A look at 'Influencer' Marketing, Social Media, and Self Esteem.
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Fashion Month is an exciting time for everyone. Not only do we finally get to see what designers and fashion houses have been working on- but we also get a glimpse of street style. Images of celebrities, influencers, and the fashion associated all darting from show to show flood through the timelines. We get to start planning which items we will be on the hunt for, wether it be wild sneakers or a luxe bag. Most importantly, we get to see some designer pieces we never thought would be worn by anyone other than the runway model. As much as the runways are being looked this month for upcoming trends, the same could be said of the streets outside each venue.
As a street style snaps lover, I live for Fashion Month. I love seeing the layers and colors that creatives come up with for their looks. I almost always plot for my next major purchases via street style captures. When you think about it- it’s insane the level of power these influencers and high profile people have over the market. You see the product, you click into a bio, you get sent to their site and hopefully make the purchase. Which makes complete sense why houses and brands are itching to get one of their pieces seen on a blog or Instagram profile of these people.
With social media and the internet allowing for instant gratification, one could easily find the exact shoe, bag, and even jewelry as seen on their fave style blogger. Influencer marketing has become commonplace, regardless if the post is tagged #ad or not. This type of advertising is ideal for brands for a number of reasons. Typically, the influencer gets paid in product in exchange for a photo of them wearing it. Depending on the influencer, they may also receive a set monetary amount. In return, the brand gets to advertise to the following of said blogger or influencer. But most importantly, the brand gains the TRUST of the followers. If it’s good enough for your fave, it’s good enough for you.
Let’s talk about the followers for a bit. Social media rules everything right now, especially for young adults and generation Z. Generations before them as well are ruled by the these digital tools as well, but they did have a time in their lives in which they were not as instantly connected. As teens learn to navigate the world and learn about who they are, they are constantly plugged into social media. Which means that they are scrolling, liking, and consuming who they want to become 24/7- style influencers included. So while influencer marketing is happening all throughout their timeline, they are going after what each of those influencers are wearing.
Social media is an amazing tool for connection and discovery. You open up your world to be so much bigger than you ever imagined it to be. But while it is fun, most consumers end up with a distorted sense of reality. We don’t get to see everything, users pick and choose what they want their audience to see and think of them.
So how is it all connected?
Kristen Noel Crawley spoke about her thoughts on influencer marketing and social media the other day on her Instagram. She revealed that she was not planning on attending any fashion week shows, and that she was having a hard time being able to show off your true style at these events, when many bloggers and influencers are being sponsored. One of her stories posts read, “I mean I literally know girls that will go and borrow 4-6 outfits, have a photoshoot in an alley then post them to their blog like ‘My outfits last week’ the go return them to the showroom the same day.”
She isn’t wrong. Many of the stars we see in the street style snaps- who are supposed to be noted for their personal style, pull their fits from a showroom, not their closet. She continues, "When an outfit is "borrowed" you should have to put #sponsored on the post - this is another ploy for big brands to basically get you to advertise for free meanwhile your followers have no idea. It's not right." Social Media allows for some of these individuals to show off their best looks and make it look like they have styled themselves even though they are pulling from a showroom and are returning the pieces. This isn’t to say that those who are doing this are not to be trusted or don’t have style. I can imagine that there is a level of success that comes with being able to have your daily outfit all come sponsored from a brand or company. That shows that your followers are responsive, you have an authentic voice that (should) resonate with the brand, and that they want someone like you to be wearing their garments. That’s a big deal. I am just unsure of what it does to the followers self-identification formation process.
She continued to talk about the illusion that social media allows saying, “I think the problem is the façade that a lot of these people are portraying which in turn makes their followers feel like they need these pieces or products when in actuality the influencers doesn’t even own them themselves. So many young kids spend all their money on this not even knowing that their fave ain’t even got it.” Her look at style and sponsored posts quickly turned into just being real online.
She closed out her mini opinion piece on the subject by stating, “Bottom line: Young people (and old) stop comparing yourself to people on social media. All this shit is smoke and mirrors. It’s literally not real. People only post what they want you to see. Always the good, hardly ever the bad. Don’t compare your B-roll footage to someone’s major motion picture you feel me?” This is something we try and tell ourselves over and over again, when talking about social media. Comparison will kill you.
So what is the solution? How do we all become more transparent on social media? Should those who have their wardrobe or lifestyle sponsored be real about where the products come from? I can see why both brands and influencers alike would not want to hashtag every single one of their sponsored posts, and it’s a valid argument. What does seeing the #ad or #sponsored make you feel in relation to the individual and the brand? What about how it makes you feel about yourself? For me, I know that if I would have had Instagram style bloggers to follow while I was in high school, I would have felt so much pressure on what I should own and look like. The journey to appreciating my own individuality would have been a much longer one.
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN 2.18