How Social Media Has Revolutionized the Fashion Industry

The fashion industry is changing, and while the industry still produces the clothes, accessories and handbags that people wear, the main change is how the industry is marketing itself. Social media has taken over fashion marketing.

Go on Instagram, and you’ll see many of your favorite celebrities publishing posts that are sponsored by everyone, from Adidas and Nike to Gucci.

And social media has been able to revolutionize the industry in key ways.

Expanded Reach Beyond Local Borders

Marketing in the past was defined by region, country or city. Now, social media allows many of these companies to build their brand online. When building a brand on Instagram, a fashion company may have millions of followers from across the world.

Gucci has 29.2 million followers on their Instagram account. The company’s account has a reach that isn’t defined by borders. You’ll find followers from countries all over the world.

And when there is a borderless environment, this means that the marketing potential for any product is limitless. If the company wants to promote their Gucci Rebelle medium top handle bag , they can send out a single post to 29.2 million potential buyers.

These individuals can like, share or comment on the post, too.

Gucci can also opt to use their Twitter, Facebook and other social media accounts to spread the word of a new product to tens of millions of people.

Influencers Can Be Targeted Directly

Social media allows many of these companies to work directly with influencers. For example, smaller fashion companies can contact little-known influencers and help promote their products.

A great example of this is a small company contacting an influencer in the Netherlands.

Now, the company may want to expand their reach in the Netherlands, so they can ask an influencer in the country if they would like to be a sponsor. They’ll pay the person directly to make a post featuring their clothing.

It happens every day.

Targeted and affordable in some cases, this allows smaller companies to make a big impact in smaller market.

But fashion companies that have larger budgets have even better options.

These companies can pay a lot of money to have big-name celebrities wear or promote their products. The Rock, for example, has 119 million followers and has his own Under Armour line of products.

The company could have paid The Rock to promote their products, but he has become part of the team and is selling products under his own collection.

Imagine expanding the reach of a product to 119 million people?

The expanded reach is why so many brands have made a comeback, such as Adidas, which seemed to be fading away before a recent resurgence.

Adidas spent nearly $2.9 billion on marketing last year, and a large percentage of the company’s marketing budget has been dedicated to social media. It’s a marketing avenue that works very well for fashion companies, and it is able to provide massive returns, increased exposure and the ability for even smaller companies to compete in the market.