When Nicolette Mason started her blog in 2008, she did so to give wings to her passion – fashion. As a plus-sized, Middle Eastern, queer woman, Mason was unsure if there was even a place for her in the fashion world.
Fast-forward 10 years and now Nicolette Mason is one of the hottest Instagram fashion bloggers in the world, with her very own website and a gorgeous fashion label, ‘Premme Plus’, to her name. Add to this her job as a headliner at Vogue Italia and you have yourself a force to be reckoned with.
Today, women around the world follow Mason’s fashion advice every day. The brands she dons are sold out within hours of launching and the products she uses have sales skyrocketing. Today, Mason has 162,000 followers on Instagram, each and every one of whom hang on to her every word and photo.
This is the power influencers wield in the world of fashion. They have the ability to create and destroy brands, and if brands wish to avoid being thrown out of the closet, they need to enlist the help of people like Mason.
6 reasons why you should go the influencer way during fashion week
- They know people
Influencers and micro-influencers have a very strong, dedicated, and loyal following to their name. They have a wider reach over a targeted audience. This makes them perfect for marketing new labels in specific markets and to particular sets of customers.
Some influencers like Arielle Charnas have thousands of followers who only purchase those brands that she markets. Brands like Yves Saint Laurent enlist her help when they release new cosmetics or clothing labels during Fashion Week.
Today, we have influencer marketing companies like ifluenz, who work with thousands of influencers (many of them from the fashion world). These companies will help brands find the right influencers and help set up an influencer marketing campaign.
- They add a very realistic feel to the event
As celebrity sponsorship and endorsement increases, so does the gap between the brand and the customer. Why? Well, people are aware that A-list celebrities have the money to afford luxury clothing brands, and this is exactly why nobody bats an eyelid when LeBron James sponsors Nike and Justin Bieber endorses Calvin Klein.
To catch attention, luxury brands need to use endorsers who aren’t rich and famous. Influencers, being the girl/boy-next-door, appear more realistic and believable. Seeing them try out clothes behind-the-scenes during Fashion Week, makes customers believe that they too can carry-off fashion brands.
- They make fashion, friendly
Take a look at any fashion blogger’s Instagram account and you’ll see a few things in common:
- Amazing photos
- Great captions
- Instructions on how to accessorize and pair clothing
Influencers and micro-influencers make fashion achievable, by bringing brands closer to the public.
Brands can seek help from influencers to promote specific styles online. Say, if customers want to know how Bella Hadid achieved her iconic look during Fashion Week, influencers can show followers how to pair dresses with footwear to achieve the desired look.
- They are a lot less expensive than ad and PR agents
Fashion Weeks are expensive affairs, what with the multitude of advertisers and PR agents who need to be hired. Brands find themselves exceeding their budgets due to these expenses.
Influencers, on the other hand, are great alternatives to traditional advertising. Apart from being a lot less expensive, they are also more organic. The photos they post on Instagram are more realistic and believable, achieving results better than those got from advertising or PR.
- They can generate quantitative results
Marketing campaigns are designed to generate high engagement, greater site visits, more conversions, and increased purchases. This is exactly what an influencer marketing campaign will also achieve.
So great is the quantitative impact of influencer marketing that brands like Bloomingdale’s, Harrods, and Peter Thomas Roth use influencers to promote everything from flash sales to Fashion Week.
When it comes to fashion marketing, the world is moving online and it’s heading the influencer way. If brands wish to remain the showstoppers, they’ll need to head over to Instagram and get influencers involved.