User:IsabellaCarufel/Social media in the fashion industry

Social media use in the fashion industry has enabled consumers to have more interactions with fashion designers and firms. Unlike traditional advertising platforms, fashion companies and their advertising agencies have complete control over everything including billboard ads, magazine ads, and television commercials. With the use of social media, the industry can be advertised virtually anywhere at any time with a click of a button. When fashion companies started social media marketing campaigns in the 2010s, average consumers posted online comments immediately below the fashion company's social media advertisement. Public opinion had never had such influence. Average consumers would now be able to broadcast their opinions across the web and ultimately persuade brands to cater to them. Since its surge in 2009, luxury fashion brands have used social media to build interactions between the brand and its customers to increase awareness and engagement. Social media has brought about new channels of advertising for fashion houses to reach their target markets. Whether this is on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and so on, social media platforms are ultimately allowing brands to strengthen their customer relationship to engage a larger audience.

History of fashion in the media
Throughout history fashion influence spread through print media. In the 17th century fashion magazines were important in influencing the fashion, social, and cultural developments. The French magazine, Le Mercure Galant was publish in 1672 by Jean Donneau de Visé, showing art, fashion illustrations, arts, social and gossip columns. Fashion magazines began emerging and fashion culture was continuously critiquing and changing as a result of fashion magazines. Following magazines, fashion has been influential in the arts like film and photography. In the later 20th and 21st century the mainstream media of fashion was distributed through the Internet and Cable Television.

Following the global financial crisis in 2008, global consumption of luxury fashion goods diminished. Retailers had to shift their focus to "classic" lines to recapture their target market, as consumers were less likely to take spend on avant-garde items. Although the marketing strategies, platforms and tactics have changed, the primary aim of marketing fashion remains the same, "ultimately attracting and retaining customers". In the social media era, fashion houses needed to reshape their marketing strategies to capture consumers attention. This is where the shift from traditional print media like classic magazines such as WWD to more interactive online media. Social media is able to use different strategies, such as videos, live streams, and interactive Web 2.0 features to engage their target market. These Web 2.0 features allow social media apps to track the likes, dislikes, and views of users to determine which ads would be the most successful for that particular individual.

Advertising through mobile apps
Mobile apps, on smartphones such as the iPhone, allow users to shop brand sales, receive style tips, and customize fashion trend news feeds. Geo-location technology allows brands to connect with shoppers at the point of purchase, giving them the ability to check-in and find tips, recommendations, offers and prizes, resulting in stronger brand loyalty and spread through word of mouth. Companies have found ways to utilize apps on both social networking sites and mobile phones. Gilt Groupe, a private discounted site for luxury clothing, created Android apps to promote their products. According to the Vice President of Product Management for Gilt, "The Gilt for Android App was specifically designed for Android-powered devices. Android users can now shop Gilt sales, preview upcoming sales, and invite friends from anywhere via multiple messaging channels, including sharing the app via QR code. In addition, unique to Android devices, is the Gilt widget which is always viewable on the phone so that Android users can see today's sales even if they don't have the Gilt app open." Gilt has found multiple ways to market itself through just one custom-made app. Gilt Groupe earns about 4% of its revenue from purchases made from the iPad. Shoppers using the device are increasing their spend at a higher rate than consumers using other devices. The retailer, says 177,000 consumers have downloaded its iPad app. And the average order value for a purchase made from an iPad is about 30% higher than for purchases made from an iPhone.

In 2007 Gilt Groupe was created at it was one of the first brands to create an online app that offers individuals clothes, furniture, and accessories from a multitude of brands at a lower price. However, they have lost a lot of usage through other up-and-coming apps. Also, many other companies, for example Dote shopping, have been successful in the advertising world. in 2018, they raised 12 million dollars in net profit.

Advertising through social media
Below are some examples of different social media platforms in which fashion brands utilize to reach out to their consumers. Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook have allowed fashion brands to engage with consumers, often younger than the traditional target market. Utilizing algorithms and personalized pages for the consumers, brands can track likes, dislikes, and analyze data to reach new consumers.

TikTok
Originally named musical.ly prior to its release in September of 2016. Within the past few years, a new wave of influencers has developed as a result of the high accumulation rates of likes and viewers within the app. Every user within TikTok has a "foryou" page entirely dedicated to their preferences. With reference to all of their previous likes and engagements, the user will see similar videos on their "foryou" that the algorithm thinks they will enjoy and that are popular at that time. TikTok is used by fashion brands to create short videos that increase brand awareness. Luxury and designer brands use TikTok to engage with younger demographics. In Milan Fashion Week of February 2020, Prada, collaborated with TikTok Influencer, Charlie D’Amelio, and the video received 36.8 million views .In September of 2020 TikTok launched the hashtags #TikTokFashionMonth, #GetTheLook and #Fashion101, all of which shared by over one billion users in order to promote the Spring 2021 Fashion Week shows.

Instagram
Since 2011, the popularity and usage of smart technology has increased and altered the way consumers interacted and accessed the fashion world. Instagram launched in 2010, the app since then has gained over 200 million users, over 25 billion images shared so far, averaging 1.6 billion likes per day. These figures suggest that content posted is very exposed and Instagram is a good tool to reach a large number of people. Instagram is now seen as one of the most powerful tools in shaping the way consumers perceive brands. 81% of Instagram users use the platform to research products and services and 50% of users have visited a website to make a purchase after seeing a product or a service.

With over 200 million active users, access to creative content is virtually unlimited. Many fashion-forward Instagram accounts with large followings are able to turn their passions into businesses, generating income using their status within the community. For instance, when we see a face on Instagram that models for a certain brand we then associate that person with that brand. So, as we continue to see that individual on our timeline we will always think about that brand. An example of this would be the contestants on the show, The Bachelor. After these women compete on the show, they start promoting fashion, hair, accessories and much more because of how popular the show is and how well-liked they were on the show.



Facebook
Facebook is another large platform for companies to advertise their products, with over 60 million business pages in use today. The platform was the second most visited website in the world in 2018. While sharing a similar structure with Instagram, Facebook is largely used by an older demographic, with over 92% of its user base being 25 or older. Visual media interactions on social media platforms such as Facebook has been successful with the distribution of fashion media. Interactions can take place between the brand and consumer, through advertisements, sharing behind the scenes content and commenting on profiles. Consumers can comment on brand’s posts, post pictures in the product, click links, like, and share the page with their own network. Fashion brands utilize Facebook to further connect with their consumers and provide more incentives to shop through special deals in addition to creating brand trust through giving insight on Facebook posts.

Brand influencers
Since 2010, the increase of brand influencers is a new type of marketing. A brand influencer is an individual who uses their social media platform as leverage to promote brands with sponsored content. Brand influencers can include models, bloggers, or athletes and differs from traditional celebrity endorsement due to the niche popularity many influencers have. The loungewear company Champion is a great example here. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have been associated with the brand and have ultimately caused their products to become more reputable and more expensive. This loungewear was once able to be bought at Walmart and now retails at sports retailers for nearly double the price. This niche allows the brand to build trust between the followers and the influencer. Companies also use brand influencers to narrow down their target audience. They take note of who uses social media the most and that allows them to morph their strategies. Generation Z is noted to be the largest group of individuals to use social media, with 75% of people surveyed using Instagram for three hours or more per day. This information enables companies to market direct-to-consumer with features that allow prospective customers to shop right from the brand influencers' pages.

Fashion Influencers and Social Shopping Services
Fashion influencer marketing on social media platforms have led fashion consumption on social sopping services. One of these social fashion services, “LIKEtoKNOW.it” where everyday consumers can find and purchase clothing worn by social media fashion influencers (also known as SMFIs). Launched in 2014 “LIKEtoKNOW.ithas gained a massive following on Instagram (over 3 million) and has 1.3 million registered users on their mobile application. Utilizing social media fashion influencers has led to massive sales within the fashion industry, 80% of visitors of Nordstrom’s mobile platform are referred by influencers. Social media fashion influencers try new fashion products, adopt fashion trends and have power in what their audience purchases. Social media fashion influencers gain a following though promoting fashion products, and posting about their lavish lifestyles attained through their higher socioeconomic status. The attractive lifestyles of the influencers influence their followers to mimic their luxurious lifestyle and are allowed to consume the same products through social shopping services.

Influencer’s Impact on Everyday Fashion
The rise of social media and technological advances evolves the everyday consumption of fashion. The cultural revolution of fashion on digital platforms can be attributed to a wide range of influencers on digital platforms because it promotes creative expression and individuality. The start of fashion blogging became popular due to people sharing their personal style on social media which has influenced everyday fashion in through their blogs or platforms. As bloggers create content that is centered around their everyday life, where what they wear is promoted in their own digital space which has increased fashion consumption among users of digital platforms. Due to the increasing fashion blogs and Instagram accounts, everyday consumers start to use fashion on everyday platform to share personal style, which increases fashion consumption in everyday users.

Social Media and fashion campaigns
Some fashion companies have used influencers or celebrities to promote their brands with advertisements on their social media accounts. Since 2010, fashion and advertising's development coincide. The development of new trends throughout social media has rapidly affected exactly what the public is looking for. Fashion advertisements have evolved from the newspaper, to the radio, to television and to the internet today as mentioned above. The fashion industry was once known for having only 4 seasons: fall, winter, spring, and summer but this has expanded to 52 seasons a year. While many luxury designers try to maintain such a legacy, the development of new trends throughout social media has rapidly affected exactly what the public is looking for.

Tommy Hilfiger has incorporated social media into its marketing strategy. It has made Gigi Hadid, who has 15.5 million Instagram followers, a brand ambassador.

Charlotte Russe has a successful social media campaign with a strong following on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Their social media campaign is focused on "user-generated content and social engagement." Charlotte Russe holds a weekly trivia contest on Twitter, which compels consumers to visit their website and ran a 'Be The Next Charlotte Russe Design Star' contest, producing the winning T-shirt design.

Marc by Marc Jacob s used social media for a worldwide model casting to showcase his new line. Marc selected models from Instagram that had the hash-tag #Marc and the campaign had almost 70,000 entries from around the world. The head designer wanted to use Instagram for his casting in order to connect with a younger demographic.

Louis Vuitton used Facebook to broadcast its Spring 2010 ready-to-wear show. The use of advertisements and influencers has helped Louis Vuitton grow between the years of 2010 and 2019. In 2019, Louis Vuitton partnered with Youtuber, Emma Chamberlain for Paris Fashion Week.

In 2012, Topshop partnered with Facebook to achieve the largest online audience of a live-stream London fashion show. Over 200 million people were exposed to images and content from the runway. A direct impact was seen by Topshop as customers were able to immediately purchase the looks from the runway, with the first dress on the catwalk selling out before the end of the show.

Social media and Fashion Week
The fashion industry’s main event, Fashion Week, happens four times a year in the seasons of Autumn/Winter/Spring/Summer as a time for fashion houses and fashion designers to showcase their newest lines to other participants of fashion week. In recent years, social media had been a way for analyzers to watch consumer behavior on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to analyze trends, comments, and information they need to market to consumers. In recent years, social media has played a part in promoting fashion week events to the public and has been increased real-time engagement of consumers of fashion week via social media which provides more data for researchers. Data found through consumers on social media allows designers to create collections that relate to the consumer, receive feedback and marketing statistics for future shows, events, and collections.

Impact on Consumers
The fashion industry's use of social media has been criticized as promoting unhealthy body image. Traditional fashion media has typically promoted thin body types for women. Now fashion blogging and other forms of social media influencers have allowed more diverse body types to be promoted in the fashion industry. Some brands have made efforts to promote body positivity through social media and marketing campaigns. The brand, Aerie, launched Aerie Real in 2014 to showcase diverse body sizes and stopped airbrushing models in their campaigns.