is showcasing their floral print cami mini dress with a girl holding a rose to match the color of the dress. Being simple with sending the message is important with clothing brands. From what I have observed, part of that caption says “make sure to tag forever 21” is copied into all of the posts. Excluding that sentence, Forever 21 stays under 40 characters or a little over 40 characters; therefore, this post is considered an ideal character count.

Exceeds Character Count

Although this post exceeds the ideal character count, it is appropriate for current times. Unfortunately, this post received less engagement such as “likes” than the previous post I listed. My theory that it may not have received the number of likes is because the consumer who follows forever 21 expects a colorful photo of items from the store. However, this post received more comments than the other post — which is amazing because it created conversation. When important current events that impact our world happens, it is important as a brand to speak up and say something. This shows that we are not just a brand that sells products, but that we are also a family on social media.

Hashtags

Forever 21 kept their hashtags unique to their brand by using #f21xme and #foreverbabe. This is a very unique style because it gives the opportunity for their audience to create the post for them and as a reward, they can be featured on the forever 21 Instagram page. The unique hashtags create a gallery for all the customer-created content who used the hashtag.

Brand Voice

The brand voice is depicted as a friendly and positive influencer living “their best life”. Forever 21 uses a mix of original content and content produced by their fans. The content and captions tailor to a happy lifestyle and are relevant to the season. It is very important for retail stores to stay on top of trends as well as following the seasons to keep their Instagram page relevant and appealing to the consumer's eye.

Responding To Customer Concerns

Due to current events, online shopping for most retail stores has been a challenge due to limited staffing and transit delays. It is important to acknowledge the customer’s concerns considering they may not be aware of why there are delays. Responding to their concerns as fast as possible is very important due to many complaints being about delays in their orders and customer service not responding to their emails.

Forever 21 brand voice starts out with assuring that they are more than happy to help out their customer following a request for detailed information to be sent from the customer to better assist with their concern.

In regards to events, it is appropriate for events to happen virtually such as holding contests that bring exposure to the influencer and creative ideas for the brand.

To conclude, being simple with hashtags, trendy in season, and friendly in customer service, Forever 21 social media will consistently grow with these best practices.

Kennedy, M. (2020, February 20). Forever 21 Filed For Bankruptcy But Will Live On With New Owners. Retrieved June 11, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/2020/02/20/807755366/forever-21-filed-for-bankruptcy-but-will-live-on-with-new-owners