Social Media, Viral Marketing, and User-generated Content in Luxury Fashion

Abstract

In this thesis consumer preferences and how they could be monitored are going to be analyzed. In doing so we are also addressing the issues with social media intelligence. In the current era of sustainability, numerous businesses are striving to revolutionize their operations and strategies by embracing new technologies and offering fashionable products across multiple platforms. What are the most effective strategies for organizations to integrate user-generated content (UGC) from platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok to enhance brand perception and engagement, and what are the potential challenges and limitations in implementing such strategies? This question, at the base of the research, focuses on the use of social media, viral marketing and UGC and on the effects that these can have on marketing strategies. It could investigate how organizations collect, analyze, and decipher data to have a better understanding of the target we are studying and on how to use the information to take decisions on the marketing field. User-generated content (UGC) is published information that an unpaid contributor provides to a website. The information might be a photo, video, blog or discussion forum post, poll response or comment made through a social media website. In this research we study how this method could be applied in the Luxury fashion industry. For luxury brands, social media is an important tool to engage and communicate not only with their target but with an entire audience. The revenue of the luxury goods market averaged more than $312 bn in 2022 and it is predicted to grow more the 5% annually. For this reason, it is important for luxury brands to differentiate themselves. Last year, short-form video dominated the feeds of the audience, particularly the one from Instagram and TikTok, now we see these platforms evolve into search engines. Burberry, for example, was one of the first luxury brands to use user generated content with the “Art of the Trench” campaign in 2009. In conclusion, this thesis is going to shed light on the significant role of social media and viral marketing in the fashion industry. By examining various aspects such as consumer behavior analysis, trend forecasting, and brand management, it has become evident that social media platforms have become invaluable tools for understanding and interacting with fashion consumers.