The experience of travel never leaves us. In the case of Amber Broussard, truer words have never been spoken. Her wanderlust, combined with a love for embroidered fabrics, resulted in the founding of Souk Indigo in August 2019. The brand combines vintage textiles from India with artisan techniques that mirror the look and feel of the global marketplaces that inspire them.
The casual yet luxurious garments are versatile enough to meet both everyday and special-event wardrobe needs of customers, who boast a keen eye for design and quality – and a deep appreciation for history. That’s because each one of Souk Indigo’s pieces tells a unique story.
That’s where Charissa Owens comes in. As the company’s social media and marketing director, Charissa collaborates with the Souk Indigo team to incorporate the brands story from every angle across social media channels. With COVID-19 bringing the global tourism industry to a halt and sales volumes slowing, she’s harnessing people’s love of travel to keep the brand’s community connected through social. Her job is now more important than ever, providing inspiration and hope to followers, while keeping things light and relatable whenever possible.
Creating true connections, near and far
Souk Indigo is committed to collaborating with the Indian artisans behind its sustainable styles. Not only is each piece ethically produced in small batches using techniques passed on from previous generations, artisans are compensated using fair trade pay.
For Owens, that means weaving the brand values of ethics and sustainability into stories that showcase more than just the beautiful, high-quality garments, but the techniques that are used to make them, such as kantha stitching, block printing, and hand loomed fabric. She puts faces to the craftspeople behind the wearable art and uses the worldwide bazaars for which the company is named as a backdrop for the brand’s immersive stories.
To accomplish this, Owens uses Adobe Spark to create posts and stories for Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Souk Indigo posts daily and follows a scheduled social media strategy that speaks to the brand’s target customer’s lifestyle.
Souk Indigo incorporates several elements in its scheduled social media strategy and routine. From close-up and full lifestyle views of the clothing to influencers wearing the clothing or travel, art, and nature images, the brand always aims to inspire. Beautiful quotes reflect brand values while educational posts highlight the techniques and artisans behind the pieces.
Adobe Spark allows Owens to create daily Instagram stories without much pre-planning. She says, “Time is so valuable, and Adobe Spark really allows me to get the job done quickly and efficiently.”
She schedules posts for the feeds two to three weeks in advance using Loomly, a social media scheduling tool that also give her visibility into how everything will look when posted on a feed. It takes up to four days to schedule everything for a two- to three-week period.
So far, her efforts are working. Except for a couple of paid promotion posts and a similar number of Facebook ads created with Adobe Spark, most of Souk Indigo’s social media growth is organic. Since its launch in 2019, the brand has amassed 15,100 followers on Instagram, 1,500 followers on Facebook, and boasts more than 33,000 monthly viewers on Pinterest.
“Adobe Spark lets me work quickly and creatively, whether I’m putting together an Instagram story with five or six images or planning a week’s worth of posts across Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest,” says Owens. “Using Adobe Spark helps us build and maintain a social presence that directly impacts business.”
Influencers have also been key to growing the brand’s following in such a short period of time.
Tips for trying times
These days especially, Owens appreciates the easy-to-use interfaces that enable her to move seamlessly between Adobe Spark on her computer and the mobile app so she can work anywhere and anytime.
“I use Adobe Spark templates as a starting point for designs and can alter them easily to make them fit the brand’s aesthetic,” she says. “I save a lot of time by simply adding new images, words, or colors to existing designs and layouts.”
The brand’s logo, colors, and font are uploaded to the cloud for quick access when creating posts, which can then be saved and viewed in chronological order.
Owens also uses Adobe Illustrator to create the Souk Indigo line sheet, LookBook, and select printed design pieces such as event invitations, shelf talkers, and flyers.
Walking the walk
In true Souk Indigo fashion, the company also does its part locally to lift spirts and contribute to community efforts during the pandemic. The company recently solicited nominations for a puff sleeve blouse giveaway to a front-line worker in appreciation for their work. In the end, both the nominated and the nominee received a blouse. Souk Indigo also donated 20 percent of its online sales over a two-week period to The Food Bank of Central Louisiana.
Is your brand living its brand values? If so, let us know on social @adobespark. #adobespark
