Self-presentation and visual identity on Instagram: the case of two selected fashion influencers

Instagram je družbeno omrežje in spletna aplikacija za objavljanje fotografij in posnetkov, ki se poleg vzdrževanja socialnih stikov uporablja za namene oglaševanja, kjer je tudi modna industrija našla svojo tržno nišo. S pomočjo vplivnežev ali t. i. influencerjev komunicira z občinstvom, ki ga predstavljajo njihovi sledilci. Moč vizualnega sporočila je izjemna, saj podobe z idealizirane, estetske fotografije z vplivom na posameznikova čustva vzbujajo želene odzive občinstva. Ti rezultirajo kot trendi, ki jim kot potrošniki želimo slediti in se z njimi poistovetiti. Influencer marketing oziroma oglaševanje z vplivneži je v zadnjih letih hitro rastoče orodje promocije, ki ga uporablja vrsta podjetij. S pomočjo vizualne analize fotografij, objavljenih na Instagram profilu modnih vplivnic, smo ugotavljali način samopredstavljanja in izgradnje vizualne identitete ter skozi vizualno retoriko iskali pomene, ustvarjene s podobami. Hkrati smo ugotavljali, kako se je spremenila narava vsebine objav, ki smo jih kategorizirali kot portreti (selfiji), moda in blagovna znamka, hrana, dogodki, potovanja, družina in prijatelji ter ostalo, glede na obdobje izpred petih let. Zanimalo nas je, kako modne vplivnice znotraj donosne panoge influencer marketinga pod taktirko modne industrije ohranjajo svojo vizualno identiteto in reproducirajo vlogo modne vplivnice. Ugotovili smo, da modni vplivnici skozi sebi lasten način samopredstavljanja gradita svojo vizualno identiteto in tako nagovarjata različno občinstvo. Hkrati ugotavljamo, da se vsebina objav modnih vplivnic skozi čas spreminja, kar vodi k pridobivanju širšega kroga sledilcev in s tem uspešnejše trženje blagovne znamke.Instagram is a social network and online app for publishing photographs and videos, which, in addition to maintaining social contacts, are used for advertising purposes. The fashion industry has also found its market niche in it. With the help of so-called influencers, the fashion industry communicates with the audience, which influencers\u27 followers represent. The power of a visual message is extraordinary, as images from an idealized, aesthetic photograph evoke the desired responses of the audience by affecting the individual\u27s emotions. These result in trends we, as consumers, want to identify with and follow. Therefore, influencer marketing, or advertising with influencers, has been a rapidly growing promotion tool used by many companies in recent years. With the help of visual analysis of photographs published on the Instagram profiles of fashion influencers, we determined the way of self-presentation and construction of visual identity. Through visual rhetoric, we searched for meanings created by images. At the same time, we determined how the nature of the content of posts, which we categorized as portraits (selfies), fashion and branding, food, events, travel, family and friends and others, has changed compared to the period of five years ago. We were interested in how fashion influencers maintain their visual identity and reproduce the role of fashion influencers within the profitable industry of influencer marketing under the tutelage of the fashion industry. We found that fashion influencers build their visual identity through self-presentation and thus appeal to different audiences. At the same time, we noted that the content of posts by fashion influencers changed over time, which led to the acquisition of a wider circle of followers and, thus, more successful marketing of the brand