Key Elements for Sustaining and Enhancing Influence for Fashion Bloggers
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KEY ELEMENTS FOR INFLUENCE KEY ELEMENTS FOR SUSTAINING AND ENHANCING INFLUENCE FOR FASHION BLOGGERS Alison M. Rossi Kent State University; The Fashion School KEY ELEMENTS FOR INFLUENCE Thesis written by Alison Rossi B.A., Walsh University, 2012 M.A., Kent State University, 2016 Approved by Dr. Kim Hahn, Thesis Advisor Mr. J.R. Campbell, Director, The Fashion School Michael Loderstaedt, M.F.A., Interim Director, School of Art Dr. John Crawford-Spinelli, Dean, College of the Arts KEY ELEMENTS FOR INFLUENCE iii ABSTRACT As readership of fashion blogs has increased, so too has their influence on ordinary people, or so one would believe. The objective of this research is to gain a better understanding of the perceived influence of fashion bloggers through examination of several industry- recognized “influential blogs” and a survey of blog reader’s perception of influence. This study seeks to identify the key elements of blog content that fashion bloggers must possess at a minimum to have any significant degree of influence on their readers. Four key elements have been identified as fundamental to having and sustaining influence among blog readers, in general; (1) Trustworthiness (2) Expertise (3) Personal Relevance and (4) Authenticity. A survey of 159 fashion students at Kent State University’s Fashion School was conducted to gain further insight into the fashion blog readers’ perceptions of influence in the context of these four key elements. The presence (or absence) of the four elements do appear to positively (or negatively) impact influence on a typical fashion blog reader or subscriber. The essential findings from the survey demonstrate that a blog’s influence remains linked to readers’ perceptions, particularly in the context of these four elements, and may well be evaluated and ranked on such key elements. This study also found that fashion bloggers are progressively more influential as a result of the interactive elements of prevailing social media platforms and the proliferation of digital technology, which tend to increase electronic word-of-mouth and further contribute to the fashion blogger’s level of influence. The practical implications are clear for fashion bloggers and personal style bloggers who strive to have any degree of influence on readers and subscribers to their blogs, as well as those who seek to attract and sustain an audience as a successful business model within the increasingly competitive world of fashion blogs. KEY ELEMENTS FOR INFLUENCE iv LIST OF TABLES Table_____________________________________________________________________Page Table 1. Sample Set of Ten Personal Style Blogs……………………………………………… 37 Table 2. Components on Websites……………………………………………………………….39 Table 3. Demographics of Survey Participants…………………………………………………..50 Table 4. Sixteen (16) Common Blog Components………………………..…………..…..…… 58 Table 5. Eight (8) Social Media Components…………………………………………......…..…58 Table 6. Ten (10) Sampled Fashion Bloggers Instagram Followers…….…….………………...63 Table 7. Summary of Common Blog Components………………………………………………67 Table 8. Representation of Four (4) Core Elements of Influence.…...…………………………..75 Table 9. Perception of Four Key Elements of Influence………………………………...………77 Table 10. Summary of Common Blog Components…………..…………………………………78 Table 11. Respondents’ Read Order on a Blog……………..……………………………………81 Table 12. Readers’ Perception of Core Elements Representation on a Blog………..…………...81 KEY ELEMENTS FOR INFLUENCE v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER I ..................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 DEFINITION OF TERMS .............................................................................................................. 7 CHAPTER II ................................................................................................................................... 8 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................ 8 Fashion Bloggers ................................................................................................................. 9 Personal Style Bloggers ..................................................................................................... 10 Blog Content and Influence ............................................................................................... 12 Fashion Industry Influence ................................................................................................ 15 Blogging Business Considerations .................................................................................... 17 A Fashion Blog's Accessibility…………………………………………………………..22 Fashion Consumer Context ............................................................................................... 20 Key Elements of Fashion Blog Influence .......................................................................... 25 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER III ................................................................................................................................ 35 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................ 35 Content Analysis of Fashion Bloggers .............................................................................. 35 Exploratory Study..............................................................................................................38 Participants ........................................................................................................................ 39 Survey Procedure ............................................................................................................... 40 KEY ELEMENTS FOR INFLUENCE vi Survey Questionnaire Design……………………………………………………………40 Survey Instrument ............................................................................................................. 41 Pilot Study ......................................................................................................................... 45 Distributed Questionnaire--Survey Instrument ................................................................. 48 CHAPTER IV ................................................................................................................................ 49 RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................... 49 Respondents Social Media Use……………………………………………………..……51 Respondents Perception of Fashion ................................................................................... 51 Respondents Perceived Personal Style .............................................................................. 52 Blogging Experience and Blog Reading ........................................................................... 53 Familiarity with the Top Fashion Bloggers ....................................................................... 54 Perception of the Four Core Elements of Influence……………………………………...56 SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPLICATIONS .................................................................................... 87 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................ 88 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ............................................................... 89 REFERNCES ................................................................................................................................ 90 APPENDIX A: INITIAL CORRESPONDENCE ....................................................................... 101 APPENDIX B: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE .......................................................................... 102 APPENDIX C: IRB APPROVAL LETTER…………………………………………………...108 APPENDIX D: COMMON BLOG COMPONENTS & SOCIAL MEDIA COMPONENTS ..109 KEY ELEMENTS FOR INFLUENCE 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION On average, it is estimated that 23% of all Internet time is spent on blogs and social media networks. More important is the finding that 77% of all Internet users read blogs (Alioto, 2014). In addition, 81% of U.S. consumers trust advice and information posted on blogs, while 61% of U.S. consumers have reportedly made a purchase based on a blog post (Writtent, 2016). Based upon 2014 population estimates, that would equate to approximately 212,520,000 people reading blogs (Alioto, 2014). According to Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2011 -- an advertising technology company that specializes in building tools and services that accelerate blog publishers’ revenues -- when you crunch the numbers, it works out globally to be nearly 12,000 new blogs created every day, with more than 8 million blogs online, and over 2,750,000 new posts every day, together with over 10 billion blog pages viewed per month. One reason for the remarkable growth of blogs is the ease with which they can be developed and maintained.