Which successful strategies are used by digital influencers to attract followers? : a multiple case study : analysis of top digital influencers in Romania’s fashion industry

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Which successful strategies are used

by digital influencers to attract

followers?

A multiple case study: Analysis of top digital

influencers in Romania’s fashion industry

Master Thesis

Final version, 17

th

August 2018

University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Business School

Master of Business Administration – Entrepreneurship and

Management in the Creative Industries track

Nadia Nofal

Student no: 11087587

Word count: 9863

Supervisor

Dr. Angelo Tomaselli

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Statement of originality

This document is written by student Nadia Nofal who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document.

I declare that the text and the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it.

The faculty of Economics is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents.

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Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to identify which successful strategies Instagram digital influencers use to attract followers and keep them loyal. The research was conducted through qualitative descriptive semi-structured interviews which have the aim to answer the research question of this paper: “Which effective strategies are used by digital influencers to attract followers?” This thesis encompasses 15 interviews with Instagram digital influencers and the results were reflected into a comparison of similarities and differences among the selected digital influencers.

This paper represents a potential addition to the existent academic findings on the digital influencers’ phenomena as well as a suggestion for future research in effective communication strategies applied by digital influencers within the fashion industry.

Previous research has identified digital influencers as a new form of independent party who shapes the opinion of audiences through their activity on social media platforms (Scoble and Israel,2006). As the digital influencer is considered to grow as a phenomena, it is valuable to research if they intentionally use strategies for becoming successful and keeping loyal followers. Former literature indicates on what a digital influencer should post on his profile for becoming likable in his folowers’ perception, however, there has not been a lot of research conducted on the strategies they use to engage with followers. This paper has the objective to adress this gap in research by focusing on digital influencers from the fashion industry and by providing a qualitative analysis on the contemporary existent content on Instagram.

The general findings in this research show that digital influencers become successful in attracting new followes by displaying authenticity, expertise, inspiring content and high quality visuals. Digital influencers keep their followers loyal by building strong relationships and by engage with them.

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Introduction

Alina gets up in the morning and while doing all her make-up she stretches an arm and snaps a dozen of selfies. She edits the selfie with specialized applications and adds specific filters, when she is done, she posts the edited selfie on her social media account along with an inspiring message such as: “Beauty is being comfortable in your own skin”. Within half an hour she already has 1000 likes for her picture and several comments from followers. Alina goes through the comments, selects few of them and replies: “Love you too, you are the best!”

Nowadays social media has become a part of our daily lives. The latest generations have registered to have the highest Internet usage since 1990 (Herring,2015). A phenomenon that grew together with social media is represented by digital influencers. The number of digital influencers has experienced an exponential growth, resulting in new forms of digital strategies among young women. Influencers are defined as a “micro celebrity persona” (Theresa Senft, 2008). The micro celebrity amplifies her popularity by using web technologies and networking platforms. All over the world, influencers are predominantly young women whose shared content is more exposed on Instagram (Theresa Senft, 2008). Influencers attract a high number of followers who mostly play the role of fans. The concept of ‘personal influence” has been developed by Katz and Lazarsfeld (2009) and referred to the part played by people in the flow of mass-communication pre-social media era. The term of digital influencer encompasses former bloggers who have become multi platforms micro celebrities. Digital influencers are usually ordinary people who started as users of social media who share their daily activities and use self-branding strategies to build relationships with followers.

While several authors have researched the topic about the rise of “micro celebrity” known nowadays as digital influencer (Abidin, 2015; Marwick, 2015; Senft 2008), follower-engagement

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(Abidin, 2015), authenticity (Hopkins and Thomas, 2011, p140), few have focused on the strategic practices and construct of the communication style which attract followers. Indeed, previous research has analyzed the field of fashion blogging in relation to the theme of celebrity and directly linked to the online visibility of digital influencers (Pedroni et al., 2016). Another area that was approached by other scholars is the topic concerning ordinary consumers’ power to reach mass audiences through social media (Kar, 2017) however, the strategies that influencers use to engage their followers are not yet clear. Usually, scholars (Hearn and Schoenhoff, 2015) have used quantitative research methods in identifying the features of a key influencer. Their study develops the concept of digital influencer through all types of analytics such as the number of followers and likes, but it does not consider the business and psychological elements which digital influencers use in building their successful strategy. Previous literature has identified several strategies used by digital influencers in their online communication style. Further, scholars claim that “A picture says more than a thousand words”. Thus, using visuals, a picture or a video represents a strategy for digital influencers to empower their role and attract followers to see their online activity (Scoble and Israel, 2006). A personal writing style is another strategy that creates a relationship with followers and transforms new visitors on the social media account into loyal followers (Scoble and Israel, 2006). Another strategy a digital influencers should perform is to deliver quality and interact with followers by replaying to their comments (Rettberg, 2010).

After analyzing the existent literature on this subject, it seems that there is a possible lack of studies concerning the process of digital communication strategies specifically related to digital influencers within the fashion industry context.

The research question “Which effective strategies are used by digital influencers to attract followers?” is focused on exploring which practices do digital influencers use in their personal

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communication strategy and also includes the identification of specific characteristics in the digital influencer’s profile that enhance the process of communication with followers.

This research is concentrated on studying how digital influencers develop their communication style through sharing personal experiences and build close relationships with followers. To understand which effective strategies digital influencers use, it is necessary to analyze which communication practices and techniques are highly used concerning the fashion content.

This study employs a qualitative multiple case study approach, which facilitates the exploration of a phenomenon within its context using a variety of data sources. According to Baxter and Jack (2008), the qualitative multiple case study approach, facilitates the exploration of a phenomenon within its context using more sources. This ensures that the topic is not explored through one perspective, but rather a variety of perspectives, which allows for multiple facets of the research to be understood. As mentioned by Yin (2003), one of the conditions for choosing a case study design approach is represented by the focus on the study to answer “how”, “why” and “which” questions.

One dimension of the empirical part of this thesis was to identify the successful digital influencers who operate on Instagram in the fashion field. Due to this reason, my thesis includes a prior step to the interviewing period. This thesis includes 12 months of observation on 50 digital influencer accounts on Instagram. I selected these 50 profiles based on rankings issued by specialized fashion magazines (ELLE, Cosmopolitan) and organizations which have events (Digital Divas event in Romania) where digital influencers receive awards such as the “best Instagram account”, “best fashion Instagram account”, “first people’s choice” award. During my observation period, I analyzed the content, posts and communication style of digital influencers. I followed several guidelines for completing this second phase of my research. Throughout the observational process,

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I was looking if the content posted by digital influencers was transparent and authentic. I also, paid attention to the frequency of their posting activities and interactivity with followers. I also analyzed the quality of Instagram visuals for instance, if pictures were taken with a professional camera or a smartphone or if the pictures were edited with other special tools or just with Instagram filters. In my following process, I have included all the digital influencers who have responded to my interview questions for this thesis.

This study aims to focus on Digital Influencers and the successful strategies they use in order to attract and maintain followers. I focus on content published by influencers to generate a high volume of exposure and amplify popularity.

This study can be potentially valuable to academic researchers and actors from the fashion world. Additionally, this research can also serve digital influencers who are interested to gain a roadmap insight of successful strategies for their activity on online platforms. As practical implication, this study can also contribute as a source of inspiration to those who would like to become a digital influencer in creating their strategy and profile as a newcomer in the digital influencers’ world. Potential digital influencers can better understand which is the role of a fashion influencer in the virtual space and how a certain communication strategy is relevant in attracting more followers. This paper’s contribution presents different aspects of digital communication and it shows how digital communication strategies can affect the identity and self-presentation of digital influencers. The primary successful strategies which should be adopted by digital influencers are: being active and engage with followers by posting frequently. Finding interesting information to share with loyal followers and presenting it in an original unique way represents a successful strategy to awaken the interest of followers. Being authentic in the online self-presentation and delivering quality content are vital strategies to attract followers who constantly check upon the latest updates

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on the digital influencer’s account page. New identified successful strategies in this study include: the engagement follow back strategy, the use of live stories, commenting and responding with care to follower’s messages, using visuals to generate emotion, and organizing real meet-ups with followers. Other successful strategies which can be applied only by digital influencers who use Instagram are: the time it right, the geo tag and the suggested user strategies.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Defining digital influencers and their role

According to Abidin (2015) “Influencers are every day, ordinary Internet users who accumulate a relatively large following on blogs and social media through the textual and visual narration of their personal lives and lifestyles, engage with their following in digital and physical spaces, and monetize their following by integrating “advertorials” into their blog or social media post” (Abidin, 2015).

Digital influencers post their daily live activities in order to create connections with their followers. Abidin (2015) describes how “the allure of influencers is premised on the ways they engage with their followers to give the impression of exclusive, intimate exchange”.

Digital influencers can be named internet stars or celebrities, but what differentiates them from traditional celebrities is that they are expected to represent commonality (Danesi, 2008, p225). Digital influencers present trivial aspects of everyday life such as posting selfies with the outfit of the day, the daily make-up tutorial and ordinary clothes shopping activities.

As Uzunoglu and Kip (2014) mention, digital influencers are considered opinion leaders and experts who have the ability to affect the behavior and attitudes of followers.

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Digital influencers are one of the most influential reference groups for people who are seeking trustworthy recommendations. This phenomenon happens because followers value the opinion of digital influencers who are perceived and recognized as credible sources. Digital influencers have established their empowerment through branding. Companies have started to consider the Internet as a strategic communication tool and have recognized the power of influential members of social media platforms. Brands now recognize the power of influencers, to directly influence their connected network by making suggestions, which result in the search for, purchase and use of products (Flynn, Goldsmith, & Eastman, 1996).

Digital influencers are creating a digital community and a powerful marketing tool (Hsu &Tsou, 2011). The virtual world has created a new concept on how consumers find and share information. Digital influencers have started to take the role of “experts” in several industries. Online communities and platforms facilitate consumers to interact with their favorite public icons as well as amongst themselves. This type of communication allows people to communicate in a virtual space where they can share the same interests (Nambisan &Watt, 2011). Thus, digital influencers have an effect on people who belong to a specific community and are brought together by similar passions. As a consequence, these people become and are called followers. Followers interpret posted information and then share it to others, thus, increasing and emphasizing the influence of digital influencers’ content.

Digital influencers rely on followers. Followers are a variable to measure success. Without followers the digital influencer is not popular and neither attractive for people to engage in following her account (Rettberg, 2010).

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2.2 Characteristics of a successful digital influencer

According to previous literature, digital influencers keep loyal followers when they deliver high quality content, interesting information and reply to comments or stories. Interactivity with followers helps the digital influencers to gain a good reputation and the respect of their followers (Rettberg, 2010). For many digital influencers, having an account on social media has started as a hobby and has evolved into a daily task similar to a full-time job (Rettberg, 2010).

Given the fact that the success of digital influencers is represented by the number of followers, it implies that they also develop a strategy to manage their followers “an audience that they can strategically maintain through ongoing communication and interaction” (Marwick and Boyd, 2010, p. 121). As Marwick mentions: “With Instagram’s user base of 150 million comes the possibility of achieving Instafame, the condition of having a relatively great number of followers on the app” (Marwick, 2015, p. 137).

Booth and Matic (2011) identified several scores that determine the success of the digital influencer:

Viewers per month - The number of followers who visit the influencer’s page in one month Post frequency - Volume of posts per given time

Media citation score - Volume and level of media that mentions the digital influencer Engagement index - Followers response and the quantity of comments

Subject/topic-related posts - Volume and immediacy of subject/topic-related posts Index score - Identification and rank of influencer based on the above scores

Based on the index score, the cumulated score of all the other aspects stated above, the digital influencer is ranked as being popular, active and successful.

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Christina Newberry (2018) explains which are the qualitative features that boost the digital influencer’s success: reach and resonance. Reach represents the volume or number of followers which a digital influencer potentially reaches through her content. Resonance describes the level of engagement between the influencer and his followers. Actually, the level of engagement answers the question: how do you tell if the digital influencer is trusted? This is reflected within plenty of views, likes, comments and shares from his followers. A high engagement rate also illustrates loyal followers. According to Newberry (2018), organic non-paid posts keep followers interested, enthusiastic and engaged.

She also suggests that if the follower trusts the digital influencer, then, the follower chooses to like the digital influencer’s photo from a variety of other 1000 photos posted on social media accounts. Digital influencers satisfy two main needs of human nature, the one to be like others-mainstream, but also to add your own mark of originality and unconventionality. In terms of physical appearance and self presentation, Newberry (2008) states that good looking people are all considered superficial, but when they are really honest, people realize the importance of these aspects and how much they matter. Digital influencers take advantage of this opportunity and emphasize on the health benefits that a good look provides us (being in shape, a nice reflection in the mirror triggers a psychological balance).

In her opinion, digital content is very easy to access because people value filtered information and shared experiences. What makes a difference in being successful is consistency. It is not sufficient to be interesting and have an appealing content; digital influencers need expertise and well done research for their target group of followers, but also for the large audience who visits their social media profile (Newberry, 2018).

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The quality of the content is the most important aspect in the digital influencer’s social media profile page. Usually, sharing interesting information leads to creating more engagement with followers, thus, to having a popular social media account and becoming a famous digital influencer (Scoble and Israel, 2006). Posting frequently will allure the curiosity of your audience and increase the possibility to keep visiting your social media profile (Scoble & Israel, 2006).

Credible and trustworthy digital influencers spend time on researching which are the latest trends in their area of activity, they also, double check information and facts (Scoble and Insrael, 2006). Successful influencers are considered transparent and authentic. Being interested and passionate about their content, posting frequently are elements, which characterize a successful digital influencer (Scoble & Israel, 2006). Revealing their identity to followers meaning offering information about their origins and passions will determine the audience to perceive the digital influencer as real and authentic (Scoble & Israel, 2006).

2.3 Successful strategies used by digital influencers on social media platforms 2.3.1 Self-presentation as strategy

Within the context of behavioral sciences, Goffman (1955) proposed the notion that people can consciously manage the impression of others in interpersonal interactions. In his discovery, the author suggested that people act out roles in order to establish identities, which can bring them personal gains. It was stated that people also alter the image they want to present and the strategy used in this self-presentation.

Presentation of oneself represents the first strategy used by influencers in attracting followers (Abidin, 2015). Wissinger (2015) defines the online self-presentation of digital influencers from the fashion industry as a self-promotional package of keeping their appearance at the level of a

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fashion model with the demand to be seen everywhere in the virtual space. Digital influencers manage their self-presentation and interactions with followers with the use of personal voice (Lovheim and Boyd, 2010).

Montoya (2002) mentions that self-presentation is composed from several elements: specialization, leadership, personality, distinctiveness and visibility. Specialization implies an area of expertise which the digital influencer manages her content for instance, fashion. Leadership describes the opportunity digital influencers have when people are willing to be influenced by a person who has built a brand identity called in this case the digital influencer. The personality of the digital influencer is characterized as authentic and real, implying being imperfect and human. Distinctiveness is the aspect which determines success and popularity. Being distinctive involves a different way of self-presentation compared to other digital influencers within the same industry. Visibility is another factor which is valuable in being perceived as a successful and popular digital influencer. Therefore, visibility is highly related to awareness, social media’s users have to be aware of the digital influencer’s existence on these platforms. Visibility is built through self-promotion strategies and persistence in one’s activity as a digital influencer.

The phenomenon of self-branding has been introduced as a self-promotional vehicle to create a kind of celebrity value by building a remarkable image persona, thus, gaining positive reputation, attention and potential financial profit (Hearn, 2008).

Along with the rise of social media networks, digital influencers have spotted an opportunity which allows them to create a brand identity (Labreque, 2011). Personal branding has become the primary source for the follower’s first impression when visiting the digital influencer’s social media account (Labreque, 2011). Schau&Gilly (2003) suggest that every action or choice made by the digital influencer represents a component on how they self-present and form their brand identity

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for example, the outfits they choose work as a representation of their self-presentation. (Labreque, 2011).

In general, a brand must be perceived as unique and powerful. Khedher (2014), suggests that uniqueness and power are features that emphasize differentiation from other competitor brands. This branding model also applies to people as follows: digital influencers who create accessible, unique and consistent stories awake the interest of followers by leveraging a promise of “authenticity”. Content which is both accessible and intimate attracts the attention of followers (Marwick, 2016).

Chen (2003) mentions that for digital influencers, personal branding becomes a very important strategy because it reflects self-performance and illustrates how an individual can differentiate himself from competitors on social media platforms,

2.3.2 Being authentic as a strategy in self-presentation

Authenticity becomes a critical factor for digital influencers (Marwick, 2013, p.119). For a person to become a digital influencer, she has to present herself in a strategic manner to appear and be authentic. Authenticity can be created through different actions. These actions imply direct interaction with followers and disclosing personal details about themselves (Marwick, 2013, p.119).

Authenticity describes the influencer’s exposure of her lifestyle as a realistic, spontaneous, less filtered and more raw communication content. As Hearn and Schoenhoff mention: “The Social media influencer works to generate a form of ‘celebrity’ capital by cultivating as much attention as possible and crafting an authentic ‘personal brand’ via social networks, which can subsequently be used by companies and advertisers for consumer outreach” (Hearn & Schoenhoff, 2015, p. 194). Credibility is highly linked with authenticity and represents how convincing, reliable and

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trustable does the influencer’s communication style and digital language appear. Transparency is highly related to credibility (Yang & Lim, 2009). Followers have to perceive the content as accurate and transparent.

The concept of authenticity is what supposedly drives Instagram users to check their account on a regular basis. Instagram users expect to see realistic representations of digital influencer’s lives (Hearn & Schoenhoff, 2015, p. 194).

2.3.3 Digital communication

Communication is explored because digital influencers transmit messages, opinions and information about their passions and activities.

The term “Communication” has its origins in Latin language “Communicare”, which signifies to do something in common. In its practicability, it implies a common ground of understanding. Communication represents an exchange process of information, opinions, facts and ideas, but also emotions, feelings and attitudes (Eide and Eide, 2011).

Concerning digital influencers, communication can be described as the process where the digital influencer transforms the subject into visual symbols, photos, videos or text. The message reaches followers and each of them perceives it in a different way (Rayudu, 2010). In this sense, the digital influencer needs to code the message in a manner which allows followers to decode it (Kotler, 2006). Moreover, the sign of follower’s engagement is illustrated with a comment or feedback given by the follower (Rayudu, 2010).

Influencers have designed their own language that encompasses emoticons, abbreviations, and acronyms (Blashki and Nicol, 2005). Digital influencers leverage intimacy through personal

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referrals such as sweetie, babe, and dear. Emoticons are digital icons, which illustrate emotions and reactions and provide a sense of cuteness (Abidin, 2013).

Having a simple and focused communication style represents an effective strategy to determine people to follow the digital influencer’s activity and posts. Critics suggest that each post should encompass only one clear idea, related to a specific topic (Scoble & Israel, 2006). Followers check social media pages several times per day, but they do not want to spend a long time on watching a video or reading a post (Scoble & Israel,2006)

According to academic literature, the digital influencer’s communication style implies several components such as accessibility, credibility and authenticity, (Abidin, 2015). Accessibility is defined as how easy is to approach an influencer within the digital space. The easiness to contact an influencer is revealed though her language and openness towards followers. Accessibility implies other aspects such immediacy (time ratio response) which usually, should be characterized by a short response time; exclusivity is defined by the message’s level of personalization and individual direct attention directed to the follower; intimacy describes the capacity of the influencer to transmit a feeling of closeness and familiarity through her communication style; and quality refers to the influencer’s ability to produce thoughtful messages (Abidin, 2013).

2.3.4 Using engagement as strategy to empower accessibility

Scoble and Israel (2006) highlight the importance of dialogue in building and creating relationships with followers. A digital influencer should be engaged in discussions with followers, and reply to comments. Additionally, they should arouse followers’ interest in a specific topic by adding comments such as “What do you think?”.

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Marwick states: “they know their fans, respond to them, and often feel an obligation to continue this interaction to boost their popularity, breaking down the traditional audience dichotomy” (Marwick, 2016, p. 345).

The influencer-follower engagement strategy is built through inviting followers to directly respond to a specific post or Instagram story. In addition, digital influencers organize giveaways or contests in which followers are persuaded to respond in multiple forms such as comments, give feedback, or tag friends in order to be considered a potential winner for the prize. In this manner, followers help influencers to become more visible and popular within the follower’s virtual circle of friends. Follow-back is also a secondary strategy embodied in the primary engagement strategy. Digital influencers use the follow back function with their fans in order to express a reciprocal interest with their loyal followers (Abidin, 2013).

Another sub strategy included within the major engagement strategy is the use of stories. Digital influencers who use stories keep followers interested and transform them into loyal followers (Scoble and Israel, 2006). Scoble and Israel (2006) mention that people love stories and stories determine engagement. By using stories, digital influencers will arouse feelings and emotions within their followers and make them feel connected to the content they shared.

An additional sub strategy that a digital influencer can use is to link herself to other popular digital influencers and create together a type of partnership through mentioning each other in their stories, giving each other compliments and travelling together or attending fashion events. First of all, this kind of behavior makes the digital influencer to appear as a sociable person, who is not afraid of competition, but on the contrary empowers other digital influencers. These actions awaken followers’ sympathy and there is a high chance they also start following the second influencer (Scoble & Israel, 2006).

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Other sub strategy a digital influencer should perform is to organize offline events called meet-up events where they invite followers to attend these events and interact with them in real life. This action will create more closure with followers and increases the possibility to keep loyal followers who actively comment on posts and provide feedback (Scoble and Israel, 2006)

2.3.5 Quality as a strategic dimension in the digital communication style

Academic authors argue that content and the quality of it are the most important elements of a digital influencer’s account to be successful. They suggest that without a high quality design and attractive content people will not choose to follow the activity of the digital influencer. Interesting content is the factor, which attracts people to follow the digital influencer. “ A picture says more than a thousand words”. Therefore, a recommendation to digital influencers is to post pictures, which express a message that has to reach followers. Posting frequently generates loyalty and engagement in followers. As a consequence, followers will be interested in constantly watching the digital influencer’s activity (Scoble & Israel, 2006).

Scoble and Israel (2006) suggest that loyal followers are achieved when digital influencers deliver quality, reply to almost all messages, communicate politely and show respect to their followers by paying attention to their comments, private messages and feedback. Engaging in a daily routine creates a relationship of mutual communication between digital influencers and followers. When digital influencers adopt this strategy of delivering quality in content and in their digital behavior, followers will respect the digital influencer and consider her an ideal digital celebrity. In this scenario, there is also a high possibility that followers show and recommend to their friends some posts of the digital influencer’s social media page.

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Digital influencers are advised to adopt an organized, well-defined style which is easy to follow as content (Scoble and Israel, 2012; Rettberg, 2010).

2.3.6 Perceived familiarity within digital communication as strategy

As suggested by Abidin (2013), the digital influencers’ communication “speech” is interactive and bidirectional. The speech is both: one-to-many (published posts visualized by all followers) and one-to one (when influencers reply to individual messages sent by followers-private messages). Perceived familiarity and a strong connection is built by influencers through applying interconnectedness “intimacy” strategies. These strategies are used to acquire loyal followers. Digital influencers approach topics which are familiar to followers thus, the followers care about these topics. For instance, posting very often about a certain subject can show commitment towards that idea or concept and generates the creation of a more credible message (Scoble & Israel, 2006). A personal posting style will create a relationship with followers. A specific style becomes familiar to followers and determines them to become loyal and always check the new content posted by the digital influencer (Scoble & Israel, 2006).

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3. Methodology

3.1 Setting the stage

Digital influencers in the Fashion World

The fast development of smart technologies has led to the development of social media applications (Yadava, Joshia & Rahmanb, 2015). Social media started to have an important role in the business world (Habibi, 2013). According to Diamond and Diamond (2013), this new digitization phenomenon has empowered especially women, because social media provides opportunities for them to market themselves. The fashion industry has started to recognize the powerful role of social media in the Fashion World (Diamond & Diamond, 2013).

In the last years, fashion has become the most searched and popular topic on web browsers and social media platforms. Fashion bloggers, celebrities and anonymous people who are interested in fashion have become digital influencers on online platforms. Fashion blogs and digital influencers have gained massive popularity. Expert fashion influencers provide useful information, recommendations and give style advice to their followers (Chittenden, 2010). For fashion houses, working with the influencer means telling their brand’s story in a way that is relevant for their consumers. The collaboration with a digital influencer implies high exposure, and obtaining more attention, thus, to capture a strong interest for their products. As it is mentioned in Livewire (2017), more than eighty percent of marketers are using influencers that fit and align with their brand image. Influencer marketing facilitate brands and fashion figures to reach targeted consumers. According to Calvin Klein’s founder, models are booked if they have a high number of followers on social networks. Personal recommendations made by fashion digital influencers are gaining credit and determine a friend-like relationship with followers (Uzunoglu and Kip, 2014). As it is stated in the article, followers appreciate comments and recommendations from a person who has

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tried the product before. According to Booth and Matic (2011), at the present moment fashion brands do not have an established place in the social media space. However, digital influencers benefit from a higher connectivity and capture a wide audience.

Digital Influencers on Instagram and the Rise of Instafame

This study is focused on a specific social media platform, i.e. Instagram, which is visually oriented and emphasizes the role of self-representation. .Additionally, Instagram is a very suitable platform to practice influencer branding on. Instagram is a social network app similar to Facebook. Once an account is created, the person owns a profile and has access to news feed. The difference between Facebook and Instagram is represented by the visual emphasis created on Instagram through visual content. Interaction between users is performed through the “following” option, which comes with the sequence of other functions such as liking, commenting, tagging and private messaging (Lifewire, 2017).

According to “Facebook and Instagram: A tale of two feeds” a study conducted by Ipsos Connect in 2016, millennials seek style on Instagram. The young generation is more likely to look for fashion, and beauty content on Instagram than on Facebook (Ipsos, 2016). Instagram has a narrow dictionary of terms such as follower, hashtag, and story. Followers are the people who are ‘’following’’ your account. Your followers will see each content that you share.

Hashtag, #thingslikethis will appear as a blue # followed by a word. The hashtag is used when the user wants to post a photo, which can be seen by everyone, and usually this practice attracts more followers. Popular and similar hashtags will bring together followers with a similar interest. The most recent tool, Instagram Stories gives digital influencers the possibility to share photos and

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videos which disappear after 24 hours and can appear on their profile only if they choose to save them.

A person can create a normal account on Instagram or a business account. Fashion digital influencers and public figures choose to have a business account that provides access to statistics and data which can further be analyzed. The data offers information about the profile of followers (their age, gender, location, and the frequency of visiting the influencer’s profile)

Instagram has two major advantages: photos and the community of followers. On other social media platforms the main focus is often directed to user interactions, text or videos (Linaschke, 2011). Instagram is focused on photographs, which leverage aesthetic beauty, and allows users to tag locations, people or other activities (Linaschke, 2011). The the number of likes or comments generated by a post determines the succes of an Instagram account, in this case the digital influencer’s Instagram account and its success. Digital influencers use several variables and indexes to measure their performance. They have access to measure their followers per month. The popularity of their posts is also a variable, which is highly monitored through indexes such as number of likes and number of views.

As Marwick mentions: “With Instagram’s user base of 150 million comes the possibility of achieving Instafame, the condition of having a relatively great number of followers on the app” (Marwick, 2015, p. 137). The author highlights how Instagram provided “ordinary” users to become famous on this digital platform. Marwick states: “Instafamous people like Friesz have the potential to reach an audience that rivals that of television networks in size, what we might call a mass audience” (Marwick, 2015, p.150). The popularity of Instagram’s digital influencers eclipses the notoriety of traditional celebrities who became famous through media channels. Young

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generations lead their lives through beliefs that good looks and a good living are the result of perfect outfits, expensive holidays and sophisticated meals.

3.2 Research Design

An explorative research is a suitable approach for asking open questions and gaining knowledge about a subject of interest (Saunders, 2007).The explorative design is a right fit when the area of research is new or when the researcher needs to conduct exploration in order to acquire more information about the topic of interest (Saunders, 2007). I have conducted a mono method study design where only qualitative data is analyzed. Thus, it was possible to build a clear construct from theory to analyze the interviews, which contributes to reliability, external validity and construct validity of this paper (Yin, 2014)

3.2.1 Collection

Primary data is collected through interviews and secondary data is analyzed through the observational method by monitoring the digital influencers’ activities on Instagram (Instagram posts, comments and stories). This process serves as a documentary method to insure the results of the study and prove the conclusions of the research (Koning,2018). Eisenhardt (1989) states that case study methodology is the ideal methodology for research in new areas or in insufficiently researched areas. In addition, case study research can be complementary to theory building of existing phenomena (Eisenhardt, 1989).

This research is ethnographically situated. The data presented is collected from digital influencers active in Romania’s fashion industry. Since their debut in the 2000’s, fashion bloggers in Romania have progressed into the most popular internet celebrities and evolved to the notion of digital influencers with the rise of Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms.

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According to Zelist Monitor in Romania, Instagram has around 600,000 users, of which more than 280,000 are active users. Instagram is ideal to target primarily the female audience, both young (16-24 years) and older women, 25 to 45/50 years. The same source mentions that in November 2017 fashion has been used as a hashtag for 22860 times among the Romanian Instagram users. These two reasons might lead to an explanation of the high emergence of fashion influencers on the Romanian Instagram market (Zelist,2015).

In Romania, fashion and beauty influencers are predominantly women, who are aged between 24 and 35. Romanian digital influencers usually present their content in Romanian, but they also use English as a secondary language. Most influencers are individuals who work independently, however, a part of them collaborate with marketing and PR agencies such as Global records. In most cases, digital influencers are micro celebrities who became famous and popular through digital platforms. There are some traditional celebrities who decided to follow a digital influencer career and leave behind the multimedia and television appearances.

The digital influencers for my thesis were categorized in public figures, former bloggers, fashion celebrities and anonymous persons who recently became famous through Instagram. I chose accounts which have at least 10.000 followers. I also considered specific characteristics of the account such as: the quality of the content, digital communication style, uniqueness or different styles and strategies they apply for the presentation of content, the frequency of interaction with followers. I strongly believe, that through this selection of these characteristics I could access the best sample of digital influencers who provided relevant answers for my research question. Digital Influencers who own a high number of followers and who work hard on content creation, are the ones who are perceived as successful. Additionally, success is based on experience, and these influencers have definitely improved their digital communication strategy and have made progress

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over time. Several known criteria classify an Instagram user as a digital influencer. The number of followers is one of the main factors, which determines if the person who owns an account has potential to become an influencer or is already one. As mentioned by Hire Influence experts, a person who has 2000 followers has the potential to become an influencer, whereas popular influencers start with an average of 10.000 followers and reach even one million. According to Instagramology (2018), the number of followers is an element that can be the recent equal of popularity. The content of an account also determines the quality of the posts and if there is any valuable investment on the behalf of the user. The posted content provides information about the profile of the influencer.

As they provide contact information on their Instagram pages, the access to these digital influencers is open for everyone who wants to contact them. I reached them through e-mails and social media tools in order to check their availability and willingness to participate to my study. The interviews were held on Skype and face-to-face meetings. Each interview lasted between 12-25 minutes. These interviews were recorder and transcribed verbatim. In order to answer my research question, the interviews were conducted on a non-directive method such as “life story approach” (Flick, 2009). I started with background questions, following with experience questions and ending with opinion and values questions (Koning,2018). I focused on the practice of digital influencers as an everyday life activity (“Let’s talk about your experience as a fashion influencer) followed by other open questions such as: Why do some of the fashion influencers succeed and others do not?). These type of questions allowed me to find out if there were any changes in the digital influencers’ communication strategy during her digital influencer life cycle phase starting from launching her personal image on Instagram throughout the growth stage. Additionally, I identified how digital influencers attract followers through the digital communication language. I

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am interested to know if digital influencers develop a personalized communication style in order to differentiate from other influencers who represent competition.

3.2.2 Coding. Interpretation and Analysis

Qualitative data results require classification into categories. As words can capture several meanings, it is very important to interpret the data with a high degree of attention (Saunders, 2007). I have started to structure the collected data by organizing it into themes or nodes by using the Nvivo software. This step made an easier display of the collected data on the theoretical dimensions: authenticity, engagement, and quality. The Nvivo queries are useful for distinguishing patterns on the vocabulary of digital influencers and for highlighting the most frequent terms, which are used in their field. These terms might represent indicators for identifying a specific communication strategy used by digital influencers.

I tried to structure the data into similar and different content however, for the overall results of interviews slight differences were identified. Similarities in opinions and practices are predominant when it comes to digital influencers’ points of view.

For my whole research and coding method, I have been using the deductive approach, where codes are derived from theory. Following the previous coding procedures I also, added memos for interviews which work as a very short summary of each discussion and highlight the most relevant ideas which are useful for the research.

4. Strengths and limitations of this thesis

Reliability is insured by following specific academic instructions for conducting a case study. The collected data and the interpretation of data were developed and explored by using digital support such as a coding software.

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One limitation of this research can be represented by data collection. Five interviews took place face to face, whereas the other 10 were conducted on Skype. Sedgwick(2009), mentions that usually, when a discussion happens face to face the person who asks the questions can deduct some details about the interviewee by paying attention to non-verbal gestures, and disclosure through body language. This analysis cannot be performed when the interview takes places on Skype, as the quality of the image is not very high and people prefer to disclose a small part of their body, usually they keep the web cam’s focus on their face.

One of the limitations of the study is represented by probably weak generalization (as they are 15 interviews) and restricted geographical area of analysis (as the case study examines only the Romanian market). The study was conducted in a single country and this aspect limits generalizability of findings (Sedgwick, 2009).

Additionally, the study reflects the digital patterns and trends from Romania The data and results might differ if the study would be carried out in another country.

An extra limitation is its qualitative dimension, as qualitative findings are highly subjective and are context dependent. Another limitation which interviews include is the subjectivity of the interviewer which might create a bias effect (Eisenhardt, 1989).

Internal validity was constructed through semi-structured interviews, providing in-depth insights of the digital influencers’ activity and communication strategy. Furthermore, the results were compared to previous literature research.

Credibility and consistency are ensured by comparisons between interview results, observations and theories. This is also called triangulation (Tracy, 2012).

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5. Results

5.1 Observational results Self-presentation as strategy

All digital influencers have a short description about themselves or use a representative quote on their Instagram account. This short biography is used to communicate a first impression to followers.

All digital influencers focus on specific subjects such as fashion and outfits, but they also incorporate information about food and sports, and include life events such as gathering with friends and moments from their holidays. However, their main subject of interest is fashion and work related content based on fashion activities. Usually, digital influencers frequently post pictures or videos with outfits that illustrate the “hottest” trends in fashion.

Quality as a strategic dimension in the digital communication style

Through analyzing the quality of visuals and pictures, I can determine how amateur, professional or editorial they look.

Digital influencers focus on sharing content, information and knowledge in a manner that can be defined as right. They pay particular attention to topics which are of personal interest, but which followers also find interesting.

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Using engagement as strategy to empower accessibility

All digital influencers post frequently and invest time in keeping their followers updated to latest fashion trends. High frequency in posting is a sign that reflects the aim of digital influencers to appear credible and trustworthy (Scoble and Israel, 2006).

All 15 digital influencers use a story-telling communication style and create stories around their posted content. This communication style allows digital influencers to build a trustful relationship with their followers.(Scoble and Israel, 2006). Sometimes they also challenge followers to respond to their Instagram stories, or come up with feedback on their outfits and choices which is in line with the theoretical background of using engagement as strategy to empower accessibility

Digital communication style as strategy. Personal communication style

The most frequently used emoticons are happy/smile, sad, heart, broken heart, and laughing. Specific functions of Instagram such as using hashtags helps in reaching the most relevant audience possible. The hashtag places the picture in a pool of longevity, as it will be associated with other relevant images concerning a theme. The more hashtags they add, the more likes they get, however using the same hashtags in multiple posts gives the impression of repetition and less engagement with the pictures and stories shared by digital influencers. There are digital influencers who created their own hashtags usually, they are related to a project they pursue, and followers pick it up and start using it in their posts. Generally, digital influencers use hashtags related to fashion, make-up, food and travel.

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Perceived familiarity within digital communication as strategy

Digital influencers share information and write about personal experiences within an area of subjects and interests they find fascinating and interesting. Some digital influencers share familiar experiences such as attending a wedding and provide tips on how to prepare for such an event: which outfit to wear, which gifts to buy, how to do your make-up. Other influencers share their opinions about holiday places, or restaurants they have been to.

5.2 Interviews results

Self-presentation as strategy

Being passionate about the content they post is a characteristic, which all digital influencers own. They mention that a post with a picture or video has to be fresh and individual. Most of digital influencers are creative, original and strategic in their communication style. They try to give a personal feel to any post they share because they know people connect with pictures they can relate to.

Being authentic as a strategy in self-presentation

For all digital influencers, authenticity is primordial and comes before the motivation to gain financial profits. Along with authenticity, honesty is another feature which is transmitted in digital influencers’ communication style. Digital influencers affirmed that being genuine is very important and they display a genuine identity through investing passion and care in what they are posting.

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32 Alina Ceusean on authenticity:

“So, as I was saying, I am responsible for the creative part and I think that being directly implied in this process, determines an authentic result. The outcome becomes an

illustration of my wishes”

Credibility and trust are inspired by digital influencers through creating a story for the content they post, in this manner the audience will feel more connected with what they shared. An example of linking a story with a photo could be when the outfit reflects the influencer’s mood for instance, a colorful outfit is associated with happiness Telling true stories is a strategy applied by the majority of digital influencers and Instagram’s stories tool provide influencers with the possibility to express their emotions and experiences in a raw and spontaneous manner. Having a perfect appearance is not always the best choice, but keeping it real is perceived by influencers as a valuable strategy to leverage inspirational and positive content.

Using engagement as strategy to empower accessibility

Engagement is determined by the mini-stories strategy. For example, a mini-photo or video series will persuade and attract people to keep following your account an activity. Writing smart and expressing their ideas in a narrative way for instance, storytelling where they also share their feelings and thoughts with followers is another strategy to generate more engagement.

Ana Morodan on authenticity and engagement

“The things I post are the things I like. I value authenticity. I try to present everything as a story. “

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“Yes, I do reply to my followers’ message, I talked with them about fashion, but I also reply to questions referring to life issues and problems. “

Concerning accessibility and engagement, digital influencers stated that their strategy is to reply to followers’ messages in a short time, but they add another value to this activity- called comment with care. They consider comments as the most caring practice to interact with their followers. Digital influencers take time to compose meaningful comments on the comments received from followers. They believe in this approach as it has helped them in building strong relationships with followers. Being active and proactive is considered by influencers as a primary step to get new followers. The more they post, the more followers will like their pictures, which leads to get new followers from your current followers’ friends. Digital influencers organize giveaways contests and invite followers to join public events, thus an additional strategy is turning followers into friends. In this way they build a community which overpasses the social media aspect.

Sweet Paprika on interactivity:

“Yes, I treat them as my friends. They feel very close to me and I enjoy socializing with them also in offline contexts. I receive questions about products and new things my followers want to try. I am also a mother, and women ask me questions about children and the mother-child relationship. “

The majority of digital influencers stated that being active is a very powerful strategy to attract new followers. Posting a lot, but only high quality content. Posting four or five times per day provide digital influencers with more likes from followers and their own followers will discover the content.

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More engagement is produced through photos because they receive more likes whereas, videos are mostly viewed, but not liked. Photos with persons attract more likes compared to the ones with objects. Liking and commenting on people’s photos attracts new followers.

Quality as a strategic dimension in the digital communication style

Keeping structure and order in the layout of the overall Instagram page is perceived by influencers as a valuable quality which attracts followers with certain standards to follow their activity on Instagram. These influencers suggest that keeping the same format of pictures in terms of size and design and keeping their written posts in a homogenous way concerning the tone of expression such as a friendly tone helps them to build their own style which becomes familiar and recognizable for the follower.

Instagram is based on leveraging visual aesthetics thus; many influencers make their pictures speak thousands of words. Especially within the fashion accounts, the visual is definitely important and followers connect and understand the style through pictures of outfits. Also, referring to the visual content, constructing pictures where people can transport themselves is a valuable resource which influencers use. After creating a story for the outfit they will be wearing, they set the scene for the photo which sends a specific emotion to the audience, in this way followers can also put themselves in that setting and situation. Lights play an important role in dictating the mood of their image. Some influencers revealed that shooting at a particular time of the day is important.

Putting themselves into pictures is considered to be a strategy to connect and communicate with followers. Followers feel they can transport themselves into pictures and at the same time it makes followers to look at the content through the digital influencer’s vision and make them feel a part of the emotions the digital influencer expressed.

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35 Ioana Grama on visual content:

“At the beginning, I was posting pictures with my outfits. I do not have any studies related to fashion (haha). I do not give advice to people, I just get dressed in what I like and people can find a source of inspiration in my content. I work by myself, I do not have a team. I am editing my pictures on Instagram, mostly with the Valencia filter”

Digital communication style as strategy. Personal communication style

Be yourself and make a difference. Several digital influencers stated that being imperfect and different such as using humor and silly messages in their account, has helped them in becoming popular and loved by followers. Instagram is considered as being crowded and saturated, being personable is a quality which some digital influencers have. Posts should grab people’s attention by trying to show people something they have not seen before by illustrating unusual viewpoints or having a funny and friendly tone in writing messages. Instagram can become a creative expression of the digital influencers’ style. Digital influencers mention that even with selfies they try to be creative and post something funny rather than boring.

Other strategies used by digital influencers Being Creative. Original and Unique

Another communication strategy applied by most influencers is keep it different, but simple. Originality and uniqueness create your identity and provides followers with the ability to recognize you when scrolling in their feed. One strategy to be different is built by using humor, associating for instance, an ordinary activity with something that might be perceived as funny. This action will make your pictures more likable (make someone out there laugh). An opposite practice to the one

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previously stated, is to capture people’s attention and curiosity by showing something that is not common and they are not used to seeing it. Creativity plays an important role in becoming a source of inspiration for followers. If their audience feels they are discovering something new, they will be more likely to continue following.

Ana Morodan on originality and content:

“I try to keep my projects humorous and eccentric, also my benchmark is about luxury and presenting content with luxurious outfits. I am also very selective with my collaborations, I just work with the people and brands I believe in. I choose themes which fit my audience’s taste. On the long term, being selective it helped me a lot.”

Time it right as strategy

Digital influencers try to post when they think their community of followers is online and engaged. They know that most people check their feeds in the morning on their way to work, after finishing work and when they go to bed.

Communication in an international language as strategy

Communicating in an international language such as English provides the digital influencer with further visibility.

Geographical tag as strategy

Geo tag is another strategy which allows followers to relate to digital influencers based on the location they visit or are usually located at. Geo tag is a function which illustrates the location of the digital influencer at the top of the post.

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An overall high level of engagement has been explained by digital influencers through using several strategies: more hashtags, more photos compared to videos, more pictures with faces and people compared to objects or locations, more posts using geotag, more photos where you tag/mention another digital influencer.

Suggested user as strategy

An additional aim of digital influencers is to become a suggested user on Instagram. Many of Instagram’s users have become famous because they were promoted through @Instagram. There are several steps which digital influencers use in order to become a suggested user. They have to share inspiring and original photos and videos. As digital influencers observed that Instagram has a preferred style, pictures should be natural and not over edited. Additionally, pictures should be symmetrical have a bright and clean composition. Digital influencers are encouraged to post constantly, but they should not exaggerate with too many pictures or hashtags within a certain period of time otherwise, the digital influencer is perceived as desperate and hungry for attention. Digital influencers have to actively engage and help in extending the Instagram community through replying to other users’ content, and post comments on their content. Another component of Instagram’s preferred style is to follow trends and present them in posts, but also trying to create a personal style.

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6. Discussion of results and Conclusion

Digital influencers’ first successful strategy is represented by presentation, through self-expression in the online environment they become digital celebrities and ideal models for followers. This paper discovered that digital influencers attract more followers when they are able to display quality in their content. Delivering the latest trends from the fashion world and providing new information is a very important strategy to attract new followers and keep them loyal.

All 15 digital influencers share information about their field of interest which is fashion. They continuously try to find new information about this subject and communicate it to their followers. Digital influencers appear authentic through their actions and communication style. As long as digital influencers present content which revolves around their passions and interest, they are perceived as authentic and trustworthy by their followers. Another sign which illustrates the success of a digital influencer is represented by the large number of followers and the relationship she has with them. Thus, developing a strong relationship with is a crucial element in their activity. Digital influencers capture a trusting relationship with followers by sharing personal information in a familiar way.

All digital influencers receive feedback from followers, private messages and comments on their posts. Thus, it can be argued that in their successful strategies to attract followers, digital influencers include the use of experiences, sharing new information and interactivity with followers.

Being active and responsive is considered to be very important for maintaining a good reputation and keep followers loyal. Replying to private messages and comments shows a serious approach on the behalf of the digital influencer. Additionally, the strategy of engaging in dialogue wit h followers has a positive effect on the digital’s influencer image.

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The research shows that using stories and sharing experiences are elements which increase the digital influencer’s success. The message is perceived as being more personal and authentic, thus, more trustworthy and credible

Referring to other digital influencers is a strategy which has brought a positive impact to digital influencers. Having loyal followers who recommend you to other followers is considered as a valuable asset for attracting new followers.

Other successful strategies applied by digital influencers are: posting content which followers perceive is interesting. Providing audience with a different way of exposing content such as using humor in their posts, generates enjoyment to their followers.

Hence, digital influencers are passionate about their activity on social media platforms, Instagram, they share knowledge with followers and moreover, they engage followers to socialize, and give feedback about the content they have shared.

In conclusion, most of the digital influencers attract followers by using the self-presentation communication strategy and by including the additional successful strategies of being authentic, credible and provide followers with accessibility and engagement.

7. Further research

This study investigated which successful strategies are used by digital influencers in order to attract new followers and keep them loyal. Consequently, further studies on how digital influencers use communication strategies to attract brands and paid collaborations is needed. Such a research is advantageous for companies because more and more consumers are influenced by the trends which digital influencers set. This thesis provides information and results concerning digital influencer’s strategies on communicating information and knowledge about their subjects of interests, for

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instance, fashion, but the research does not provide guidelines for companies and brands on how to communicate with followers by using the help and support of digital influencers.

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Which successful strategies are used by digital influencers to attract followers? : a multiple case study : analysis of top digital influencers in Romania’s fashion industry