Five years ago, not many people knew what Fashion Nova was. Today, it is one of the fastest-growing fashion brands. It has been so successful that the once all-women brand has expanded to a men’s line as well. How was a brand able to catapult itself to such a height when it seemed to start from scratch? The answer is influencer marketing.
Fashion Nova founder and CEO, Richard Saghian understood the needs of its customers – which is quality and trendy fashion at an affordable price – and knew exactly how to deliver it. The days of runway fashion are over, Saghian believes, and the smart thing to do for fashion brands is to adapt to this changing landscape in the industry.
This is where influencers come in. They help brands adapt to their customers by acting as a bridge between them. Influencers, with their authentic appeal, niche following and the trust they have gained from their followers, are the perfect gateway for brands to reach customers. According to a recent study, it was found that a staggering 92 percent of people surveyed trust recommendations from influencers they follow more than they trust endorsements by celebrities. Such is the power influencers have over buying decisions of customers. Not only do they help brands adapt to changing landscapes and trends, they play a significant role in determining what brands have to adapt to. In other words, influencers are changing the game and how it is played.
Working with influencers in a world run by millennials
Millennials and the influencer culture go hand in hand. So, especially for brands that target millennials, working with an influencer is the way to go. Influencers understand them because they are millennials too. This allows influencers to effortlessly keep up with trends not only in the industry the brand belongs to, but trends in general advertising. For example, cinemagraphs (pictures with moving parts in them) are extremely popular on Instagram at the moment, and almost every marketer is utilizing it. Influencers are aware of this and will use it while creating their own influencer-generated content (IGC).
The distinction between a brand an influencer is also blurring due to the growing popularity of some influencers. Influencers like Michelle Phan and Zoella are big enough to become their own brand. While Michelle has launched her own makeup line, Zoella has launched a lifestyle line. Both are, unsurprisingly, extremely successful. They too, recruit other influencers to support and endorse their products. They have become their own brand after all.
Now the question is: How is influencer marketing so successful and effective? The answer is simpler than you may think. It’s because it is based on the trust economy. Like so many aspects where modern economy meets technology like Uber and Airbnb, influencer marketing too runs on trust. Passengers trust their Uber drivers, travelers trust their hosts, and customers trust social media influencers.
Another thing that makes influencer marketing so appealing is that you have a choice. If you feel the trust factor is gone, if you feel that an influencer is not being authentic and genuine anymore, then you can easily press one button and unfollow them, and just like that, you give influencers one less follower. And for influencers, followers are everything. This drives them to maintain their authenticity and keep their followers happy so that they can maintain, and even strengthen the trust they have.
Thanks to influencer platforms like iFluenz.com, today, identifying relevant influencers to help your brand adapt to your customers is just a few clicks away.