How should fashion brands approach new social platforms?
From Clubhouse to OnlyFans, experimental platforms are opening up to fashion and beauty brands but how should you approach them and what can they offer?
Key Takeaways
Consumers are seeking intimacy and authenticity which is why platforms that encourage discussion, such as Clubhouse, are taking off right now.
A strong Instagram presence is still important because that is the platform that most consumers will be on and it has proven effective for fashion brands.
While there are many exciting opportunities, brands should be careful not to spread themselves too thinly across multiple platforms.
Brands and influencers alike will have to adapt to the changing role of the influencer.
Consumer’s digital habits will likely change as the world opens up and people spend less time online post-lockdown.
Even the most active influencers have a love-hate relationship with Instagram. For some, it’s even a life goal to be so successful that they can come off social media altogether. Amid claims of inauthenticity, bullying and censorship, major social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter are facing a reckoning.
At the start of the year cult brand Bottega Venetta came off Instagram altogether and moved to a digital journal featuring stills, film and audio. Creative Director Daniel Lee told The Guardian, “Social media represents the homogenisation of culture. Everyone sees the same stream of content. A huge amount of thought goes into what I do and social media oversimplifies it.” Of course, the brand has such a huge following that it still has an organic presence on Instagram through influencers and customers sharing photos of their latest gifts and purchases.
There is a growing mistrust of Instagram that has left space for newer platforms like Clubhouse, Triller, Twitch and OnlyFans to step into where they can offer opportunities for fashion and beauty brands to connect with their community on a more authentic, intimate level. The diversity of content creation on these platforms is an exciting moment for creativity in fashion marketing. Brands can reap rewards from experimenting with new platforms, especially if they are early adopters. However, it’s important to not get over-excited about these platforms and spread yourself too thinly. Instead, focus on building a loyal community on two or three platforms rather than experimenting with too many at once.
While Instagram has its issues, it’s still important for brands to have a presence on there. “Focusing on building a strong audience on platforms like Instagram where we know a fashion brand can deliver results should always be a priority,” says fashion brand coach and strategist Leah Hanrahan. “I would spend time building an audience on a few complimentary platforms that are brand-fit and that your audience is likely to use as this will also help overall audience and business growth.”
The benefits of experimenting with new platforms
Early adopters are positioned as innovators and are more likely to gain a following quickly.
These platforms often feel more personal, intimate and authentic and allow brands to foster a deeper connection with consumers.
Some platforms offer opportunities to monetise without paying for advertisements.
For some brands, Instagram’s community guidelines can put restrictions on content so platforms like OnlyFans allow for more freedom.
These new platforms offer brands a chance to experiment and provide something new for their audience that they may not have seen before. They can position brands as innovative early adapters if approached in the right way. According to Natalia Christina from creative agency The Digital Fairy, “innovation comes with risks but it can also pay off. If you’re the first, you’re more likely to gain a following more quickly. We’re moving towards social 2.0 as consumers reject the commercialisation of the social monoliths like Instagram. Consumers are also seeking intimacy. The rise of closed social networks is about giving us the human connection we’ve been missing during the pandemic.”
The oversaturation of content on Instagram makes it increasingly difficult for emerging brands to cut through the noise and stand out from the crowd. Closed social networks – like Clubhouse where you can only join in the discussion once you are in a ‘room’, or OnlyFans where users pay for subscriber-only content – can feel more personal, intimate, and authentic because they allow for a deeper connection than a scheduled Instagram post shared to 50K followers.
Another criticism of mainstream platforms is the amount of space they give to ads. On top of sponsored content from influencers sometimes apps like Instagram can feel like big advertisements or shopping platforms. Traditionally this has worked in brands’ favour because advertising products is still a good way to sell products but to truly build a loyal community or following it is rarely enough on its own. Platforms like Patreon and OnlyFans offer opportunities to monetise without buying ads because they rely on tipping and subscription models. This creates a feeling of exclusivity that traditional platforms lack. It’s a chance for brands to get creative in producing content that incites consumers to sign up to new platforms and potentially pay for. This also allows for rewarding loyal customers with special access to exclusive content.
For some fashion and beauty brands, Instagram’s censorship and shadowbanning policies can be a hindrance. That’s why Berlin brand Voo Store joined OnlyFans earlier this year. The platform, which was founded in 2016, is used predominantly by sex workers. This has scared some brands off, but for Thibaud Guyonnet, Voo Store’s Creative Director, this was part of the appeal. “It makes sense because we’re a bit kinky,” he told High Snobiety. “We were getting reported on Instagram all the time because it’s like ‘you’re showing a bit too much skin or a bit too much pubes.’' OnlyFans offers freedom from these restrictions but linking the platform to your Instagram page is another hurdle when Instagram censors any mention of the site.
Burberry on Twitch
Case Study: Twitch and Burberry
Last September Burberry became the first luxury fashion brand to join Twitch, a live-streaming platform for gamers, where they streamed their Spring/Summer 2021 runway show. The hour-long stream, which included pre-show discussion between celebrities like Rosalia and Bella Hadid and models getting ready, received approximately 42,000 views.
What sets Twitch apart from other live streaming services like YouTube and Instagram Live is the ability to show the stream from various different perspectives. This is called “squad stream mode.” Burberry had four different streams from four different perspectives so viewers were able to see the show from the perspective of Bella Hadid and each stream has its own comments section where discussions happen in real-time. Twitch has a high engagement rate. Users spend an average of 95 minutes a day on the platform. The majority of users are young and want to be ahead of the curve so when they see something different like a fashion brand live streaming on the platform they’re excited to click through.
Twitch is interactive and inclusive because it essentially invites viewers to have their own front-row seat. It has been popular with streetwear brands as their customer base overlaps with the gaming community but Burberry proved that the luxury fashion customer/fan is equally intrigued by the streaming platform.
The risks of experimenting with new platforms
Spreading your brand too thinly across several platforms could weaken the brand message.
These platforms can be tricky to understand so it’s important to invest time in researching them and your consumer base before jumping on them.
They require creating exclusive content that is worth your consumers leaving mainstream platforms for.
Trying something new always comes with a risk. Joining a new platform requires careful consideration of who your audience is. Leah Hanrahan suggests that “if an emerging fashion brand identifies that their dream customer and audience is already using or likely to use a platform like Clubhouse, OnlyFans and Patreon, then it makes total sense to look at how they can best use these platforms in a brand-fit manner to reach them and grow their fashion brand further” but adds that being on Instagram is still a priority.
Brands should be careful not to spread themselves too thinly across multiple platforms. The importance is on adding authentic value to your brand not doing as many crazy things as possible at once. These platforms can be tricky to understand so require consideration before jumping on them for the sake of it. They require brands to create something worth leaving mainstream platforms for when so many of us are addicted to the same two or three apps.
For subscription or tip-based platforms, it’s also necessary to produce content that your consumer would feel is worth paying for. The influencer is evolving with these new platforms and vetting influencers before working with them is more important than ever, but there are creative opportunities that come from this too. Matthew Attard Navarro from fashion creative studio ANCC says that the role of influencer will expand and “the term influencer will eventually be replaced by digital creative because influencers will have to think of new ways to appeal to audiences shifting from one platform to another, very similar to small content studios.”
“The term influencer will eventually be replaced by digital creative because influencers will have to think of new ways to appeal to audiences shifting from one platform to another, very similar to small content studios.”
Case Study: OnlyFans and Rebecca Minkoff
Rebecca Minkoff joined OnlyFans in February to share exclusive style content and allow a glimpse into her life and creative process as a designer. As one of the first big brands to join the platform, Minkoff received a lot of press for the move. The main appeal of OnlyFans is the provocative nature of the platform given that the main content on there is adult content. On her channel, Minkoff shares learnings and interacts with the community providing a more personal connection with her audience than other platforms allow. However, the content does not feel particularly innovative because the platform’s functionality is very basic. OnlyFans is the perfect platform for brands trying to evade Instagram’s censorship but other than that its reach is limited.
Will these platforms have longevity?
Social media platforms come and go all the time. Once upon a time, we were all on MySpace, Bebo and Tumblr. Today Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are known for absorbing the functionalities of new platforms onto their own. Instagram launched Reels to compete with TikTok and Twitter’s Fleets are similar to Instagram stories. Even if some brands and individuals are deciding to leave Instagram it’s unlikely the app will lose its social media monopoly in the near future.
It’s worth noting that the buzz around new social platforms is heightened during lockdown because people are spending more time interacting via screens instead of face to face. Leah Hanrahan notes that “all fashion brands should prepare themselves for the fact that the way people are currently consuming content, i.e. spending hours on end scrolling through multiple apps and browsing, is likely to change once the world returns to a more normal life and people get back to living and hanging out with loved ones.”
New platforms can help brands cultivate a more authentic, community-based communications strategy, but doing so requires audience research and a creative mindset. These platforms are not authentic in and of themselves but they are tools to create content worth leaving Instagram for. While being an early adopter can be beneficial for brand image, it’s important not to come across as gimmicky or like you’re jumping on the bandwagon but to approach these platforms with a plan and a clear idea of who your audience is and what they want.
Right now these platforms are an exciting opportunity to be creative and reach deeper engagement with consumers. It’s still early enough that joining a platform such as Twitch or Clubhouse would position your brand as an innovator. Subscription and tipping models offer a unique opportunity to monetise without traditional advertising. Overall, you can tailor content to be more personal, intimate, and authentic which is the perfect antidote to Instagram fatigue.
If you haven’t already, we’d love for you to join our Club over on Clubhouse.
Header image - Mansur Gavriel photographed by Zhenya and Tanya Posternak in Yoro Park in Gifu, Japan.
21.04.21
