With the impact that Social Media and Social Selling create we often feel the pressure to buy things that to be totally blunt, we really don't need or want.
So with these changes in marketing being done through social media more than newsletters like how it used to be, how do we avoid the impulse purchases that we later regret or feel pressured to buy because our favourite blogger has it?
For me this is where having a wish-list really becomes helpful. I try to think about the things I want and if they are something I like or if I like it because other people own it, social selling doesn't just focus around clothing and accessories but around everything really from haircare and skincare and way more. The spectrum is so broad of what we can be influenced to buy literally just through Instagram for example.
In terms of the fashion industry do I often feel the pressure to buy things from seeing them on a social media influencer? Heck yes!! Honestly I feel like that is how I've learned through trial and error about what is truly my style and what is something that I like on someone else and that I really don't like on me. It's a really expensive lesson when you have expensive taste or can be easily influenced like I can but, like I've said it's a lesson. And I have learned! This is my checklist of what I look for to figure out if I really want something or if I'm just being influenced:
Is this something I would normally buy? (ie; category of things I buy... for me it's often shoes or bags)
Is this my usual style or would it stick out in my wardrobe/ closet?
Am I interested in buying this simply to support this influencer? (This is a big one, because while we love to support our favourite influencers we don't need to buy things to support them.... especially if they're things we don't actually want. There are other ways to support them without spending money on something you don't like which I can share below.)
Can I picture myself wearing this item in at least 7 outfits?
Will I get my cost per wear out of this?
Is this something that I want more than any other item on my wish-list?
These are just my basics to start with but if I'm still thinking about it then it's definitely something I want to think about for a little bit, typically I'll do a 24 hour wait period before going ahead with a purchase. If it's something I'm just feeling pressured to buy and it's making me feel anxious I will literally just cut off that thought and say "no, I don't need this. If it's causing me anxiety it's unnecessary because it is just a thing."
Recently there has been a big push for a particular bag on Social Media and you may have seen it, the Prada Re-Edition 2005 Re-Nylon Bag. Many influencers have been wearing this bag, but this then comes with the question of if it was a big marketing push even a few years after the launch. It makes you wonder if this was similar to the big marketing push that happened with the Louis Vuitton Multi Pochette Accessoires which sold out for the most part before it was actually available in stores.
For many brands their best marketing for a new item is the social media influencers because well, it's in their name. They are "influencers". With hundreds to thousands and even millions of followers who follow their life and look up to them many of us idolize them and dream of having their wardrobes they can push an item more than any marketing campaign possibly could.
I've personally been considering the LV Multi Pochette Accessoires for some time now, trying to change my priorities in fashion to have something that is more functional than just a going out bag and with the versatility of it I was curious of other options which is when I started to see comparison videos between the Multi Pochette Accessoires and the Prada Re-Edition 2005 Re-Nylon bag. It wasn't till then that I saw the Prada Re-Edition on my feed more and more.
It was astonishing how many people were wearing it. But the question then comes as; are they wearing it because they like it or because they were gifted it by a company?
What are your thoughts on Social Selling and the pressures of being influenced by Social Media?
Here are some ways that you can support your favourite Social Media Influencers or Bloggers without spending money:
Like their Post
Save their Post
Comment on their Post
Share their Posts or page with others
All of these things can help them in more ways than you know!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more fashion and lifestyle related posts coming every second Sunday.
Hannah, The Secret Robin
Please note that this is all my own opinion and not an advertisement.
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