pic @evachen212
The social networks have brought many innovations and above all new careers, from bloggers to influencers, YouTubers, content creator … The brands have understood that collaborating with these figures has many advantages. According to Beca Alexander, founder and president of the Socialyte, for every 100,000 followers, a brand make around 100 thousand dollars. Today, however, companies no longer have just the benefit of advertising through influencer sponsorship of products, but there are new brand ambassadors that are not paid for collaborations, but monthly by companies: employees.
Nowadays almost everyone has an account on Instagram and especially for those who work in fashion and is therefore passionate about the sector, easily share outfits, new trends, fashion shows and beauty products. These accounts are those that reach the highest number of followers on Instagram and, even if it is not their job, they become influencers unconsciously.
In addition to sharing outfits, these “employencers” (employee + influencer) how I define them, often share pieces of their working life, and when they wear clothes or use a beauty product, they give greater importance to those of the company for which they work.
Gabriele Hackworthy was Global Editorial Fashion Director at Net A Porter for more than five years and is now SVP Global Brand Communication and Marketing at Jimmy Choo. With her 74.9K followers and famous shoe photos on her desk, she is the perfect brand ambassador for Net A Porter and now for Jimmy Choo.
In this way, employencers not only influence followers on purchasing decisions but also on their career. On Instagram everyone avoids sharing stressful or sad moments to show the best, so sharing the glamorous world of the behind the scenes of fashion companies, employers make the followers becoming curious, pushing them to take an interest in a career in that specific company.
How many times have you looked at the stories of the legendary Eva Chen, who is Director of Fashion Partnership at Instagram and have dreamed of getting her job (as well as her wardrobe thanks to her daily looks #igselfiemirror?)? You unconsciously become interested in working at Instagram.
We have already explained how the editors are the new influencers, because they show their lives in fashion magazines, where they attend in fashion shows, meetings in spectacular rooms and much more. But the rule applies to all other employees.
The number of followers should not be a discriminating factor for fashion companies in the choice of its employees. An employee can have a large number of followers and not share absolutely anything about his working life, but certainly from today, especially for figures that have a certain exposure, having a high number of followers is a double benefit for the company.
Assuming that a company is aware of this benefit, it is therefore always better to build your personal brand and online presence. Take care of your Instagram feed or blog, which does not mean you need professional photos taken by a photographer in Piazza Duomo. Analyze the accounts like those mentioned above to understand what kind of photos they publish: they are usually simple photos, very often mirror selfies, a photo during a corporate party, in the car while heading to work or the screenshot of an article or interesting product of the moment. Because of their simplicity and a more realistic approach to life, these accounts are fascinating and receive a large number of followers.
