Purpose The purpose of this research is to conduct a theoretical prediction study exploring the effectiveness of different content marketing strategies in expanding the second-hand market for fashion brands, comparing the costs and risks involved in these strategies in practice. Design/methodology/approach First, the expert interview method is employed to extract the content marketing strategies of the fashion second-hand market. Then, a descriptive space that is able to identify various fashion brand images is established. Then, experts' perceptions of the relationships between content marketing strategies and fashion brand image dimensions are obtained through a subjective evaluation procedure. Data of semantic evaluation were quantified and analyzed using the fuzzy logic method. Findings When fashion brands expand to the second-hand market, they not only need to focus on improving the individual differentiation of products but also give priority to the quality of products and services and the overall customer experience. Exploring the “social impact strategy” will become an important direction for the development of fashion brands in the future. Originality/value The research methodology employed herein exhibits a noteworthy degree of novelty. This study introduces a pioneering theoretical prediction approach utilizing fuzzy logic, marking the inaugural exploration of this emerging and captivating dimension within the context of the study. Simultaneously, the study provides comparative results among content marketing strategies for expanding the fashion second-hand market, offering guidance for market expansion.