the edit for all things social media, marketing and content creation.

Odd Muse is a British mid-luxury slow fashion brand, founded by Aimee Smale, that has taken social media by storm. The brand is a masterclass in social media strategy and the ways you can leverage the unique benefits of Instagram and TikTok to broaden your reach, build a cult community and convert views/ followers into sales. There are so many lessons within their strategy for not just fashion brands, but businesses across all industries… so take note!

Multi-platform marketing

Odd Muse’s social media strategy leverages the unique benefits of TikTok and Instagram. It capitalises on TikTok to reach a broad and highly engaged audience, whereas Instagram allows  them to convert views and followers into paying customers. Above all, they give people a reason to follow both platforms by posting content that is native to each app.

Aimee credits Instagram for directly influencing sales. While TikTok shows the light-hearted side of the business, Instagram is their carefully-curated shop window. As a mid-luxury fashion brand, their visual identity, branding and messaging echoes this on Instagram. Products are showcased through different content styles, depicting an aspirational lifestyle that people believe they will also achieve if they buy into the brand.

On TikTok, Odd Muse jumps on the right trends to achieve virality and brand awareness. They create their own trends to build a cult community that recognise and crave this signature style of content. Alongside this, they also generate ‘behind-the-scenes’ content while engaging directly with the community. Odd Muse also leverages employee-generated content (EGC) with the social media manager, Sophie Milham, sharing the BTS of her role. 

Personal branding & owner-generated content (OGC)

Aimee is the face of the brand and her story as a Gen Z female fashion founder is a central part of Odd Muse’s narrative. Aimee has shared her journey from leaving her role at ASOS as a fashion buyer to starting her own brand. She candidly shares the ups and downs of being a founder and business owner. Showing up regularly on camera humanises the brand and builds a deeper connection with her audience. She’s not one to gatekeep and positions herself as an expert (and open book!) on being a young business owner, specifically within the fashion space. Fellow business owners or female founders look up to her and follow for educational and aspirational content.

Engaging

Odd Muse regularly engages with their community, going beyond just responding to comments. They embrace negative feedback. For example, Aimee once addressed negative reviews about a dress and shared how she is improving it through a ‘you asked, we listened’ style-strategy). Their Instagram broadcast channel involves the community in the design process – showing they value their insight on designs and colour-ways. Additionally, ‘accidental oversharing’ has become part of the strategy. This is where Aimee shares ‘unauthorised’ sneak peeks into new collections, which has become a personality trait and a funny ‘ifykyk’ inside joke with her audience. This transparency and engagement is essential to building a cult community.

Sharing the BTS

Aimee shares BTS content, including the design and product development process, travelling, photoshoots, in-office content and general operations. Aimee vlogs these moments in entertaining and fun ‘warts and all’ videos on TikTok (and YouTube). By sharing milestones and documenting product development, the audience is invested and involved in the creative process. Taking their audience on the journey means that customers feel as though they are participating in the brand’s evolution and are thus more incentivised to buy.

Building hype

Odd Muse is a masterclass in generating hype around product launches. New releases are teased on social media to build anticipation. Odd Muse shares how many people are on the waitlist for new launches to illustrate demand and generate ‘fomo’. This reinforces the brand’s image as exclusive. Odd Muse uses the ‘soft launch’ week to engage with their audience and answer its questions, priming them to click ‘add to cart’ on launch day.

Leveraging user-generated content (UGC)

Odd Muse also leverages UGC to demonstrate social proof. They encourage customers to share their experiences and styling tips, which they reshare. Since customers resonate with content created by other users, this increases the likelihood of conversions. Odd Muse collaborates with  influencers and celebrities ‘de jour’ that are known for their style – providing influencer or celebrity endorsement.

Highlighting point of difference

Odd Muse wants to be known for quiet luxury through their timeless and quality pieces. The brand’s online messaging heavily emphasises their USP and they have made videos about brands knocking off their styles – displaying the difference in quality between the original version and the knock off. Odd Muse is a great example of how to leverage a negative situation in a marketing strategy. Highlighting this unique selling point is what will result in loyal and returning customers.

Consistency is key

Last but not least, the brand consistently posts daily and Aimee herself also posts everyday (or even multiple times a day). This ensures Odd Muse and Aimee are continually showing up on your feeds and staying front of mind.

All in all, Odd Muse is absolutely nailing social media. Aimee’s approach is a perfect example of how to balance authenticity, exclusivity and consistent engagement to build a dedicated following that’s genuinely invested in the brand. By mixing Instagram’s polished, aspirational vibe with TikTok’s raw, behind-the-scenes moments, they’ve created a community that feels like they’re part of the brand’s journey.