Latest / Social Media Marketing with Fexingo: Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Platform Strategy / Why Brands Are Creating Social Media Lookbooks
Transcript
- Lucas: You know that moment when you're scrolling Instagram and you hit a carousel of seven photos that are all the same model in different outfits, same lighting, same background — it feels almost like a mini magazine spread? Luna: Yeah, I've definitely seen those. Some of them are really polished, others feel a bit repetitive. But I never thought of them as a formal strategy. Lucas: Well, brands are turning that into something very intentional. They're calling them social media lookbooks — essentially a curated visual series that showcases a product line or a seasonal collection, designed specifically for the feed. Not a PDF you download from a website, not a lookbook tab on your site — it lives natively on Instagram, TikTok, sometimes even LinkedIn. Luna: So it's like bringing the catalog experience into social, but optimized for how people actually scroll? Lucas: Exactly. And the numbers suggest it works. A study from Later — the social scheduling platform — found that carousel posts on Instagram have a 3x higher engagement rate than single-image posts. But when those carousels are structured as a lookbook — consistent aesthetic, sequential storytelling — brands are seeing click-through rates to product pages around 40 percent higher than standard product shots. Luna: Forty percent — that's significant. Are there any brands that are particularly known for this approach? Lucas: Patagonia is a great example. They do these seasonal lookbooks on Instagram where each carousel tells a story about a specific jacket or a layering system. They'll show the product in action — hiking in the rain, worn over a fleece — and then the last slide is a direct link to that product. It's not just product photography; it's lifestyle storytelling. Another one is Glossier. They've done lookbooks for their makeup collections where each slide is a different face — different skin tones, different makeup looks — all using the same product line. It feels inclusive and aspirational at the same time. Luna: I've seen those. What I like about Glossier's is that they often include a video clip in the middle of the carousel — like a quick application demo. That breaks up the static images and makes the whole thing feel more dynamic. Lucas: Right, and that's a smart production choice. A mix of static and video within one carousel keeps people swiping. On TikTok, the format is different — it's usually a video series where you swipe through looks, set to music, with quick cuts. Some brands are even using TikTok's catalog feature to make those looks shoppable directly. Luna: So how does a brand decide whether to do this on Instagram versus TikTok? Or should they do both? Lucas: It depends on the audience and the product. If you're a fashion or beauty brand targeting millennials and Gen Z, you probably want both. But I've seen B2B brands try this too — HubSpot, for example, created a lookbook-style carousel on LinkedIn showing different use cases of their software across industries. Each slide was a screenshot of a dashboard with a customer quote. It wasn't about clothing, but it was still a visual series designed to show product versatility. Luna: That's interesting. Did it perform well for them? Lucas: From what I've read, it got above-average engagement for their page — about double their typical post engagement. The key was that it felt less like a sales pitch and more like a case study in visual form. That's the underlying principle: a lookbook should feel editorial, not transactional. Luna: What about production cost? I imagine creating a full lookbook requires a photoshoot, consistent styling, maybe a model. For a small brand with a limited budget, is this accessible? Lucas: It can be, if you're smart about it. You don't need a professional studio. Some brands are doing user-generated lookbooks — they ask customers to submit photos of themselves using the product, then curate the best ones into a carousel. It's authentic, low-cost, and builds community. Alternatively, you can shoot everything in one day — batch create content for the whole season. I've seen skincare brands do a 'one product, three routines' lookbook using just a smartphone and natural light. Luna: So it's more about the structure and the storytelling than the production value? Lucas: Exactly. The format itself signals curation, which makes the audience slow down. And that's valuable in a world where the average attention span on social is under two seconds. Luna: Speaking of slowing down — if these conversations have given you a new idea or a practical tip you've actually used, that's exactly the kind of thing that keeps this show going. We keep Social Media Marketing with Fexingo ad-free because listeners like you support it. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small but meaningful way to ensure we can keep digging into these topics without corporate interruptions. If you've found value here, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: And we genuinely appreciate that. It helps us keep bringing you episodes like this one. Lucas: So back to the lookbook — another thing that's emerging is the integration with social commerce. On Instagram, you can now tag products directly in each slide of a carousel. So if you're doing a lookbook for a fall collection, every item in every photo is shoppable. That's a huge driver of conversion because the path from inspiration to purchase is literally one tap. Luna: Does that change how brands sequence the slides? Like, do they put the most popular item first to catch the scroll? Lucas: Some do. There's a bit of A/B testing involved. But a common pattern is to start with a hero shot — the statement piece — then move into variations, and end with a call to action slide that says 'shop the look' or 'see the full collection.' That last slide often has the highest click-through rate because by then the viewer has seen the story and is ready to act. Luna: What about measurement? How do you know if your lookbook is working beyond likes and comments? Lucas: Brands are looking at swipe-through rate — what percentage of viewers go from slide one to slide two, slide two to three, and so on. If you see a big drop-off after slide three, maybe your lookbook is too long. Also, direct traffic to product pages from that post. Some analytics tools can track if someone saw the lookbook and then purchased within 24 hours. That's a stronger signal than just engagement. Luna: It sounds like the lookbook is really just a format — but the strategy behind it is about telling a cohesive visual story. Do you think that's why it's gaining traction now, as opposed to five years ago? Lucas: I think it's a reaction to how noisy social media has become. Brands realized that a single product photo gets lost, but a series of curated images forces the audience to pause. Plus, the platforms have built the infrastructure — carousels, shoppable tags, catalog APIs — that make it easy to execute. Five years ago, you'd have to link out to a website. Now the entire experience can happen in-app. Luna: For brands that are considering this, what's the first step? Should they audit their existing content to see what visual style works? Lucas: I'd recommend starting with a single collection — maybe your best-selling product line or an upcoming seasonal launch. Plan a shoot or gather existing user content. Then create a carousel of 5 to 7 slides with a consistent filter or color palette. Post it and compare the performance to your average post. The data will tell you if it's worth scaling. And don't forget to include a clear call to action on the last slide. Luna: One more thing — do you see this working for service-based businesses? Like a consulting firm or a coaching practice? Lucas: Absolutely. Instead of product photos, you'd show before and after results, client testimonials in visual form, or a step-by-step breakdown of your process. I've seen a financial advisor create a lookbook of 'client success stories' — each slide was a different client scenario with a quote and a key metric. It humanized the service and made it tangible. So the format is flexible — it's really about packaging information in a visually scannable way. Luna: That makes sense. I think we'll see more brands adopting this, especially as social algorithms increasingly favor carousels and longer dwell time. Lucas: For sure. And I'd add that the best lookbooks don't just show products — they show a lifestyle, a solution, or a transformation. That's what makes people stop scrolling.