The Success of DollsKill as an E-Commerce Brand

E-commerce refers to any purchasing or selling transaction that occurs over the internet. It has been a growing field during the last several decades, and it isn’t going anywhere. As the general public moves to an increasingly digital world, the internet is more relevant than ever, and many businesses quickly picked up knowledge on how to effectively navigate the virtual shopping landscape. Consumers are more and more frequently choosing to purchase online over buying products at brick-and-mortar storefronts due to convenience, variety, and availability of products. Gone are the days of asking a retail employee to look for another size of an item in the back; now all the stock a business has to offer is on display for the consumer to pick and choose from anything they could ever want.

A high frequency of posting can lead to a higher engagement with the target audience. From Dolls Kill on Instagram.

One of the major platforms that countless brands have flocked to to advertise their products is Instagram, a photo-based social media app where just about anyone can share and control content. It even contains a shopping feature where users can check out directly from the app, emphasizing convenience even more than before. Clothing brands, in specific, have been gaining traction on Instagram and thriving for several reasons: creative showcasing of products, interactions with the audience, and very specific and unique branding.

One brand in particular that has grabbed the attention of a large, niche, and fiercely loyal audience through Instagram e-commerce is Dolls Kill. Dolls Kill is a San Francisco-based clothing brand started by couple Shoddy Lynn and Bobby Farahi in 2011, with emphasis on going against the mainstream. They prominently feature alternative, edgy clothing sold with a variety of niche aesthetics in mind and an “IDGAF” attitude, as described by Shoddy Lynn. Within the last 9 years, they have effectively gained 3.2 million followers on Instagram alone. They have been the forefront of a considerable amount of backlash on Instagram due to their controversial branding, but you know what they say: all publicity is good publicity.

By having consistency in color and repetition within posts, the page can build an appealing page that attracts a fiercely loyal niche market. From Dolls Kill on Instagram.

Since social media became frequently used by a majority of consumer audiences, effective marketing strategies have been the target of a lot of research. A 2018 research study took a look at what makes an e-commerce brand successful on social media, and it was found that brands that built a relationship with their customers did consistently better at keeping customers than those that didn’t. It was also found that emphasized communication and availability of reviews also increased consumer trust with e-commerce brands (Chong et al., 2018). These are all aspects that Dolls Kill has managed to emphasize on their Instagram page, which is likely a main part of the reason why their brand does as well as it does when it’s main method of advertising is through Instagram. They are constantly interacting with their following through comments, but also by prominently featuring other Instagram users wearing their clothes on their feed. It results in a very strong sense of community that the entire following can feel like they belong in, which establishes more trust, and, consequently, more brand loyalty and a higher return rate of customers that come back for more.

There are many other aspects of the brand’s social media presence that have shown to be effective time and time again, not only with their own page but for many other brands like Urban Outfitters, ASOS, and Nike.

By posting content from influencers on Instagram that wear their clothing, they are able to build a relationship with their audience that makes it feel more like a community, not a transaction. This is important for e-commerce brands. From Dolls Kill on instagram.

1. They post actively and frequently with well-done product shots as well as with photos of their followers wearing the clothes, which increases the engagement of their following.
2. They also have taken advantage of the shopping feature on the Instagram interface, making it easier than ever for customers to buy straight from their feed. Emphasizing convenience has always been attractive to consumers, whether they are consciously thinking about it or not.
3. Frequent interactions with customers and emphasis on customer service contribute greatly to the consumer’s sense of trust and reliability with the brand.
4. They have found a very specific market that attracts a target audience that remains extremely loyal to the brand, with many of their biggest supporters sporting entire wardrobes full of their clothes. The extreme emphasis on multiple fashion aesthetics has attracted an audience that has continued to support the brand in huge numbers due to devotion to style.
5. The Dolls Kill brand is instantly recognizable by a vast, youthful audience. Because of their unique, alternative style of branding, they have made an impression in a lot of people’s minds.
6. Their page, in itself, is aesthetically pleasing to look at due to the emphasis on color, as well as elements of repetition and patterns of product shots, models, and follower plugs. It is well organized and attractive, prompting the user to look at more and more of their unique products.

Not only do they use pictures, but they also feature videos frequently on their page which catches the audience’s attention and shows off the product in a casual way. From Dolls Kill on Instagram.

Regardless of your opinion on the brand Dolls Kill (on Instagram @dollskill), it is undeniable that they have built an extremely successful social media presence to sell their products online. They were one of the fastest-growing e-commerce brands on Instagram since their start in 2011, and won an award from Inc. Magazine in 2014 securing the title “Fastest Growing Retailer” as well as one of the top companies in San Francisco (Wikipedia, 2020). They have built a specific, loyal fan base and they emphasize using their customers to sell more products. Though they might not be the first brand considered for their e-commerce presence by an older, more mature audience, they have effectively taken control of their target market and have utilized the tools available to them on Instagram to market their brand as well as possible.

Sources

Chong, A. Y. L., Lacka, E., Boying, L., & Chan, H. K. (2018). The role of social media in enhancing guanxi and perceived effectiveness of E-commerce institutional mechanisms in online marketplace. Information & Management, 55(5), 621–632. doi: 10.1016/j.im.2018.01.003

Dolls Kill. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved from https://www.dollskill.com/about

Rey, J. D. (2014, August 11). Flesh, Drugs and Instagram: How Dolls Kill Built a Breakout Online Fashion Brand. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2014/8/11/11629724/flesh-drugs-and-instagram-how-dolls-kill-built-a-breakout-online

Suja, A. (2018, August 21). How the Best Ecommerce Brands Engage Users on Instagram. Retrieved from https://ecommerce-platforms.com/articles/best-ecommerce-brands-on-instagram

Wikipedia. (2020, February 22). Dolls Kill. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolls_Kill