Social media has created new channels of advertising for fashion houses to reach their target markets.
[1] The emergence of influencers on social media has created a new way of advertising and maintaining customer relationships in the fashion industry.
Numerous social media platforms are used to promote fashion trends, with Instagram and TikTok being the most popular among Generation Y and Z.
[3] As MySpace grew in popularity, it attracted interest from companies wishing to promote their brands on the social platform.
MySpace is most well known for exposing musicians and artists who made it big in the industry, and companies wanted to capitalize on their popularity by making brand deals.
[7] Some brand deals were made by having ads at the beginning of each video, and the YouTuber would make a profit from each view they receive.
Instagram allows people to post pictures and short videos with the ability to tag different accounts.
[9] For brand deals, companies can simply be tagged in a picture instead of creating ads or lines for a user to say.
[12] Fashion companies use social media platforms to reach customers on emotional levels and stoke engagement with brand images and messages.
[14] Companies leveraged celebrities' fame and social standing to advertise their brands, as Tommy Hilfiger did when incorporating social media into their marketing strategy, making Gigi Hadid, who has 15.5 million Instagram followers as of 2016[update], a brand ambassador.
[17] Utilizing SMFIs has led to massive sales within the fashion industry, 80% of visitors of Nordstrom’s mobile platform are referred by influencers.
Charlotte Russe has a successful social media campaign with a strong following on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
[25] In 2012, Topshop partnered with Facebook to achieve the largest online audience of a live-stream London fashion show.
A direct impact was seen by Topshop as customers were able to immediately purchase the looks from the runway, with the first dress on the catwalk selling out before the end of the show.
[26] The emergence of social media platforms in the early 2000's has been utilized by fashion brands to promote their products through the use of company-made and influencer-created messages, and share their name beyond advertising.
Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube have allowed fashion brands to engage with consumers, often younger than the traditional target market.
During Milan Fashion Week of February 2020, designer brand, Prada, collaborated with the TikTok influencer, Charli D’Amelio, and the video reached 36.8 million views.
[27] Later that year in September, TikTok launched its own fashion month and invited users to join by sharing content under hashtags #TikTokFashionMonth, #GetTheLook, and #Fashion101.
[30] The Shop feature makes content suggestions based on the users' data such as likes and following.
Instagram users can comment on posted items and provide feedback and reviews of the product as well as rate their purchase.
Many fashion-forward Instagram accounts with large followings are able to turn their passions into businesses, generating income using their status within the community.
[32] Interactions can take place between the brand and consumer, through advertisements, sharing behind the scenes content and commenting on profiles.
Social media platforms such as Facebook fan pages enable customers to communicate with each other and build online communities relating to common fashion interests.
[41] The fashion industry's use of social media has been criticized for promoting unhealthy body image among young women.