The Future of Influencer Marketing and Digitalization of the Fashion Industry 1

The Future of Influencer Marketing and Digitalization of the Fashion Industry

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The Future of Influencer Marketing and Digitalization of the Fashion Industry

Introduction

The role of digital marketing is continuously growing, especially in the current

economic phase. Indeed, in this sector, fashion bloggers play a crucial role, reflecting the

significance of fashion on a social and economic level. The wake of the new technology has

provided numerous communication opportunities in the fashion industry. Regardless, there is

a concern of transparency and the correctness of commercial communications shared in social

media platforms to promote freedom of choice among the consumers (Gottschalk, 2009). The

social media influencers have continued to win over the internet due to their outstanding

presence in the market. Their opinion is identified to have a powerful influence on people,

especially on the young generation. The influencers have become a modern phenomenon that

has increased collaboration with the marketing agencies in recent years (Alassani and Göretz,

2019). Many people are following the influencers as they do not want to miss on their

content. Company brands are going to the influencers for recommendations, reviews, and

mentions to increase their sales. Although the influencer strategy is identified to be a new

strategy, it has proved to be a viable solution for marketers who are ready to build solid

relationships with their target market.

According to Mithas, Tafti, and Mitchell 2013, the number of people watching pay-tv

has decreased, with marketers shifting their focus online on sites like Facebook, Instagram,

and YouTube. Indeed, in 2019 there were 2.4 billion users of Facebook, while YouTube and

Whatsapp had 1 billion each (Gupta, Leszkiewicz, Kumar, Bijmolt, and Potapov, 2020). The

marketers find the platforms to have better opportunities to reach their target audience than

traditional T.V. adverts. The younger generation is moving away from T.V. and going toward
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social media and streaming services, inspiring the influencers to find the platforms to be a

more straightforward method to advertise. Indeed, it is inevitable that people will follow an

influencer since they have always been there. Influencer marketing is identified to be like a

double-edged sword (Ohler, 2016). To understand it, one needs to study it well to know the

right job for the jobs required. Influencer marketing is a positive and productive marketing

tool, especially when it is used correctly. Regardless, its negative implications are evident

when the marketer does not take time to understand the audience and the influencer's

audience.

Therefore, in accessing the present situation in the fashion industry, influence and

hype are aspects that are being prioritized over design and the actual design. A good

illustration is the appointment of Virgil Abloh as a designer of menswear of Louis Vuitton.

With no essential education in fashion and design became the creative director of Kanye

West lines. Indeed, Abloh shows how influencers are used to create capital for a Company

and are not chosen on their merits as designers (Kim and Kim, 2014). The analysis aims to

find out the future of influencer marketing and digitization of the fashion industry. The

literature will help establish how influencer marketing can assist the market is growing and

finding out how company brands are using the influencers for their advantage.

Goal

1. The analysis aims to study the future of influencer marketing and

digitalization of the fashion industry.

Objectives

1. To find out how different types of influencers influence various brands in the fashion

industry.

2. To evaluate the impact of influencers in the development of the fashion industry.

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3. To identify how influencers are motivated to promote various brands in the fashion

industry.

Literature Review

Influencer Marketing

In the past decades, many marketing approaches spent high revenues on

advertisement campaigns. They ignored the fact that consumers are convinced to buy

products when they get recommendations from a trustworthy source. Indeed, multiple studies

demonstrate that people are more influenced in making their purchasing decisions their living

environment than the traditional marketing strategies. According to the World of Mouth,

Marketing Association has shown that 15% of the consumer revenue is from word of mouth

sharing (Kozinets, De Valck, Wojnicki, and Wilner, 2010). Regardless, Westbrook 1987,

finds that word of mouth is not a recent phenomenon. He noted it to be an informal

communication behavior which involved experiences with certain products and services. It

also involves the qualities of the providers which the consumers exchange among each other.

The classical offline word-of-mouth defines a process when the information is conveyed

orally from one person to another. This has now been adapted in the online platforms where it

is in the form of visuals and texts from the influencers to the consumers.

Therefore, since people are spending a lot of time in social media networks such as

Facebook, it is inevitable that they will consider the fashion influencers they follow to get

recommendations of particular products. Pedroni 2016 points out that a brand must identify

influential people in social platforms to remain competitive. Indeed, the internet has helped

improve the influencers' role in product branding as the influencers reach an unlimited

audience within a short period (Blázquez, 2014). Many brands have appreciated the role of
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the influencers and are using them as an additional advertisement channel. They provide the

influencers with clear briefings such as the hashtags to be used and the marketing campaigns'

reasons. Besides, they are compelled to hire photographers and make-up artists as the brands

are determined to control their image, timing of the post, and the wording of a post.

Moreover, influencer marketing is highly motivated by the profits that are gained

from influencer activities. For instance, the influencer gets free products to integrate their

social media platform contents. Berman 2012 report reveals that 85% of essential inspiration

in collaboration with a specific brand is the monetary reward. The analysis also observes that

the increasing costs in the engagement with the fashion influencers for collaboration with a

brand as the influencer marketing are hard to measure.

Digital Influencers concepts and Typology

Yoo, Henfridsson, and Lyytinen 2010, the approach of using influential characters

within the concept of influencer marketing is connected to the dynamic development of social

development. It is associated with the fact its modern form is used highly in the marketing

activities of entities formed in the electronic space. Indeed, social media development has

changed how customers communicate and create bonds among themselves and the brands

(Hanna, Rohm, and Crittenden 2011). This has made organizations start viewing influencers

as opinion leaders who help distribute information to their followers. As a result, the

influencers turn to be ambassadors and spokespersons for their brands. They are now being

used in backing the traditional marketing activities and increasing the consumer base through

their critical role in building digital relationships (Chaffey, Smith, and Smith, 2013). In the

past few years, organizations have started to be interested in digital influencers in their

marketing activities, which has led to a decrease in other forms of digital promotions.
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Although the influencers are divided according to the number of followers, they are

also divided in according to their motivation to take action (Hanna, Rohm, and Crittenden,

2011). They are divided according to experts, idols, artists as well as the activists. First, the

influencers are famous and recognizable, who only focus on themselves while intertwining

different subjects in their message. The other category involves individuals who are identified

as authorities due to their skills or knowledge in a particular area (Coyne, Padilla-Walker, and

Howard, 2013). For instance, the consultants and specialists in the industry have become key

influencers. Also, influencers are categorized according to the various communications

platforms they use (Nguyen, 2020). For example, the youngest group of influencers use the

Tik Tok application. Therefore, brands need to understand the influencers' category to ensure

they reach the target market.

Influencer Marketing in Fashion Marketing

According to Gazzola, Pavione, Pezzetti, and Grechi 2020, the individuals known as

fashion journalists have turned to be regular people who have many people who listen to their

advice regarding fashion. Although influencers in the fashion industry have always been

present, the influencer approach has changed. The fashion industry influencers acknowledged

being gatekeepers of the industry with knowledge and many years of experience, which was

critical in offering guidance about trends and new designs. Regardless, with the high growth

of accessibility to the industry, many people can become influencers in the industry. Kim,

and Ko, 2012, notes that the presence of websites where the emphasis is on user-generated

content has changed influencing and has the notion that a person's influence is related to

knowledge in a field. One does not require to have a profession in the industry they wish to

influence, and this is evident in the fashion industry where there are few influencers in the

design industry. Indeed, people who have no previous work or studying experience from the
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fashion industry are influential, as in the case of Virgil Abloh of the Louis men designer who

studied in civil engineering and architecture.

Although influencer marketing got into the market as an experiment, it has become a

tool to improve many fashion industry brands. Susarla, Oh, and Tan 2018, finds that in 2017,

78 percent of brand used influencers marketing to acquire their development. Indeed, many

companies have shown their interest in working with micro-influencers, which has inspired

them to join the industry. The influencers who have 10 000 to 100 000 followers are

identified to be the best candidates. Although their audiences are smaller, their followers

usually buy the products that are endorsed by the influencer (Brandsma, 2018). As such, they

help the brand penetrate the market, which would be difficult for the influencers who have

thousands of followers. The approach of paid marketing where the influencers conduct

marketing campaigns and sponsorships have become significant as the influencers feel

encouraged for their monetary gain.

Consumer Behaviour in Fashion

The approach used in influencer marketing is where the consumers rely on others for

advice. Aral, Dellarocas, and Godes 2013 describe consumer behavior as the activities

conducted by people to acquire, consume, and dispose of products and services. Consumer

behavior evaluates how people buy and consume specific products. Indeed, people have

different sources of influence, such as peer groups, trends, or past experiences. Chaffey,

Edmundson-Bird, and Hemphill 2019 note that consumer influences usually come from

individual life, and it involves aspects such as life stages, culture, and past experiences. An

individual comes from having a crucial influence on what they wear, eat, or listen to. Also,

organizational power impacts an individual from outside, such as trends and promotions.

Bharadwaj, El Sawy, Pavlou, and Venkatraman 2013, find that personality traits only have a
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small percentage in controlling consumer behavior compared to aspects like influence and

socioeconomic status.

Basically, in the study of consumer behavior, it is critical to understand the past

patterns and predict future trends and buying behaviors. Since the aspect of consumer

behavior is a complex aspect for the marketers, it is critical to evaluate its viewpoints in the

economic, social, and political to ensure it is used for the benefit of a brand (Goldfarb and

Tucker, 2019). Besides, it is also essential to evaluate how self-monitoring impacts consumer

behavior related to fashion clothing. This is because it is associated with the level of interest

in self-presentation in accord with the social cues. Indeed, the differences in the orientation

concerns usually influence the people's self-monitoring characteristics and the brands and the

products they select (Anongdeth, and Imam Barre, 2019). The people who have a high level

of self-monitors are established to have a vital concern for their appearance and in getting the

sensory pleasure from their clothing. Other people's impression on apparel, as well as the

approval in the society is also a strong driver for fashion selection. Moreover, cultural factors

that significantly influence consumer behavior also impact fashion (Archak, Ghose, and

Ipeirotis, 2011). However, different countries are likely to be susceptible to brands, while

other areas are not. This evident in the different trends in various countries. For instance,

India is expected to be the third-largest economy in the next five years as it has many

millionaires, which creates a market for the luxury products.

Methodology

The methodology will focus on conducting various interviews create a list of

questionnaires on a small group of 20 people. It will involve five marketing influencers and

three company brand managers and 12 consumers. The analysis's key focus is to find out the

future of influencer marketing and digitalization of the fashion industry. Hagberg, Sundström,
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and Nicklas 2016 note that marketing research is an aspect that provides knowledge to

consumer motivations, satisfaction, and purchaser behavior. As such, the study is critical as it

allows marketers with data to make crucial decisions for future pricing, placement, and

product promotion activities.

A small group of twenty people was used instead of a large group due to the need to

provide precise and accurate data on the topic. The interviewees will be carefully chosen to

ensure they have experience in the fashion industry. The analysis will provide a crucial view

of the influencers, consumers, and how fashion industry managers are approaching influential

marketing. Indeed, the interviews will be essential in providing on influencer marketing's

impact on establishing its future in the fashion industry. They will show how influential

marketing has changed during the interviewee's life and show their future opinions. There

will be a provision of private interviews where the interviewees feel uncomfortable sharing

information while in groups.

The questionnaires will have both open and close-ended questions to gain opinions

and experiences from the industry participants. Indeed, the interviewees' different categories

will provide an opportunity to evaluate the future of influencer marketing and digitization

from different angels (Godey et al., 2016). First, the influencers will provide critical

information on their motivation to continue conducting the influencer marketing activities.

They will involve the micro-influencers (20k-100k followers), mid-tier influencer (100k-

500K followers), and the Mega influencers (500K-2M followers) (Cascone, 2000). The

differences will assist in acquiring diverse data to establish a clear view of the micro

influencers' future.

Besides, the consumers will be engaged in an online survey where they will be

identified from various levels, such as loyal customers, new ones, and the potential ones. The
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10

differences among the consumers will also be crucial as it assists in gaining data from diverse

levels of consumers (Anggadwita, and Martini, 2020). Indeed, the online survey will be

essential as it will provide a platform for the consumers to offer confidential information

regarding their experiences in influential marketing. Indeed, the consumers will help in

realizing how the changes influential marketing has affected them and how the effects

Ethical Issues

The approach that will be used in the interviews will be survey research as it is the

best in providing descriptive data. Besides, those who will be engaged in the interviews will

be requested to participate two weeks earlier so that they do not feel forced to participate in

the analysis. Making the respondents feel valued in the research makes them be ready to

provide information truthfully. The vulnerable groups will also be considered in the group.

There will be a useful analysis of the potential risks of their privacy.

Besides, the respondents will be made aware that their privacy will be protected. They

are not supposed to provide personal details as they might be afraid that the data will be used

for malicious purposes. Indeed, the small sample size in the research is essential as the

respondents are chosen as it will be easy to convince them so they can provide a unique

perspective in the analysis.

The respondents will also be notified when they are being recorded or pictures are

being taken to build their research confidence. There will be no form of intimidation to

provide answers. If the respondent feels they do not want to answer specific questions, they

will not be forced. Moreover, sensitive topics such as sexuality and politics will be avoided to

ensure the respondents are comfortable in the analysis.

Conclusion
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It is estimated that the amount of social media will continue to increase and move to

diverse platforms. Indeed, the brands have realized the importance of working with the

micro-influencers as their followers listen to them more than the celebrity influencers. It is

expected that the influencers will state the pricing of the popular influencers is rising, which

is brands to focus on the micro-influencers than the big influencers as they have a high

marketing budget. Although the influencer marketing is expected to rise in the future, it will

take time until the commercial collaboration between influencers and brands to become

oversaturated. Some brands may find it unprofitable to hire an army of influencers as they

find the method not to work just as the fashion blogs failed.

The future of influencer marketing will improve if the influencers understand about

authenticity as the consumers easily detect it. If collaboration and endorsements are done

because of money, they are likely to fail to assist the brands in the market as they will show a

lack of authenticity as it will be seen even in their posts. The influencers' usage will only be

essential if the whole image is built on the fact that the celebrities will wear the brands.

Therefore, the influencers should focus on authentic collaborations, as this helps in bringing

the best results. There is a need for the influencers to be interested in the products before the

collaborations.

Most of the interviewees expected to be brought up by the interviewees are about

influencer marketing focusing on the marketers failing to research about the influencers and

their followers. It is important to take time and assess an influencer as sometimes it is not

what a marketing campaign needs. For instance, a celebrity may not be the best person to

solve a brand with issues with racial issues. However, when influencer marketing is done

correctly, the analysis is likely to prove that it can be a critical marketing tool in the future.
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12

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