How Social Media Influencers Revolutionized At-Home Fashion Industry

For over a decade, Alexa Graham has been rocking the catwalk of Victoria's Secret as one of the most sought-after fashion models. She regularly appears in high-end magazines as well, a clear indication of a skyrocketing career. But just as she thought nothing could go wrong, the devastating pandemic hit.

In an interview with BBC News, Graham shared that her work completely stopped in March and April. However, like any other industry affected by the global ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic, the modeling industry sought social media help.

It's not a new trend for models to promote their content and their brands on social media, may it be on official business or personal accounts. And with the inceptions of several rules and protocols, many adjustments had been made.

Instagram Followers Flock to At-Home Fashion

Eva Longoria, a famous model and brand ambassador for L'Oréal, shared that she had to dye her hair during the lockdown. The crew had to work on the filming, a process that proved to be lengthy and cumbersome.

The CMO of L'Oréal UK and Ireland, Lex Bradshaw-Zanger, added that filming content weekly and editing them before being shared publicly are real challenges, particularly during the adjustment period. However, once it went out across television, social, and digital platforms, they were astonished by the general public's positive reaction. Notably, many people were able to relate to the model's experience.

L'Oréal is not an amateur when it comes to using social media influencers. However, its budget for this marketing strategy back then isn't that big compared to what it is spending now following the pandemic. Takumi, an influencer marketing firm, reported that over 70% of famous brands had made the switch. 

“The New In Demand”

BBC News further reported that modeling agencies are now experiencing an influx of requests from brands. Notably, they are seeking models who can independently shoot and produce their own content.

Director Elizabeth Rose of Evolve Model Management said that since the pandemic, the production stopped. However, brands still have to sell their clothes, and they see the social media platforms as their new stores. But since regular models are not skilled enough to produce top-notch branding and marketing materials, these businesses see influencers as their lifeline.

What's more impressive is that, according to Evolve, there are a handful of High Street fashion brands that are already working on making home shooting their primary method of content production.

Meanwhile, Nathan Hopkinson, a content creator, shared that when he noticed last year that his bookings were falling, he took advantage of his extra time at home to establish and boost his presence on social media. Notably, he saw the lockdown and limited movement as an opportunity to gain more followers, particularly on TikTok. A year since everything changed due to the pandemic, Hopkinson had garnered 130 000 and 270 000 additional followers on Instagram and Tiktok, respectively.

“Rough on the Edges”

The center of this new trend is authenticity. This is because influencers tend to attract followers who feel connected to the person and not to the brand. 

Shu Lin, a travel blogger, says that brands are enjoying the direct and heavily engaged relationship that she has with her followers. Notably, Lin witnessed a significant increase in interest from fashion brands now that there is a pandemic.

She added that as social media platforms continue to rise, consumers want to see content that is less polished. Instead, what they look for is content that reflects their daily experiences. In addition, she noted that it is great to witness how the fashion industry is starting to embrace diversity in the way they market their products. This is because this diversity represents consumers more in real life. 

On the other hand, influencers are providing brands with more value for money, said blogger Victoria Magrath. Magrath has more than a million followers on Instagram. She has also worked for various luxury designer brands, such as Dior, Tiffany & Co., and Armani. 

Fashion Brands Constantly Buy Instagram Followers

According to her, influencers have the ability to provide unique content. What is even better is that they can do this without having to put up a shoot that has crews, a location, and a model. And since they can style themselves, take videos and photos, and edit them themselves, the production costs become significantly lower. But despite these lower costs, they can create content with the same quality as rival magazine editorials. In fact, they can even provide more accurate results in comparison with print advertising. This is why they buy Instagram followers and earn even more followers organically.

Magrath also emphasized that Instagram insights, brand analytics, and other similar platforms have the ability to count the number of people visiting a particular page. These analytics tools can even pinpoint how long those visitors spent on a platform, what they clicked, and where they navigated after. 

For instance, Launchmetrics is a technology platform that specializes in analyzing social media data. Its aim is to provide detailed research on ROI or return on investment for luxury brands. 

Each day, this platform monitors a total of 20 000 brands, 100 000 influencers, and 50 000 media outlets. It does this in order to calculate a social media post’s value. 

Conclusion: At Home Fashion Works for Real and Bought Followers

According to its estimation, a single post from Gigi Hadid, a model, and influencer, is worth $1.2M in comparison with $20 000 traditional models. Apart from that, the average value of a social media post, including Versace, a luxury brand, is $7 000. 

The aforementioned shift brought about thy different social media platforms is that consumers no longer want edited content. This is according to Alison Bringe, a chief marketing officer. She noted that what consumers really want is to know the real story behind a product. 

Since social media influencing is so popular, many brands are utilizing it. In fact, one of the largest modeling agencies in Europe, Models1 even added a full-time social media editor to its support staff. Its reason is that it is difficult for models to be influences themselves. This is because they are already working for a number of competing brands.

Date: August 24, 2021 / Categories: Buy Instagram Followers, Interesting, / Author: Joy P