Brand it like Beckham: How social media is changing fashion

When Brooklyn Beckham revealed on his Instagram feed
that he would be photographing Burberry's latest fragrance
ad campaign, the outrage was palpable.
Commentators rushed to criticise the fashion house's
choice of the 16-year-old son of David and Victoria
Beckham for the shoot, instead of an established industry
professional.
"Insulting to every artist out there"; "completely
disrespectful to the artist community"; and "so tired of
these celebrities buying their kids into everything" were
some of the printable reactions.
But Burberry boss Christopher Bailey suggested it might
have been Brooklyn's 5.9 million Instagram followers,
rather than his parents, that got him the gig.
"Brooklyn has a really great eye for image and Instagram
works brilliantly for him as a platform to showcase his
work," he said.
And this is the new reality: the choice of Brooklyn as
photographer was less about how well-connected famous
people can get their kids into competitive professions than
a reflection of just how much social media has shaken up
the fashion industry.
It's now the number of followers on Instagram, Pinterest,
Facebook and Twitter, rather than your experience
necessarily, that can secure you a top job.
"You don't want to be a commercial photographer unless
you're famous," says Scott Galloway, clinical professor of
marketing at the NYU Stern School of Business in New
York, and founder of "digital benchmarking" firm L2.
Model behaviour
The influence of social media has also rapidly changed
how models are chosen.
Kendall Jenner, who shot to fame thanks to the Keeping Up
with the Kardashians reality TV show, has been dubbed the
"ultimate Instagirl" for her huge social media fan base: 48
million followers on Instagram and 15.3 million on Twitter.
It was probably this status as the most-followed model on
Instagram, as much as her looks or talent, that scored her
the top job as the face of cosmetics giant Estee Lauder,
says Mr Galloway.
"You're seeing a reshaping of an industry," he argues. "My
friends don't forward me a picture of a really great air
conditioner, but forwarding fashion is fun and interesting."
While trying to work out whether sales are directly linked
to social media campaigns is difficult, companies with
higher levels of engagement on Instagram are tending to
grow their online sales faster than their less clued-up
rivals, turning the traditional fashion hierarchy on its head.
In L2's Digital IQ Index, which ranks fashion brands
according to their website offerings, e-commerce, digital
marketing and social media awareness, US women's
clothing designer Tory Burch beats well-known global
luxury brands such as Gucci, Hermes and Chanel.
Domenic Venneri, founder of digital marketing agency
Vokent, says his firm always looks at the social media
profiles of people before deciding who to use in a
campaign.
In some cases, not just the models but the entire
backstage team - including the make-up artists, stylists
and producers - are selected according to their influence
on social media.
"We won't do a photoshoot that goes on a billboard
somewhere unless everyone involved has some sort of
[social media] following and some sort of leverage," says
Mr Venneri.
'Loose and conversational'
For fashion firms, the appeal is two-fold: it's cheaper and
it seems more personal and authentic.
Lee Friend, founder of fashion photography company
Fashot, says that photos firms share on social media are
often at the very bottom end of the budget range.
"They're trying not to make it look too slick. It's meant to
be loose and conversational rather than structured and
professional," he says.
For customers, the appeal is obvious: they think they're
getting a peek inside a famously exclusive and private
world.
The reality is rather different, says Emma Parlons, head of
digital at fashion and beauty public relations agency Push
PR.
"They don't reveal too much. What we see is highly
curated. Yes, fashion houses are using social media to
engage with their fans, but it's in a very controlled way."
Controlled or not, she says it's effective, bringing in a new,
typically younger audience than the customers who use a
brand's website or shops.
"It's a walking, living magazine," she says. "People think
'oh that's what it looks like with a denim skirt'."
The three key platforms for fashion houses are Instagram,
Facebook and Twitter, says Ms Parlons.
Fast-growing channel
It's worked for Burberry. Behind-the-scenes pictures and
videos shared on its Instagram and Snapchat feeds of the
Brooklyn shoot had some 15 million impressions in the
eight hours the shoot was live.
The fashion retailer has nearly 40 million followers across
20 different social media platforms and openly admits that
it has become as much a media content producer as a
design company.
It was the first of the big fashion houses to "live stream"
its catwalk shows over the internet. On some platforms
customers can click through to buy certain garments as
soon as they see them on the catwalk. And it has its own
Instagram-style micro-site - Art of the Trench.
In September, it debuted its spring/summer 2016
collection on photo messaging app Snapchat ahead of the
official show.
While the company is coy about the exact breakdown of
online versus shop sales, it says the "majority of traffic" to
its website now comes from mobile, its "fastest growing
digital channel".
Yet not all the big fashion houses have embraced social
media due to concerns over the potential loss of control
over their brand image.
This may be a risky approach, however.
Online sales in 2014 accounted for just 6% of the $250bn
(£172bn; €224bn) global market for luxury goods, but
they're growing at a much faster rate than shop sales,
according to management consultancy McKinsey.
Its latest research, based on analysis of 7,000 shoppers,
found that three out of four luxury purchases, even if they
still take place in shops, are influenced by what consumers
see, do and hear online.
"The question is no longer if and when luxury brands
should embrace the digital opportunity, but how they
should go about doing it," it said.