Open a social platform on your phone and you’ll be greeted by profile after profile of influencers.
This sharp shift in celebrity has paved the way for new marketing opportunities in the fashion industry and beyond. So what is this new phenomenon that we’re talking about? It’s influencer marketing.
But what is influencer marketing exactly, and why does it work so well?
Influencer marketing is all about using influential figures and getting them to endorse your products. This could be anything from sponsored and gifted posts to social platform takeovers, and adverts on YouTube videos.
Influencer marketing works on the psychological premise that people tend to imitate the people they look up to. And as the very name “influencer” implies, these famous faces have a lot of power over what’s trendy and what’s not.
When talking about influencers, it’s important to understand who this is referring to. In the influencer world, there are two main types: macro and micro creators.
Macro influencers are your run-of-the-mill mainstream famous people. This includes actors, musicians, athletes, presenters and influencers who have made a name for themselves…anyone you would expect to see in mainstream media. These influencers are primarily known through their work with social media being a secondary venture. With the demands of social media on modern-day Hollywood, most macro influencers have a personal connection to fans through social media which allows them to continue marketing to their audience.
Micro-influencers are known individuals that have made their name through one or more social media platforms including YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. These influencers come from a variety of backgrounds, with some becoming famous for their personalities, while others gaining fame from reality TV shows or, showcasing their talents online.
Ultimately, both types of influencers play a crucial role in helping brands reach a new audience.
Influencers in themselves are essentially a recognisable brand. Each person has their own aesthetic, personality, and audience. As such, when fashion companies team up with influencers, both brands become intertwined, and conversations will start including both of them.
Specifically, fans and followers of top influencers will relate your brand with that person, leading to more eyes on your products and services.
Influencers have a big following for a reason. Fans trust them, and they trust their opinions. Therefore, when an influencer advocates for a brand, their followers will automatically associate the brand as being trustworthy. This is especially true when the brand’s and influencer’s focus strongly aligns.
You can see this often with YouTubers and technology sponsors. YouTubers will often partner with VPN providers like ExpressVPN or SurfShark, or website providers like Squarespace or Wix. Because YouTubers are seen as trustworthy experts in the tech field, the trust of their fans is “loaned” to these companies.
Companies can only do so much with their in-house marketing team. While many brands are doing a great job creating in-house marketing content for their Instagram and TikTok accounts, there are limits as to how much you can do.
By collaborating with influencers across many platforms, they can lend you their expertise in content creation to help elevate your vision and bring authenticity to your content.
Not to mention the more platforms and audiences you can reach through your influence marketers, the bigger the audience you’ll have and the more chance there is of your brand expanding their demographic and increasing revenue.
ASOS were one of the pioneers when it came to exclusively online fashion retail. Their expansive collection of clothes at all price ranges has amassed a huge following, with social media influencers regularly doing “try-on hauls” to show their followers the latest trends from the fashion giant.
However, there is an extra special influencer marketing tool that ASOS uses which sets them apart. And that is ASOS Insiders.
These influencers are ASOS’s very own trendsetters that post across multiple social media platforms using their accounts to promote their personal style using ASOS apparel.
The genius behind ASOS insiders is that it allows the company to create multiple leads based on different target audiences and fashion tastes, each with their own entry point (links in bio, sponsored link, etc) that can be tracked and used for further market research.
This also allows ASOS to create a tight-knit community of influencers with a clear message to persuade their audience to buy from the fashion giant.
Nike uses a mixture of micro and macro influencers to help bolster their image. The message is simple yet powerful – we’re all different but sport is something impactful that can unite us all.
As such, Nike uses athletes at all levels to help drive this message and get people interested in buying their products.
One of the most prolific Nike influencer campaigns to date in the UK was the “Nothing beats a Londoner” advert featuring influential people including Skepta, Dina Asher-Smith, Big Shaq, and Jorja Smith.
The reason Nike’s influencer marketing campaigns are so successful is because they make you feel seen. They give a real sense of purpose and motivation. They make the viewer believe that it doesn’t matter where they start, it matters that they put in the effort and if they persevere, they can succeed.
It’s an inspirational story that pulls at the heartstrings and gets people to listen.
And from a marketing perspective, the virality and share ability of their adverts mean their name stays prolific.
Prada isn’t typically the type of fashion brand you’d associate with influencer marketing. But in 2018, they did something so outside the box, it caught the attention of the entire world.
You may or may not have heard of an influencer called Lil Miquela. Lil Miquela (or Miquela Sousa) is a 19-year-old Brazilian American model/influencer/singer with over 3.1 million followers. But there’s something extra special about this teen influencer. She’s a completely fictional CGI character!
That’s right, this realistic-looking model has amassed real-life fame despite being made up, and in 2018, Prada hired her to create buzz around their fall collection.
With the Metaverse and web 3.0 knocking on the door, stories like that of Prada and Lil Miquela will likely become more normal in the coming years.
Another great example of influencer marketing campaigns from fashion brands comes from a pre-loved fashion brand, eBay. They teamed up with the reality TV show, Love Island - which as a brand has a huge social media presence around the world. This campaign was to promote sustainability and pre-loved fashion through their messaging and outreach.
Due to their younger following online, many believe that the alliance of these two big-name brands will have a positive impact on sustainability in a radical way. And while consumers weren’t able to place orders for specific pieces worn by the contestants on the show, the overall trend made a huge impact.
YouTubers are the modern-day celebrities of the entertainment world. Defying the rules of Hollywood nepotism, most big YouTuber creators have created a platform for themselves, on their own terms, that reflects their values and brings along with it a large following.
So using YouTubers in influencer marketing campaigns makes complete sense for brands trying to create engaging content for their followers.
Foot Asylum paired up with YouTube’s “Beta Squad” which features beloved personalities such as Chunkz, Yung Filly, and Harry Pinero to help create engaging content and boost brand recognition.
Some of their most notorious content includes online shows such as “Does the shoe fit?’, “ChefAsylum,” and “Locked in.”
Many prolific YouTubers including KSI and Deji are part of an additional rotating cast that help this influencer marketing campaign dominate the athleisure market.
People aren’t as bothered about traditional celebrities anymore. They want to see people they can relate to and aspire to become marketing their products and services.
That’s why influencer marketing is the present and future of fashion advertisement. Customers want to feel part of the club, not excluded. When you master the art of using influencers to include your target audience in the conversation, you’ll see your brand start to rise above the noise.
If you want help attracting and managing authentic influencers to promote your fashion brand, book a demo of Room Unlocked today.
