The Complete Guide to Influencer Marketing in the Fashion Industry

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that uses influencers and those with online platforms to promote products or services to their audience. Influencers often have a specific focus, for example fashion or beauty, and are trusted by their audiences to give honest reviews and advice.

Working with influencers is now a major element of many social media marketing campaigns, as influencers can have engaged, niche audiences that trust their opinion on products. By working with an influencer that has a following similar to your target audience, you can ensure that your product is seen and engaged with by potentially thousands of new customers. 

Read our influencer marketing guide below to learn more about how to work with influencers and what influencer marketing campaigns can do for you.

What platforms do influencers typically use?

Influencers can be found across all social media platforms. The majority of fashion-focused influencers are very active in TikTok and Instagram.

What is the goal of influencer marketing?

Effective influencer marketing allows brands to gain more visibility with new audience and to build trust with consumers. It increases brand awareness and can drive more traffic to your website, increase engagement with your brand, and result in more purchases.

The Benefits of Influencer Marketing

• Increased brand awareness (and the chance to introduce your product or service to a new audience)
• Reach and exposure
• Authenticity and trust
• Targeted marketing to specific target audiences
• Content creation
• Increased engagement

How To Choose The Right Influencer For Your Brand

Define Your Goals & Target Audience

Make sure that you have a clearly defined goal when partnering with an influencer, so that the content will be targeted and have a clear purpose. The influencer's audience and following should also reflect your target audience, otherwise any content produced will not have the desired affect.

Research Relevant Platforms

Where does your audience spend their time online and who do they follow and engage with? Choose an influence who is active and has a strong following on the platforms that your target audience engages with to ensure that your brand will be seen be the right users.

Look At Engagement & Authenticity

Look at their metrics, including follower numbers, likes, comments, and shares, to assess their reach and influence. Prioritise high engagement rates over follower counts, as a higher engagement rate means more of their audience is interacting with them and engaging with their content.

You can also consider micro influencers (who have 10,000-100,000 followers), as they often charge lower rates and a more engaged (and targeted) following. Select the influencers that you work with based on your evaluation of all metrics and audience that engages with them. These partnerships can become beneficial long-term partnerships, so make sure that their audience is one that aligns with the brand's long-term goals.

How To Build Relationships With Influencers

Building relationships with influencers involves cultivating a mutually beneficial connection and fostering trust. Read our top tips on how to build relationships with influencers:

Research & Target

Look for influencers that align with the brand's values and target audience so that the content they produce will be effective. For example, if your run a sustainable fashion brand, look for influences who are passionate about sustainability and environmentalism as their audiences will be too.

Engage With Their Content & Personalise Your Outreach

Genuinely engage with their content prior to getting in touch with them. When you do get in touch, personalise your message and demonstrate why you'd work well together and what your brand can offer them. 

Offer Value

Provide influencers with something of value to them to demonstrate your are invested in building a mutually beneficial relationship. As much as you can benefit from working with them, they need to benefit from the collaboration as well. 

Collaborate On Content & Provide Clear Guidelines

Clearly communicate your expectations, goals and deadlines. Outline the key messages clearly, but give them creative freedom to create content that will resonate with their audience (while also meeting the brands values and messaging). 

Monitor & Measure Results

Track and measure the performance of influencer collaborations. Share the results with the influencer your working with, and use these findings to improve your work together moving forward.

Successful influencer relationships are build on authenticity, open communication and trust. Treat influencers as partners rather than just promotional channels, and prioritise building genuine connections that go beyond transactional engagements, as this will in turn lead to more authentic content.

How To Measure Influencer Marketing

Define KPIs aligned with campaign goals

Set key performance indicators (KPIs) in line with your goals for the campaign. Make sure that they are clearly defined (for example, a certain number of unique clicks, a specific conversion rate) and that you can measure them accurately.

Provide Unique Tracking Links or Promo Codes to Influencers

A good way to see how effective an influencer marketing campaigns are is to look at the direct sales that have come from the partnership. You can provide the influencer with a unique tracking link or promo code that is exclusive for their followers. When they use the link or insert the code at check out, you can accurately see how many sales can be attributed to their audience.

Monitor Social Media Analytics for Reach, Engagement and Demographics

By keeping track of impressions, engagement (including comments and likes) and conversions, you'll be able to measure how well the campaign performed in contrast with the goals you set. You'll be able to see which demographics best reacted to the campaign and see how this aligns with your target audience.

Track Website Analytics for Traffic, Conversions and Goals

Use UTM parameters to gather detailed data on websites, which is especially useful if you have provided the influencer with a unique link for their audience to use. You can gather important information about the effectiveness of the campaign and measure your conversions and traffic.

How To Become A Fashion Social Media Marketer

Starting a career in influencer and social media marketing allows you to combine your love for fashion with a dynamic and creative path in the marketing industry. Here are some steps to get started:

• Build up your knowledge and experience by creating your own fashion social media profiles
• Network with other people in the industry
• Get work experience e.g. Intern as a social media marketing assistant
• Study fashion marketing at the FRA! We have courses in Level 4 Digital Marketing for Fashion Course and Undergraduate - BA (Hons) Marketing & Communications for Fashion

If you have any more questions about any of the courses on offer at The Fashion Retail Academy, send us an email to info@fra.ac.uk - we’d love to hear from you!

Read our guide How To Get Started In The Fashion Industry for more information. 

Think you’ve got what it takes to become a Fashion Digital Marketer? Start your career today and study at the Fashion Retail Academy.