Emily Stephenson
The Rise of Instagram: An exploration into how a social media network has helped shape the way brands market products to the consumer
BA (Hons) Fashion Media Marketing
2018 - 2019
[Figure 1]: Instagram Influencer Madeleine Bitici
The Rise of Instagram: An exploration into how a social media network has helped shape the way brands market products to the consumer
Submitted by Emily Stephenson to Plymouth College of Art in partnership with Open University as a dissertation towards the degree of BA (Hons) Fashion Media and Marketing 2018-19. I certify that all material in this dissertation which is not my own work has been identified and that the final word count from introduction through to conclusion is 5156 words.
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Abstract
This dissertation aims to explore how Instagram as a social network and the rise of Influencer Marketing has helped shape the fashion industry by changing the way brands communicate their products to audiences in order to drive a sale and increase brand awareness. This paper also looks in depth at the Generation Z consumer examining how they interact with social media and how their connections with the online world are speeding up technological advances and changing brand strategies.
The case studies examined within chapter 2 of this essay are focused around Computer Generated Imagery being used as a replacement for ‘real life’ models. The following case studies are as shown, Balmain pre-fall 2018 campaign, ‘virtual army’, Balenciaga’s Instagram campaign that features six virtual models both case studies look at the thought process behind the creation, ethical issues and popularity amongst the market while also looking at the sustainability for using this type of technology. Within Chapter three, key focus is placed on the Influencer. Looking at benefits of using a smaller influencer with a niche following than that of a celebrity. In addition to these themes this chapter builds a case study on how online retailer ASOS has tapped into the Influencer and created their own brand ambassadors specially for their brand to increase visibility and sales amongst consumers.
Exploring the theory of Computer mediated communication and McLuhan’s medium is the message this paper examines how key themes portrayed in these theories can applied to social media and smartphone technology.
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Through the use of theorists, case studies and own secondary research from articles this essay aims to provide a well thought out discussion on how Instagram as a social media network has helped shape the way brands market products to the consumer.
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List of Contents
Abstract……………………………Page 1
List of Illustrations……………………………Page 4
Acknowledgements……………………………Page 6
Introduction……………………………Page 7
Chapter One: Instagram and the Consumer……………………………Page 10
Chapter Two: Communication over the Internet…………………………Page 17
Chapter Three: The Influence of the Influencer…………………………Page 23
Conclusion…………………………Page 27
Bibliography…………………………Page 29
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List of Illustrations
[Figure 1]: Instagram Influencer Madeleine Bitici. Page 1 Bitichi, M. (2018). What I would do for sunlight right now. [online image] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq7gRp9lHiR/ [Accessed 24 Jan. 2019 at 17:24pm]. [Figure 2]: Kylie Jenner announces birth of daughter Stormi Webster via Instagram. Page 11 Jenner, K. (2018). Stormi Webster. [ online image] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/kyliejenner/ [Accessed 24 Jan. 2019 at 17:39].
[Fiqure 3]: Percentage of all global web pages served to mobile phones from 2009 to 2018. Graph produced by Statista. Page 15 Percentage of all global web pages served to mobile phones from 2009 to 2018. (2018). [online graph image] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/241462/global-mobile-phone-website-trafficshare/ [Accessed 24 Jan. 2019 at 17:44pm]. [Figure 4]: CGI Instagram star Lil Miquela wears Heron Preston. Page 19 BRUD (2018). CGI Instagram star Lil Miquela wears Heron Preston. [image] Available at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meet-lil-miquela-the-instagramstar-created-by-cgi-9krqrrcpx [Accessed 24 Jan. 2019 at 17:53pm].
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[Figure 5]: Balmain creates a digital army for it’s 2018 pre-fall campaign. Image features Margot, Shudu and Zhi. Page 21 Balmain (2018). Balmain Has a New Army of Models— And They're All Digitally Created. [online image] Available at: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/models/a22875448/olivier-rousteingvirtual-models-balmain/ [Accessed 24 Jan. 2019 at 18:01]. [Figure 6]: ASOS Insider @asos_ebony promoting the brand. Page 26 Boadu, E. (2019). Sparkling or still? [online image] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs36QaNBLm-/ [Accessed 24 Jan. 2019 at 18:09pm].
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Acknowledgements
I firstly would like to thank the lecturers in Fashion Media and Marketing who have pushed me to do well throughout the last three years without your encouragement and reassurance I’m not sure I would've made it past first year.
I’d also like to thank my Mum for being my role model and for teaching me to do what makes me happy regardless of the cons that may come with it. Without your support and guidance, I wouldn’t have fulfilled my decision to get a degree and jump back into education.
Finally, I’d like to acknowledge my grandparents, Herbert Francis Clapp and Lavinia Elizabeth Emily Clapp who sadly are no longer with us. I will forever be grateful for the time we spent together as a family and the memories we shared. Nan, your strength and determination through everything that got handed to you was inspiring and I will forever idolise you for your positivity and outlook. Even though you both won’t see me graduate I hope that I continue to make you both just as proud as I did at every school play and sports day.
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Introduction
With “1 billion active monthly users as of June 2018” Instagram is now “one of the most popular social media networks worldwide”. The popular photo-sharing app has seen a huge surge in active monthly users, up from “800 million in September 2017” with Instagram becoming the first choice for brands and consumers this number is expected to inflate “to surpass 111 million in 2019” (Statista, 2018)
Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social media network owned by Facebook which launched exclusively on IOS in 2010. It allows users to connect with friends, celebrities and brands with likes and comments with content uploaded to their news feeds. Nine years since its launch Instagram could now be considered as a ‘one stop shop’ offering video and shoppable in app content eliminating the need for multiple apps. The app has captalised on the “average person’s attention span” [being] eight seconds” (Bendoni, 2017) offering users a platform to upload snippets of their lives as “stories” that last ten seconds and permanently delete after twenty-four hours similar to social media giant Snapchat. What sets Instagram apart is that it allows verified users to link products, other social media sites and websites as a ‘swipe up’ directly from their story. In addition to this in 2018 Instagram launched IGTV as they recognised that “By 2021, mobile video will account for 78% of total mobile data traffic” (Cisco, 2017 cited in Instagram for Business) as more people are using their phones to engage with online media IGTV is designed to naturally reflect the way we use our phone “vertical and full screen” (Instagram for business, 2018) acting as a seamless way for viewing content eliminating the need to rotate the screen. The focus of IGTV is to bring you closer to the creators you already follow without having to switch apps to do this. It has a lot of growing to do but could it overtake YouTube as a platform for video creation.
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As consumers are increasingly demanding authenticity and transparency from brands, and young people labelling “celebrity endorsements as lame’. (Buchanan and Manthorpe, 2014) brands are now turning to Influencers to sell. As the consumer is increasingly drawn to influencers on social media that they choose to follow rather than advert campaigns that disrupt their online experience. The term ‘influencer’ has been generated and popularised from Instagram. This platform has allowed users to create their own self-brand around sharing content they love. By working with a micro-influencer over a macro-influencer such as a celebrity enables a brand to produce more organically produced content feeding the growing need for authenticity. The rise in popularity of influencer marketing has seen a shift in strategies across the market with “58% of brands having an influencer marketing strategy in place and 21% planning to invest in it over the next year” (Walker and Strott, 2017). This continuous rise puts Instagram at the forefront of innovation as a social media network.
In chapter one, this dissertation will explore McLuhan theory medium is the message and how these concepts can be applied to social media and the way it’s perceived. This paper will also look at Generation Z as a consumer group and their impact on social media and technology. Included in this chapter will be an exploration of Instagram as a platform and how brands are using it as an alternative to print.
Chapter two, will investigate how we communicate over the internet looking specifically at how Joseph Walther theory of computer-mediated communication can be applied to smartphone device and social media networks. This chapter will also look at future technologies such as CGI and it’s rise in popularity within the fashion industry. Focusing on how brands are harnessing these new technologies as ways of innovation.
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Chapter three, will look more broadly into the influence of the influencer and how Instagram as a social network has changed the meaning of Influencer marketing to a term that is now associated to a social network.
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Chapter 1: Instagram and the Consumer
“McLuhan famously said that “the medium is the message”. He wrote that various mediums have distinct impacts on the consumers of media”. McLuhan’s theory ‘medium is the message’ places focus on the power of technological innovation and its ability to “disrupt and shape society” (Johnston, 2015). To put these ideas in plain English. Mcluhan considered the medium in which a product, or piece of information was placed determined how well that media would be received by the consumer. The theorist evoked a clear distinction between ‘hot’ and ‘cool mediums. A cool medium is identified as something that is “low in definition and information” the medium requires a great level of interaction by the audience, they must also have an understanding of the genre conventions to fill in the gaps in order to complete the experience given to. McLuhan used the example of a cartoon to demonstrate the idea “simply because very little visual information is provided” (KOSTELANETZ, n.d.). In addition, a ‘hot’ medium is described as “high-definition” and encapsulates the senses of the audience.
It demands little interaction from the user because it 'spoon-feeds' the content. Typically, the content of hot media is restricted to what the source offers at that specific time. Examples of hot media include radio and film because they engage one sense of the user to an extent that although the user's attention is focused on the content, their participation is minimal (Mediawiki, 2008)
As consumers of social media, we are continuously participating in a social media cycle in order to stay up to date. whether that be uploading images to Instagram, videos to YouTube or ‘tweets’ on Twitter because of this we are fundamentally helping create the message which as a result gives us the medium.
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Instagram as a social media network would be identified as a ‘hot’ medium as the content displayed through the app has been curated by a user with a following. For example, a celebrity, the consumer which in turn is able to easily access content through smartphone technology.
In 2018, twenty-one-year-old Kylie Jenner announced the birth of her child via Instagram after nine months away from the popular social platform. “Kylie announced the news on her own Instagram, acting as her own exclusive. She referred to herself in lowercase i, as if it was a casual text to a friend. It is so seemingly “raw” and “personal” and “of the moment” that it is actually oozing in publicist approval” (Blair, 2018). Alongside the announcement via Instagram the macro-influencer also shared an eleven-minute documentary titled ‘to our daughter’ where she shared her pregnancy journey making it a multi-channel announcement drawing in a variety of audiences.
[Figure 2]: Kylie Jenner announces birth of daughter Stormi Webster via Instagram
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As McLuhan explains the medium of which a message is shared is more of value than the article being communicated. By sharing her announcement on Instagram, Kylie Jenner had full control at every stage. Opposed to traditional ‘cool’ mediums such as magazine and television interviews where there would a process in place before the announcement would be released such as interviews, pictures and sign-offs. The consumer would have to wait to purchase the product in order to be updated at this point the announcement has less of an impact and is deemed not relevant. A digital approach eliminates the need for a spend and it is ‘instant’ keeping it current and resonating with her audiences who are primarily categorised within Generation Z. As this Generation are labelled the ‘always on’ generation the are more inclined to experience ‘hot’ mediums that spoon feed them information without the need of active participation such as purchasing a magazine.
As a consumer group Generation Z are often categorised as the “hyper connected consumer” (Bendoni, 2017) or “Generation Viz” (Mickiewicz and Buchanan, 2016) audiences born between mid 1990-2000 are classified under this bracket. “Today’s teenagers were raised on the internet. Almost all (95%) of American teens have access to a smartphone and 45% say they are online almost constantly (source: Pew Research Center)” (Bendoni, 2017) Generation Z as a consumer group are the largest users of social media and digital technology “on average owning five devices according to the Pew Research Centre” meaning they are a brands biggest audience due to their online abilities and disposable incomes. With Generation Z known to “multitask by juggling multiple screens simultaneously. They no longer watch screen for hours on end and have a low attention span as a result” (Mickiewicz and Buchanan, 2016) with the decline in attention span it is becoming increasingly hard to sell and for brands to stand out with consumers expecting more from a brand.
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These strong opinions have arisen from knowledge sourced from online networks globally. “Brands have just a few seconds to make an impression as consumers scan their social feeds faster than ever” (Mickiewicz and Smith, 2016).
Generation Z has a collective choose social media as a form of expression and acts as an escapism from ‘real’ life while also acting as a platform for communication globally with users with similar interests. “Armed with smartphones instead of a conventional camera, members of the social media generation capture memorable moments on the go”. Generation Z are using social media to “save their life experiences” [in the} “digital nest of social media spaces” (Bendoni, 2017). It’s clear Generation Z know what they want from a social media network and technology but in terms of what they engage with is very different based on gender. “Teenage girls increasingly use visual platforms, with 61% and 51% on Instagram and Snapchat. While “Boys favour video games, with 91% owning a console and 84% playing games on their phone” (Bendoni, 2017). In response to engagement key themes showed throughout involve using social media as a platform for harnessing this digital focused consumer group while also ensuring that content is highly visual using mediums such as emojis and gifs as a form of communication that uses minimal concentration.
Generation Z are known being the largest digital focused consumer group in addition care about social responsibility and cultural changes. They are now becoming a bigger target for this shift towards more ethically sustainable clothing. As a group, they are able to consistently change the market depending on what they feel is important and what brands relate to their opinions and values of the time.
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Young people are now becoming more interested in not only clothing that is aesthetically pleasing and are good value, but that is ethical and sustainably produced. Consumer behaviour analyst Marshal Cohen backed up this statement by noting that consumers “will spend 10-15 percent more on ethically produced clothing”. (Cohan cited in Adweek, 2017). In order for brands to stay relevant to Generation Z they will need to encourage a factor of social responsibility as well as technology changes that will inform how as a consumer group they consume media.
“Instagram was once a no-go space for brands. Now it is increasingly used as a tool to generate insights that complement demographic research” (Mickiewicz and Smith, 2016). As a platform Instagram is the fasted growing social media network around the globe making it a staple in any brands strategy for marketing. In 2018, it was reported that “60% of users on Instagram visit the platform daily” (Smith and Anderson, 2018). As brands are recognising that social media is at the forefront of driving sales through smartphones is drastically increasing with “52.2 percent of all website traffic worldwide was generated through mobile phones, up from 50.3 percent in the previous year. Mobile currently accounts for half of all global web pages served” (Statista, 2018).
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Figure 3]: Percentage of all global web pages served to mobile phones from 2009 to 2018. Graph produced by Statista
In order to make its app accessible to all consumer markets, Instagram has downsized it’s app for consumers in developing countries. The launch of ‘Instagram Lite’ “comes at a time where brands are exploring how to make ecommerce and digital applications more accessible and efficient to consumers in these markets” The driving points behind Instagram Lite is that it doesn't require the same space and data as its parent app and is designed to “better serve those emerging markets, where mobile coverage is poor, and data is expensive” (Houghton, 2018). Although the app doesn't allow video sharing or direct messages users are able to access content being created on the app by brands exposing them to a whole new consumer market.
Brands are increasingly using Instagram as an alternative to print due to being highly interactive with a strong visual focus which allows brands to engage with their intended audience. With “1 billion active monthly users” (Statista, 2018) brands have the chance to increase awareness and viability at a quicker rate than traditional methods such as print.
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Social media is instant and in the moment and with Generation Z at the forefront of digital technology they are the biggest target for brands in order to drive sales. In addition to the main news feed “Instagram Stories boasts twice as many users per day than Snapchats total user count” (Mediakix | Influencer Marketing Agency, 2017). It allows brands to get more personal with their consumers and to drive a conversation. Smaller brands are using Instagram stories to find out about their consumers, likes and dislikes through the use of ‘polls’ and ‘ask me a question’ stickers. It is also a more organic and ‘natural’ way to display sponsored posts as users can choose whether to engage with them or not as they aren’t invasive on the news feed. It’s optional for the consumer. “Instagram Stories have contributed to a 7-10 minute rise in the time spent by an average user on the app daily” (Mediakix | Influencer Marketing Agency, 2017).
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Chapter 2: Communication over the internet
According to Joseph Walther (1996), the theory of computer-mediated communication was conceptualized after computers were connected to each other for purposes of “security and information redundancy” (p. 5). Those who used the computers soon realized that they could also use the connection to send “simple messages” between themselves (p. 5). As a result, computer-mediated communication became a means for people to interact with others without having to be in the same physical space (p. 5). (McKenzie, 2013)
The key ideas portrayed in the theory of computer-mediated communication have continued to be relevant in modern communication. Consumers are now less drawn to physical face-to face communication due to the advances in technology and instead prefer to communicate on a global scale thanks to smartphones and social media. Google CEO Eric Schmidt, “The phone is no longer just a phone, it’s your alter ego.’ he says. “Its fundamental to everything you do” (Schmidt. E. cited in LS:N Global, 2010)
Social media has allowed for consumers to create online personas that may not be reflective of real life to gain a ‘following’ and likability while also allowing them to connect with others worldwide through apps such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. While social media can allow connections globally, smartphones are making it easier to stimulate face to face interaction on a wider scale. For example, features such as FaceTime for iPhone. Both communication methods “not only provide impression-bearing information, but the process of disclosing creates a demand, so that the recipient feels obligated to respond” (McKenzie, 2013)
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“Social media are distinct from other computer-mediated forms of communication due to the notion that they allow people to expose their social networks” as explained by “Danah Boyd and Nicole Ellison (2008)” (McKenzie, 2013). This is shown when a user ‘follows’ another person on Instagram as these users share a mutual connection. Within social media quite often the ‘friends’ or ‘followers a person has on the platform are often not ‘friends’ who they know in real life. We communicate and share what we want people to see on on social media much like highlights and the following we build act like a virtual audience.
Generation Z are growing up in a digital age where being ‘connected’ is the new behavioural norm and with attention span experiencing a “four-second drop in just thirteen years” (Bendoni, 2017). Generation Z are being labelled as the ‘online generation’ and with an active presence on social media and a strong connection with technology this generation are changing the way brands communicate with consumers.
“Computer generated social media influencers are a growing trend in an industry that is projected to hit $2 billion by 2020” (Beth Negus Viveiros, 2018). Computer Generated Imagery often referred to as CGI have been a staple in the gaming world but this new era of CGI personalities have been filtering their way onto social feeds. For example Lil Miquela and Shuda[1] are among the most popular both of which have been created on social networking platform Instagram. Lil Miquela is a CGI personality created by ‘brud’ an organisation who claims to specialise in robotics and AI. With 15 million followers on Instagram she is classed as macro-influencer and has been seen to wear brands such as Prada, Louis Vuitton and Tommy Hilfiger. In addition, celebrity photographer Cameron-James-Wilson created CGI personality Shudu, the world's first digital supermodel.
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[Figure 4]: CGI Instagram star Lil Miquela wears Heron Preston.
The response to this was divided as Wilson created Shudu to advocate diversity but “at a time when the lack of diversity in the fashion industry is such a pertinent topic” (McGregor, 2018). The deeper meaning behind Shudu is problematic as “without a black female designer behind her how can she represent anything more than a fetishisation of the black modelling industry” (McGregor, 2018) . In addition, by creating a black CGI model when diversity is minimal in the fashion industry for black models there is a risk that that real black models could lose out on work and money opportunities to an avatar.
As technology used to create avatars continues to develop, creating more life-like digital iterations of ourselves than ever before, brands need to en sure that they are just that - a true reflection of who we are as a society - rather than a merely a fetishised version of diversity (McGregor, 2018).
Brands have seen the benefits of harnessing new technology to reach a new demographic, once thought to be inaccessible. For its pre-fall 2018 campaign French fashion house Balmain “enlisted three CGI models” for its campaign “virtual army” in which the ‘models’ wore “digitally
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created versions of its latest collection” (Marchese, 2018). Balmain enlisted the help of Cameron James-Wilson to “construct a new, alternative and virtual Balmain Army” (Cadogan, 2018). The campaign featured the world’s first digital supermodel, Shudu along with two other Wilson creations Margot and Zhi. It poses an interesting question as to why a huge fashion house such as Balmain with a black creative director would cast Shudu and creator Wilson to construct a campaign after the backlash that was received against the morals of Shudu around diversity and the idea of fetishism in a community of white male creators, creating black avatars.
In an interview Rousteing told of his inspirations and referred to Michael Jackson as an influence for the campaign “to present diversity to the world” within the interview the creative director continued to explain his inspirations and goals saying "I love the fact that [Jackson] was really inclusive and, you know, that's what I'm trying to do with the virtual reality army: different beauty, shapes, ages, and genders,". "This is the beginning of what it will mean to present diversity in the world.” (Rousteing cited in Refinery 29, 2018). In reflection, the creative director claims diversity is the ultimate goal but at a time in the fashion industry where black models aren't fairly represented the choice to cast a black virtual supermodel, created by a white male disregards the focus of diversity and instead puts the spotlight on why are black virtual models being shown but not real-life models.
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[Figure 5]: Balmain creates a digital army for its 2018 pre-fall campaign. Image features Margot, Shudu and Zhi
In contrast, Balenciaga took CGI technology to a new level in a six image Instagram campaign for their Spring Summer 19 lookbook. The off-centre fashion label “casted six bendy, levitating models — created by Copenhagenbased visual artist Yilmaz Sen— to wear, as well as bring considerable focus to, its colourful new pieces” (Leow, 2018) When speaking about his intentions Sen wanted to show “Show something unpleasant in a pleasant way and surprise people” (Cadogan, 2018)
Balmain and Baleciaga are the newest brands to join a movement “signalling a move in the industry towards using digital models in place of real people” (Marchese, 2018). In an interview with Dazed around the campaign Yilmaz Sen, the brains behind the Balenciaga gave his thoughts around the rise and “crossover between fashion and technology/digital art” [and it’s future in which he responded]. “Digital arts are beginning to open the doors of creating; everyone is able to create their own reality in computers” (Cadogan, 2018). With brands working with CGI and new technologies to target new audiences in campaigns it poses an idea that that in the near future technology could expand so that high paid, in demand models such as Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and
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Cara Delevingne could sell a ‘digitised’ version of themselves to brands to feature in catwalks, campaigns and other promotional activity without physically needing to be there with 3D scanning and avatar creation becoming the new norm technology isn't far from moving CGI and Avatars into physical spaces not limited to being just online.
Within other areas of the fashion industry brands are looking at ways to capture virtual reality to make a difference. Norway based retailer, “Carlings has partnered with digital influencer Perl.www to create a fashion collection that expresses creatively without harming the environment” Consumers are able to shop the “19 piece” virtual collection online, once purchased have the item “digitally fitted to a photo of themselves by a group of 3D designers for up to $20 (£15.50)” (Friend, Houghton and Hawkins, 2018)
The digital only collection “exists as a reaction to the detrimental impact of fast fashion on the environment, which is being exacerbated by Instagram’s fleeting influencer culture. With many consumers buying fashion simply to share across their digital platforms”. (Friend, Houghton and Hawkins, 2018)
As Instagram’s Influencer power continues to rise “Today’s hyper connected consumers continue to alter the landscape of the fashion industry, dramatically affecting elements such as fashion cycle speed and retail business models” (Bendoni, 2017). Could digital only fashion be a solution to decrease the demand for clothes while reducing the environmental impacts of fast fashion and keeping social media relevant.
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Chapter 3: The influence of the influencer
“The term “influencer marketing” increased by 325% in Google searches over 2017. Making this the fastest-growing online acquisition method of the year” (Fastenau, 2018)
Influencer Marketing is a manifestation of commerce in which focus is placed on influential people for example Celebrities, Bloggers, YouTubers and Instagram users rather than the target market as a whole. Influencer Marketing allows brands to identify individuals who have a strong influence over potential customers, orienting marketing activities around those identified influencers. “Influencer campaigns are increasingly shoppable and measurable in real time thanks to advances in technology” (Mickiewicz and Smith, 2016)
Many brands are sceptical of its success and some are trying to hop on the bandwagon as long as it lasts. However, the main premise of influencer marketing is not new. In fact, influencer marketing can be stretched back to as early as the 20th century when there were only a few brands shaping the product centred market. Brands created personas to trigger the purchase decisions of consumers emotionally. In 2015 Warburtons partnered with The Muppets to use the draw of the characters to sell their latest product through a one-minute television advert.
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At LS:N Global’s 2014 Youth Marketing Strategy Summit it was acknowledged that ‘young people see celebrity endorsements as lame’. (Buchanan and Manthorpe, 2014). Brands are quickly turning to influencers to sell their product as the demand for authenticity increases as “Members of Gen Viz [Generation Z] no longer tolerate unrealistic imagery” (Mickiewicz and Smith, 2016).
Macro Vs Micro influencers are the core categorisations of influencer marketing and brands choose an influencer based on there needs, wants and overall desired outcomes. A Macro influencer is a person known by the masses, often a celebrity. These people have followers in the 100,000 up to millions. A macroinfluencer allows a brand to be positioned in front of a large audience whom of which are following the user as a ‘fan’. These consumers are often of a variety of ages but have one common interest. Often the followers aspire to copy the lifestyle of the celebrity therefore would be inclined to purchase a product that is being promoted. Although a celebrity exposes a brand to awareness and has the potential to bring in purchases consumers are now becoming aware that celebrities and other macro-influencers may not use the product they promote therefore as consumers demand authenticity brands are turning to smaller influencers for their organic following.
Micro “Influencers on Instagram with around 1,000-2,000 followers offer the best level of engagement, according to social media specialist Takumi”. Influencers gain status on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and through blogs. They have built an audience through sharing likeable and engaging content that resonates with a particular age group “This new generation of media stars is creating content for an audience that they know intimately and who are, in return fiercely loyal”, says Nic Yeeles, CEO and founder of Peg. (Mickiewicz and Smith, 2016).
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Audiences of the influencer see recommendations exposed to them with the same regard as those of friends and family triggering a higher consumer purchase rate. Annalect, an analytics company conducted a study recording how consumers reacted to brand influencers with high engagement over macroinfluencers, “around 40% of respondents claimed to have purchased an item they have seen being used by an Influencer on Instagram, Twitter or YouTube” (Maxwell, 2016). Brands are turning to Influencers to target Generation Z as “Influencer-led campaigns can create more engagement than traditional ad campaigns because they give brands the chance to become part of a community” (Mickiewicz and Smith, 2016)
2.1 Case Study: ASOS Insiders
“ASOS’ 2,000+ employees are immersed in the creative worlds, live on their mobiles and have a truly entrepreneurial attitude. As a company, we’re not trying to mimic or profit from youth culture – we are part of that youth culture” (Asosplc.com, n.d.)
As a brand centred around youth culture and the ‘online’ world ASOS are at the forefront of harnessing the power of the influencer by connecting consumers with shared interests. ASOS Insider is an interactive marketing initiative built through social media network Instagram that uses the basis of influencer marketing to drive sales.
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The core idea is to give consumers more personal content focused around styling and showcasing products available on the site. “By picking out a handful of fashion and beauty experts with distinct styles and encouraging them to build an organic following by consistently posting on a theme, ASOS is arguably making its influencer marketing more authentic” (Davies, 2016). ASOS insider is primarily an Instagram focused campaign but insiders often share styling advice and other content such as lifestyle on other social networks such as YouTube, Snapchat and Twitter. By doing this ‘insiders’ can show other interests making them more credible to audiences and not just robots created by ASOS to sell an image.
[Figure 6]: ASOS Insider @asos_ebony promoting the brand
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Conclusion
The core aim of this dissertation was to explore how social media network, Instagram has helped shape the way brands market products to the consumer. While other forms of advertising are not obsolete this dissertation explores why brands are choosing social media and influencers as their most valued form of advertising over other traditional methods such as celebrity endorsement, television and print.
By placing focus on the consumer in chapter one, it’s clear that Generation Z are the largest target group for brands and because of their disposable income and strong links to social media and technology and as a whole and as a collective only consuming digital and highly visual media. brands are becoming aware of this and adapting, engaging strategies in order to do captivate this complicated Generation. With “60% of users on Instagram visiting the platform daily” (Smith and Anderson, 2018) it’s no surprise that Instagram is the first choice for brands to sell to the digital consumer. Throughout this chapter the benefits of using Instagram are highlighted through stats and data drive Instagram being the fasted growing social network. As well as exploring how McLuhan’s theory ‘medium is the message’ can be applied to social media and choosing the correct platform is more important than the information.
The second chapter focuses on the way Generation Z as a consumer group communicate over the internet focusing primarily on how Joseph Waither, the theory of computer-meditated theory is still relevant today and how cultural shifts and the demand for further visual engaging content has had an impact on technology such as computer-generated images (CGI} and it’s advancements as well as problematic issues it faces.
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The ideas behind CGI are definitely engaging and a clear merge between gaming and the fashion industry but to name them influencers at this stage isn't possible as It doesn't provide a solution to the increase of authenticity and genuine content as it is not ‘real life’ in order to influence a consumer group there is something missing. Continuing on from chapter one the chapter explores how social media is used by Generation Z to communicate and how traditional methods of communication are not widely used in a digital focused consumer group. It poses the question on how far will digital technology and brands need to go in order to continually keep them engaged while also triggering purchases.
The third chapter looks at the influence of the influencer and how Instagram has created this new meaning of Influencer Marketing. As influencer marketing continues to rise. Influencers have proven to increase engagement and purchase rate in the same way as a celebrity at a significantly lower cost. With Generation Z branding “celebrity endorsements as lame’, (Buchanan and Manthorpe, 2014) it’s hardly surprising that celebrity endorsements are on the decline. As we look forward to the future, there is an ever growing that influencers branding themselves as honest individuals will be consumed by money, resulting in posts becoming less authentic or ‘fake’ creating a vicious circle of authentic marketing.
Instagram as a platform is forever changing in the same way as a consumer wants and needs it will be interesting to see in the coming years how it reacts to the consumer and technological advances. Will there be a new social media that answers every brand pray in terms of engagement and sales?
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