Case Study about Chiara Ferragni PDF

Preview

Summary

Sviluppo e analisi in lingua inglese del caso studio su Chiara Ferragni e il blog The Blonde Salad...

Description

TASK 2 The business of blogging and the figure of the influencer: case study of Chiara Ferragni and “The Blonde Salad”

Nowadays a new phenomenon is gaining a huge attention: the business of blogging and the figure of the influencer on social media and real life. Starting a personal blog today could turn out starting a business. People who want to write and express their opinion, have the opportunity to use network and social media to share their experience. There are a lot of potential topics, ranging from hobbies to music, from food to book reviews; plenty of contents in which bloggers have a deep knowledge. These blogs may have different graphic layouts, usually featured by photos with caption or videos; but they all have the same aim: attract followers and achieve their loyalty. For my case study I chose the blog of the most popular Italian influencer, Chiara Ferragni, called “The Blonde Salad”. The name refers to the intention of piecing together all her interests (fashion, photography, travel, gossip and lifestyle) in a blog, just like the ingredients of a salad. In 2009, the 22-year-old Ferragni, whose hobbies included fashion and posting pictures of her daily outfits on social media platforms, such as Flickr and Lookbook.nu, founded “The Blonde Salad” with the help of her ex-boyfriend (who was studying finance at that time and often travelled to USA, where he came in touch with the social network’s business). This blog covered themes like clothing and lifestyles tips. Only one month later her blog had 30.000 daily visits, but the turning point happened in 2013, when Instagram became one of the most popular social platforms, especially for the fashion bloggers. Soon the growing popularity of The Blonde Salad got the attention of various brands, too. In the same year the blog became an editorial project, turning into an online lifestyle magazine. Besides Chiara launched her personal collection of shoes and bags. By the end of 2013, the Chiara Ferragni Collection generated €500,000 revenues in only five months and reached €4 million annual revenue at the end of 2014. At the very beginning, most of the business income came from selling advertisement banners on the blog, but soon product placement and affiliate programs overtook standard advertising. The success of the blog was accompanied by the rise of Chiara Ferragni as a celebrity: her appearances at fashion shows, galas, elite’s events as much as her collaborations with brands like

Fiat, Burberry, Dior, Cartier, Luis Vuitton, Yves Saint Lauren amongst the others, put her in the middle of public interest. Today she has 15,8 million followers on Instagram and she has been twice on the Forbes 30 under 30 list, the subject of a Harvard Business School study and on 55 magazine covers. She is a living example of the affirmation of the figure of the fashion influencer and of the influencer marketing (that identifies the individuals who have influence over potential customers, and orients marketing activities around these influencers. The results of the marketing campaign are usually collaborations between brands and influencers). That means that her project had a great impact on media, leaning on the identification of common people with her personality, thanks to her charm, social status or an unusual lifestyle. The determination and clear vision made her representative of a dream coming true. Clearly this process has implications. Deciding to separate her website content to her social media posts, allowed Ferragni to reach more success and a different target of followers. While she continued to post daily outfits and activities on Instagram, her team started planning editorial content weeks in advance. On one hand the high social media engagement gave her visibility; but on the other hand, a crowd of followers began interesting in her private life in a nearly obsessive way. Showing her daily routine triggered an addiction in her audience that can be compared to the dependence on the seriality of tv programs. This is the risk of sensationalism of the social media. Another disadvantage in an overexposed private is that a person becomes a character, an idol who can’t disappoint followers’ expectations. Considering the audience’s point of view, there are risks also for who follow the celeb without a critical attitude, but only for the need to copy their idol against all odds. In conclusion the story of Chiara Ferragni and her blog, shows the advantages of using social media in order to share the own passion, transforming it into a flourishing business, no matter the personal origins. Maybe being a self-made powerful woman, it’s exactly the key of her success by now. SOURCES:  http://corsi.unibo.it/Magistrale/ComunicazionePubblicaImpresa/Documents/TESI %20LM_ottobre%2017/Abstract_Ilaria%20Guidi.pdf  https://www.theblondesalad.com/it-IT/about  https://thehighville.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Caso-The-Blonde-Salad.pdf...