The Future of Influencer Marketing in Fashion Industry: A Qualitative Study of the Impacts of The Pandemic on Social Media Marketing Practices

Social media is an essential element of modern communication, with billions of users worldwide occupying a variety of digital spaces and forums (Appel et al., 2019). Used as an effective marketing tool as “the wide range of consumers utilizing social networks means that most target markets can be reached” (Paquette, 2013), social media offers brands the potential to communicate directly and effectively with the consumers. Until the invention of social media networks, often the masses could not participate in digital conversations (Susarla et al, 2012). Undoubtedly, it has democratised being opinion leaders and creators on online spaces and gave brands, especially in the fashion and beauty sectors, the opportunity to create a dialogue with the consumers. With the rise of User Generated Content (UGC), the ‘ordinary’ person as an opinion leader was being favoured over mass media and celebrities (Abidin, 2015). Social media users who gained considerable influence over the public were coined as social media influencers (SMIs) (Scott, 2019) and brands recognised SMIs’ potential as effective spokespeople for their fashion products and campaigns.