Research: Social Media Marketing Strategies for Australian Fashion

This report investigates the impact of social media marketing on the fashion industry in Australia, focusing on how brands utilize platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to reach consumers. The study examines the increasing reliance on online media for brand promotion and customer engagement, particularly among younger demographics. It explores the influence of social media on sales, brand value, and customer behavior, highlighting the competitive landscape of the Australian fashion market. The research includes a literature review, analysis of social media marketing strategies, and an examination of the benefits and challenges faced by fashion brands in the digital age. The findings reveal the importance of social media in shaping consumer decisions, driving sales, and building brand awareness, alongside recommendations for effective online marketing strategies within the Australian fashion sector.

Research study
(Marketing aspects of using social media by
fashion brands in Australia)

Executive summary
The major social media tools involve FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram and chat services
for offering the information about the brand and new products to the customers. In the current
scenario, people are also giving preference to the social media tools and services for gaining
the knowledge about specification and analysis of the brand and cost of the similar products
and services. The study will focus on the impact of social media marketing tools and services
on the sales and growth of the fashion industry in last few years.The youth is more inclined
towards the social media influences and thus prefers to find the brands activities over the
internet. It is been identified that more than 60% of the total population of Australia makes
use of Facebook for the research of fashion brands. The word of mouth or social media
promotions had made the fashion industry of Australia more exposed at the wider area of
customers and availed remarkable profits out of it.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.......................................................................................................................3
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................1
Introduction............................................................................................................................1
1.1 Problem statement............................................................................................................1
1.2 Aim and objectives...........................................................................................................2
1.3 Research questions...........................................................................................................2
2. Literature review....................................................................................................................2
2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................2
2.2 Role of online media marketing in Australia...................................................................2
2.3 Use of social media by Australian fashion brands...........................................................4
2.4 Impact of social media marketing in fashion brands of Australia...................................5
3. Research methodology...........................................................................................................6
3.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................6
3.2 Research philosophy........................................................................................................6
3.3 Research approach...........................................................................................................6
3.4 Research type...................................................................................................................7
3.5 Research design................................................................................................................7
3.6 Data collection.................................................................................................................7
3.7 Data analysis....................................................................................................................7
3.8 Ethical consideration........................................................................................................8
4. Data analysis and findings.....................................................................................................8
4.2 Findings..........................................................................................................................10
5. Conclusion and recommendation.........................................................................................11
5.1 Addressing aims and research questions........................................................................11
5.2 Research limitations.......................................................................................................11

5.3 Recommendations..........................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................13
List of figure

1. Introduction
Introduction
The online media tools are having the vital role in the marketing of products and
services of the organizations. In the current scenario, social media marketing is having the
positive impact on the sales and advertising functions of companies. Social media marketing
is helping organizations to increase the customer base and reach in the market. There are
various social media tools and techniques that used for promoting the brand, products, and
services. The major social media tools involve FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram and chat
services for offering the information about the brand and new products to the customers. In
addition to this, the social media tools are also helping organizations to develop and improve
the communication with the customers and offer the real-time support and data. This
approach is helping organizations to gain the competitive advantage and retain the customers
for the longer period of time.
1.1 Problem statement
The marketing through the social platform is becoming popular in the different part of
the business and having the significant impact on the targeting and managing relationships
with existing and potential customers. The study will focus on the effectiveness of social
media marketing for fashion brands of Australia. The fashion industry of the country is
having intense competition (Godey & et al., 2016). The major and emerging brands are using
online promotion and advertising services for gaining the competitive advantage. The study
will focus on the influence of the online advertising tools and services on the sales and
growth of the fashion industry in last few years. The study will evaluate the positive and
negative aspects of social media marketing in the business of fashion brands in Australia. The
fashion industry is having the significant impact of online media marketing tools on the sales
and customer services (Balakrishnan & et al., 2014). The social media services are also
helping fashion brands to expand the business areas in international level and maintain the
growth in the organizational profitability and customer base. Now, the researcher will look to
analyze the key factor and benefits of social media marketing functions on the business and
sales of the fashion organizations of Australia.
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1.2 Aim and objectives
Aim
The aim of research is to analyze importance of social media platforms in promotion
and marketing of the brands of fashion industry of Australia.
Objectives
 To identify the impact of online media promotion on the brand value of fashion
industry
 To analyze the impact of social media marketing on targeting of the potential
customers
 To assess the benefits and importance of online media tools for fashion industry of
Australia.
1.3 Research questions
1. What are the impacts of social media on fashion industry of Australia?
2. How fashion industry of Australia could use the social media tools for retaining and
influencing the decisions of potential customers?
3. How social media marketing is beneficial for increasing brand value of fashion industry
Australia?
2. Literature review
2.1 Introduction
Literature review is the conceptual or theoretical framework of the facts and concepts
related to the subject matter. It includes the facts stated by renowned scholars and researchers
in their past studies regarding the topic. The literature would focus upon the marketing
aspects of using social media by the fashion brands of Australia.
2.2 Role of online media marketing in Australia
The fashion industry is having the significant impact of the online tools and
technologies to showcase the work and improve the brand value in the target groups. In the
current scenario, people are also giving preference to the social media tools and services for
gaining the knowledge and analysis of the brand and cost of the similar products and services.
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The fashion industry is based on the culture and trends that help to target the customer (Hajli,
2014). With the initiation of the technological era, social media is the foremost form of
exploration of various aspects. Rodriguez & et al., (2015) have discussed that online media
plays an important role in various activities like marketing customer service and relations for
the organizations nowadays. It has been found that almost 92% of the population of Australia
acquires an internet-enabled device and out of which more than 76% of people use the
Smartphone for internet access. Moreover, it is also identified that 50% or around 9 million
people older than 14 years make use of social media in Australia for analyzing the clothing
brands (Growing e-commerce industry, 2018). It has been seen that majority of the social
media users utilize the platform for connecting with their friends and family but also use the
same for gaining the information about the popular brands in the market.
The youth is more inclined towards the social media influences and thus prefers to
find the brands activities over the internet. Tuten, & Solomon, (2017), have stated that four
out of ten inspects the social media presence of the brands prior to making any online
purchases. The social media marketing has covered various areas of the fashion brands in
Australia and plays the significant role in attracting new customer segments towards it. The
social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are majorly accessed by the
influences of the peer reviews over the specific fashion brands and make their decisions
accordingly. The social media tools and services are becoming popular in business to
communicate the information and create the awareness about the products and services. The
advancement in information technology is beneficial for business organizations to connect
with the people and provide the information about the existing and new products. The online
media marketing functioning and the process have supported the organization to offer the
real-time response to customers.
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Figure 1: Growth of social media sales in Australia
(Source: Growing e-commerce industry, 2018)
2.3 Use of social media by Australian fashion brands
Social media marketing is the most recent trend of influencing people and targeting
the customer segment. Making use of social media had supported the organization to expand
the capabilities of brands as well as allowing them to cover the wider area of their target
segment ensuring time and cost efficiencies. The fashion brands in Australia are highly using
the social media marketing activities to establish their products and services and brand value
in the target area. Agnihotri & et al., (2016) have identified that a large number of consumers
are giving preference to social networks as a part of their product research process. It is
considered that around 67% of people use social media for brands occasionally and around
33% weekly. Fashion brands are the most likely to be researched by the users with the
intentions to make purchases. On the contrary to this, the fashion brands in Australia are
using social media as the marketing tool and making profits out of the same. For instance,
Cotton On is one of the renowned brands of fashion brands in Australia and is growing at the
rapid pace.
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Figure 2: Social media traffic for clothing
(Source: Brand shift towards digital, 2018)
Moreover, it is been identified that the companies have attained an estimated growth
from the online sales nearly about A$250 per annum. Nike is another fashion brand making
use of the social media marketing to attract the customer attention. Stephen, (2016) has
explored that, the fashion brands such as Burberry, Nobody Denim, Calli The Label, Camilla
and Marc and City Beach are some of the most famous brands that rule social media presence
in Australia. Apart from that more than 60% of the total population of Australia makes use of
Facebook for the research of fashion brands (Brand shift towards digital, 2018). The fashion
brands are highly facilitated with the use of social media marketing and its related activities.
2.4 Impact of social media marketing in fashion brands of Australia
According to Lamberton, & Stephen, (2016), the social media marketing is been
considered to be an influential means of marketing the products and services of the fashion
brands among the specific target customers. Additionally, social media marketing helps the
brands in enhancing the two-way discussion and communication which also strengths the
brand value and image among them. Moreover, Hajli, (2014) had revealed that the clothing
and fashion brands accounted for nearly about 35% of the businesses that customers followed
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over the Facebook. It has been widely found that the social media emergence has boosted the
interest levels of people as well as the word of mouth and the viral marketing activities
among the luxury fashion brands. The brands that are highly impacted in both positive and
negative manners involve the Nike, Rebook, and Puma. The word of mouth or social media
promotions has helped the fashion industry of Australia more exposed at the wider area of
customers and availed remarkable profits out of it. Moreover, the use of social media tools is
helping organizations to provide real-time information to client and customers about the new
fashion and gain the competitive advantage.
3. Research methodology
3.1 Introduction
Research methodology is an essential part of the research that provides the control
and proper consideration of methods and elements which increases the effectiveness of the
study. The research methodology is useful for readers to understand the approach and flow of
the research more appropriate manner. The key aspects of current methodology involve the
approach, design, data collection and analysis as well as ethical consideration.
3.2 Research philosophy
The research philosophy refers to the categorization of research. There are majorly
three types of research philosophies are used such as interpretive, positivism and realism. For
the current research about the impact of online media marketing aspects on fashion industry
of Australia, the researcher has chosen the realism philosophy as the research will involve
both quantitative and qualitative data (Mackey & Gass, 2015). This philosophy will support
to meet the objectives of the research by comparing the secondary data.
3.3 Research approach
The research approach plays the critical role in exploring different aspects of research
and utilization of data. For research majorly two categories of approaches are used such as
deductive and inductive. For the current research about an analysis of the impact of online
media marketing tools on the brand effectiveness of the fashion industry of Australia, the
researcher has chosen the deductive approach. This approach will allow the researcher to
evaluate the hypothesis and meet the identified results (Taylor & et al., 2015). Moreover, it
will help to identify the appropriate hypothesis and information about the subjective matter.
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3.4 Research type
The consideration of the right type of research improves the effectiveness and
reliability of research. The selection of research type is based on segmentation, drivers and
barriers. The researcher has chosen qualitative types. The selection of this method will help to
improve the effectiveness of research by comparing numerical and existing data about the
impact of social media marketing on the effectiveness of brand of fashion industry of
Australia (Lewis, 2015). The statistics and numerical data will support the finding of
research.
3.5 Research design
The research design is an important element of research that supports to develop the
clear picture of the study including the various aspects. The research designs are categories in
three sections such as exploratory, descriptive and casual. For current research on the analysis
of social media marketing impact on fashion industry of Australia, the investigator has
chosen the descriptive research design. This will help to meet objectives of study to analyze
the benefits and importance of social media marketing tools. Moreover, this design will also
support developing the valid hypothesis and gain the best outcome for the selected study area
(Flick, 2015). The researcher will have the major concern over the importance of social
media tools in marketing and promotion of the brand of fashion industry.
3.6 Data collection
The data collection is having the significant role in the study of the current topic of
study. The data collection helps to improve knowledge and understanding about related
subject and support in developing the strong theoretical background to meet the goals and
objectives. For the collection of data, there are two approaches have been used such as
primary and secondary. For the current research, the investigator has made use of secondary
data method for collecting the data (Ledford & Gast, 2018). For that, the researcher has
considered the sources like books, journals, online articles and social media pages of fashion
industry organization from Australia.
3.7 Data analysis
For analysis of data, the researcher has selected thematic. The secondary data about
the impact of social and online media marketing on the brand effectiveness of fashion
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industry of Moreover, the thematic analysis method also used for proving the hypothesis and
meet the aims and objectives of the study (Stephen, 2016).
3.8 Ethical consideration
The ethical considerations for study are essential to improve the validity and
effectiveness of the research. The researcher has followed norms and standards for
conducting research in an ethical manner to encourage the authenticity. The researcher has
ensured that data that used for the study was not copied from any source and free from
biasness.
4. Data analysis and findings
Hypothesis 1: Social media marketing and customer decisions making in Australia
The evaluation of data that collected from the secondary sources about the role of
social media marketing on sales and business improvement, it has been finding out that, the
traditional marketing strategies are not having much impact on buying decisions of the
customer for the fashion industry. The online tool for communication and interaction with
people are more popular. The organizations are making use of these online platforms for
expanding the sales areas and gain the attention of the customer (Online marketing and
customer growth, 2018). The analysis suggests that the customers of Australia are making
their decision by analyzing the popularity of the brand on social media. In addition to this,
creative and innovative marketing approach of organization on social media also has the
positive impact on the decision making of the customers of the fashion industry.
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Figure 3: Improvement in customer through online marketing
(Source: Online marketing and customer growth, 2018)
Hypothesis 2: Social media marketing is increasing sales
According to the analysis of secondary data and past research outcome about the
impact of social media promotion on the clothing industry, the organizational sales are
increasing. The organizations that are promoting cloths using the social media platform are
getting positive brand recognition in the country. The sales of the organization increased up
to 37% as by using the content marketing and posting the reviews of the customer about the
products and services. This is helping them to create positive word of mouth for the brand.
Figure 4: Sales of clothing brands through social media
(Source: Sales in Australia through social media, 2018)
Hypothesis 3: Benefits of social media marketing
The research shows that the consideration of online marketing tools is helping the
fashion industry organization of Australia to meet the sales and customer base goals in
minimum time. The social media marketing is beneficial for companies to gain competitive
advantage, effective utilization of market opportunities and get connected with the customers
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(Social media impact on brands, 2018). The communication and interaction through social
media are providing critical knowledge about the aspects that are good for organization and
areas that need improvement. The proper analysis of information using social media
marketing will increase the brand effectiveness of fashion industry organizations.
Figure 5: Brand value on social media
(Source: Social media impact on brands, 2018)
4.2 Findings
The major findings of the study involve positive aspects of using social media
marketing tools for the fashion industry of Australia. The social media marketing has covered
remarkable areas of the fashion brands in Australia and plays the significant role in attracting
new customer segments towards it. The social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook,
Twitter, etc. are majorly accessed by the influences of the peer reviews on the specific
fashion brands and make their decisions accordingly. The brands had been highly impacted in
both positive and negative manners and had led them towards either success or failure. The
word of mouth or social media promotions had made the fashion industry of Australia more
exposed at the wider area of customers and availed remarkable profits out of it. The
marketing is one of the key aspects of the clothing brands to influence the decisions of the
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customers and meet their business goals and objectives. The development of new social
media sites like FaceBook, Twitter and Instagram have provided the good platform for
advertising and offering the information about the new products and services.
5. Conclusion and recommendation
From the study, it has been carried out that the marketing approach of the
organization is changing. The leading fashion brands of the country are using social media
platform for offering the information and effective utilization of market opportunities. The
study has analyzed various factors like real-time data exchange, fast flow of information and
high reach to the customer is encouraging the organization to use the social media tools for
promoting and advertising the products and services.
5.1 Addressing aims and research questions
The outcome of study satisfied the aim as marketing and use of social media tools is
supporting the fashion industry of Australia to improve the sales and profitability in the
business.
The proper planning and consideration of objectives for online marketing are
essential. The content that offered by the organization on online media has the significant
impact on the decision making of the potential customer and increase the brand effectiveness
for the existing customers. Now, to gain the competitive advantage the timing of advertising
plays the critical role in fashion industry of Australia. Apart from that more than 60% of the
total population of Australia makes use of Facebook for the research of fashion brands. The
fashion brands are highly facilitated with the use of social media marketing and its related
activities.It is considered that around 67% of people use social media for brands occasionally
and around 33% weekly.
5.2 Research limitations
The major limitations of research involve time management and consideration of data
that is reliable and help to increase the reliability of the study. The investigator has invested a
lot of time in research and collecting the data. The limited budget restricted the researcher to
access the relevant data related to the topic as many of the sources were charged. Moreover,
the researcher managed to meet the time constraint by utilizing the time management
techniques so that to complete the research is set to the time frame.
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5.3 Recommendations
Now, it is been recommended for organizations from the fashion industry to
overlooks their existing approach of marketing and utilization of opportunities. The internet
and social media tools are the effective medium for offering information using images,
videos, and customer reviews to gain the competitive advantages.
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