For the time space of a week I experienced the brand Zaful as a follower of their instagram page as well as regularly checking their website for any changes. I watched how the brand communicated to their followers and checked both how often they would use influencers as well as the types of influencers they used.

The comprehensive influencer program is not only something that you are scouted out for but something that people over 2,000 followers can apply for. This gives Nanno influencers the option to promote the clothes by applying to receive free products, these influencers are usually required to post about the products. A lot of these posts can be seen in the Z-Me or the Zfgirl hashtag sharing the clothes that they have received. This side of Zaful’s influencers is more of a community based endorsement most frequently used by smaller creators. This particular way in which Zaful has created a small army of nanno influencer is also low cost and low maintenance for the brands resources as they aren’t having to create their own content or pay people to create it for them.

There are also opportunities that people are able to involve themselves as larger influencers, they have the opportunity to make a 30% commission off their sales as well as receiving free merchandise. This program is more targeted towards micro influencers thats on average have a following over 10k. To do this, pages must sign up to ‘First Grabber’ to verify their account, after this if they are high profile enough they receive things like discount codes for their followers and an amount of money per post. Micro influencer have to be managed unlike the nanno influencers as the deal struck with someone with a niche in fashion as 100k followers would be different to the contract between someone with 5k and a focus on travel.

Zafuls content

The content created by these micros influencers is shared to their own audiences as well as on the Zaful instagram page. As many of these influencers have high quality images and experience, Zaful doesn’t need to micro manage to obtain quality content. As can be observed here.

The other form of Influencer content that is used is when zaful uses a particular influencer to be the face of a new line of clothing or swimwear. This can by seen with as below Jessica Stockstill’s affiliation with a recent swimmer line that came out. During this association Jessica posted multiple images on instagram tagging Zaful as well reposting her followers who purchased through her onto a highlights reel. This kind of heavier interaction between influencer, brand and audience is the highest maitnence of influencer contact that I have seen Zaful use recently.

The week analysis period:

.“One generally needs to understand that the larger the audience, the less focused it is likely to be, and therefore the broader the offer will probably have to be”

Joe Sinkwitz, CEO at Intellifluence

Conclusion

What I have concluded through out this research artefact is that Zaful most commonly users micros influencers that suit the type of brand image they attempting to portray. Using Nano and Micro influencers is also an attempt to be viewed as a global brand rather than a Chinese based brand.

By focusing a large portion of their marketing on creating a comprehensive self managed endorsement opportunity for pages with above 2,000 followers as well as managing relationships with larger pages Zaful is able to outsouce content creation, reach their target market effectively and build their brand reputation through the words of their promotors.

Zaful effectively uses their influencers to achieve a high engagement level, it is important to note though that when a brand is endorsed by influencers, it is expected to achieve a certain quality otherwise influencers will begin to turn down these collaboration opportunities to save their reputation.

The influencer market is a 10 billion dollar industry with is relevance spreading to many corporations. These influencers are found across social media such as Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Twitch and now on TikTok. Influencers can be defined as a person with the ability to persuade potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending the items on social media. 

Zaful has taken advantage of it’s online location by working collaboratively with these online personas to promote their product and shape perceptions that people have of the brand. From what I’ve noted whilst studying influencers, the way in which they endorse products acts like a word of mouth and feels reputable. Many influencers only work with brands that will enhance the relationship that they have with their audience.

Ismail in 2018 went into depth on defining social media influencers into four categories: Mega, Macro, Micro and Nano. These are all loosely determined by the popularity and type of influencer a company is working with. To gain first hand insight I decided to analyse an influencer in each classification.

Mega

Mega influencers are people who often have celebrity status and are more famous than influential. For example ‘Dwayne Johnson’ or Will Smith. The example I explored further was Kylie Jenner and her sponsorship with sugar bear sleep. Kylie has 200 million followers and initially rose to fame through reality TV. The Kardashians have built an influencer empire and have premium prices to promote products.

Macro

These influencers are a step down from the mega influencers. The main differentiating factor being they have at least 1 million followers but usually rise to recognition online, not through traditional media. These influencers usually have a following on multiple platforms. A few examples are people such as Emma Chamberlain and James Charles that are influencers for brands like Louis Vuitton and Morphe. The profile that I looked closer into was David Dobrik and his endorsement of g fuel energy in this example shown. These influencers also are more expensive to partner with and have a rather large reach.

Micro

These influencers have anywhere from around 2k- 1M. There is no clear definition of exactly when a micro influencer graduated into a macro influencer. At the lower end of the spectrum micro influencers tend to have a niche more of a niche audience. This kind of audience is great for targeting a more concentrated target market. Despite not having as much reach the micro influencers tend to be the best to work with. Anna Seavey is the example that I decided to go with. She has over 300k follower and works with brands such as bondi boost, her main focus being fashion.

Nano

This for personas that have around 1,000- 5,000 followers and status influence usually in the community. This can be anyone from a pastor to a community leader. A prime example of this is within the Wollongong community there is a ‘community leader’ night scene of Wollongong is ‘The Beast,’ if you ask students from the local university most of them will have head of or met ‘The Beast.’

I thought to tie in the influencers by looking into a Nano influencer- @brittlam that promoted the same gummies that Kylie Jenner the Mega influencer did. This is a great example of why using influencers from all over the spectrum is vital. Brittany smaller following are much more likely to isten to what she promotes as even though she has less reach she is seen as more trustworthy.

Conclusions

The main thing I have drawn from observing this different classifications of influencer is that number of followers aren’t always the main thing to focus on. It is a strategic decision to focus on micro influencers as their audiences are usually refined and therefore companies can reach their particular target market in the most concentrated way.

References

Haenlein, M, Anadol, E, Farnsworth, T, Hugo, H, Hunichen, J & Welte, D 2020, ‘Navigating the New Era of Influencer Marketing: How to be Successful on Instagram, TikTok, & Co’, California Management Review, vol. 63, no. 1, pp. 5–25, viewed 6 November 2020, <https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=heh&AN=146409051>.

Ismail, K, 2018, ‘Social Media Influencers: Mega, Macro, Micro or Nano’, CMS Wire,  Simpler Media Group, Inc https://www.cmswire.com/digital-marketing/social-media-influencers-mega-macro-micro-or-nano/#:~:text=That%20shape%20can%20be%20split,are%20really%20far%20more%20nuanced  

This blog post is the first in a three part series. We will be continuously exploring he implications of the brand Zaful using online influencers. Ecommerce stores are on the rise and have been used more frequently due to the current global climate. Shopping centres became hot spots for Covid-19 and people started turning to their computers avoid these places.

Prefacing this information It is important to recognise that I will only be publishing the evidence as deemed ethically appropriate, anonymity of those not financially affiliated to Zaful (eg: comments, reviews, smaller influencers) will remain anonymous. Rachel Winter and Anna Lavis “Looking, But Not Listening?” assisted in drawing ethical guidelines around digital ethnographic studies for this process.

Stephen Coomber in his study on branding, stressed the complexities of this notion being far more than just a image signifying ownership. Coomber highlights, in a definition of branding, that it is about creating a mutually acknowledged relationship between supplier and buyer. Coomber also goes into the importance of branding over the product. I thought this was something important to keep in mind whilst deconstructing the WHY behind Zaful use of influencers online.

From looking at Zafuls website I recognise that everything is cohesive and each image intentional. The experience of going through all the pages was overwhelmingly saturated with content. The brand is selling not only fashion but a particular image. I will go further into the Instagram image during section three of this blog series after we explore the depths of the Influencer world, but this was just as evident on instagram. This complements what I learnt about branding being less about the product and more about the communication between buyer and seller. By the images Zaful presents online I can only assume that their main target market is 18-25 year old women and its this perfect image that sells these products to the target.

To gain more insight I went to the recent reviews that Zaful has had to understand how the products are received by customers. They were however overwhelming negative, as a qualitative research it is more important to find out the why.

References

Coomber, S. (2002) Branding. Oxford, United Kingdom: John Wiley and Sons, Inc (ExpressExec Marketing). Available at: https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=66767

Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics 2020, Vol. 15(1-2) 55–62 © The Author(s) 2019, Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1556264619857529 journals.sagepub.com/home/jre

ZAFUL Expanding Multi-Country E-commerce Portals and Exploring Global and Local Identity’ 2019, FRPT – Ecommerce Snapshot, p. 9, viewed 31 August 2020, <https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=135720890&site=ehost-live&gt;

Bendure, V 2019, ‘Using Influencers to Market Goods and Services’, Audiology Today, vol. 31, no. 6, pp. 60–61, viewed 5 November 2020, <https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=139763081>.  

Hongtao Yao & Yiyuan Zhang 2013, ‘Explore the New Mode of Chinese Clothing Brand E-commerce Marketing through Data Analysis’, Advanced Materials Research, vol. 821–822, pp. 750–754, viewed 3 November 2020, <https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=inh&AN=14437441>.  

As you can tell by the presentation Mouthabet has a long way to go to be in its final stage, for now the functioning prototype is working effectively and generating traffic.

I would like to further breakdown this product for your under standing, the main features include:

• Supports language & literacy programs used by Speech-Language Pathologists and Teacher Photos emphasise speech sound production which involves lips, tongue, teeth, air expulsion, voicing and nasality
• Clear, various sized colour photos suitable for classroom, small group, and clinical use
• N.S.W Foundation Font used
• Colour Coding used
• Multisensory approach

It is important to note that these products are intended to assist people with the correct training in these areas.

The intended outcomes for using these cards to compliment the learning process include:

• Associate strongly between hearing and feeling (mouth, tongue, teeth, lips voice box, air expulsion).
• Draw ‘meaning links’ around sounds – to assist with storage and retrieval. (Quirky phrases!)
• Group sounds together according to a formation characteristic.
• Read the letter shapes for these sounds.
• Recall these sounds automatically (quickly and accurately).
• Discriminate between consonants and vowels.
• Segment words into sounds.
• Blend sounds to form words.
• Write letter shapes for the sounds.

Media Niche

“The effectiveness of Zaful’s online presence in establishing global prominanaence as an ecommerce store”

This is a media niche that will focus on digital marketing looking through the lense of one particular brand.

• Founded in 2014
• In 2018 ranked 34th in chinas export brands – BrandZ
• 10 million registered online users
• Available in 180 countries
• In 2019 Operation Manager Samuel Xie announced they were developing app portals.
• Brand Owner; Leo Wang
• Parent company Hong Kong Bi’an Information Technology Co. Ltd 
• Headquarters in Hong Kong

Ethical issues

Rachel Winter and Anna Lavis “Looking, But Not Listening? Theorizing the Practice and Ethics
of Online Ethnography” has assisted in myself coming up with certain ethical guidelines.

During this study into Zafuls online marketing it is important that I identify that I will be focusing mainly on sponsorship, online presence and trends as I am somewhat using marketing as a substitute for branding and a few marketing strategies that focus on perception. Clear definition will minimise this ethical risk of miscommunication.

I will need to ensure anonymity to all customer interaction as well as not taking any direct quotes in the formal paper, as not to confuse publicness with participation. Any participation that I intent to have will need the full permission of the user.

In regards to an auto-ethnographic study I highlight any bias I may have. Although researchers have ethical intent auto auto-ethnography entails representing others evaluation as well as my own. Transparency is vital to maintain ethical boundaries, this is a brand I have been aware of and purchased from in the past, it it important to clarify that any of my experiences, positive or negative wont effect the auto-ethnographic research as my question isn’t on the product or logistics but rather the presentation to the public eye. I may however use the WHY I chose to purchase as a starting point to seek further clarification.

The Research Process

Over the next few weeks I will be accumulating qualitative research from both an auto-ethnographic angle as well as an observational method from comments and reviews that other customers have published.

References

Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics 2020, Vol. 15(1-2) 55–62 © The Author(s) 2019, Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1556264619857529 journals.sagepub.com/home/jre

Posner, H 2015, Marketing Fashion : Strategy, Branding and Promotion, vol Second edition, Laurence King Publishing, London, viewed 31 August 2020, <https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1077610&site=ehost-live&gt;.

‘ZAFUL Expanding Multi-Country E-commerce Portals and Exploring Global and Local Identity’ 2019, FRPT – Ecommerce Snapshot, p. 9, viewed 31 August 2020, <https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=135720890&site=ehost-live&gt;.

‘Evaluating the online marketing that has lead to Zafuls global prominence’

Background on the brand

• Founded in 2014
• In 2018 ranked 34th in chinas export brands
• 10 million registered online users
• Available in 180 countries
• In 2019 Operation Manager Samuel Xie announced they were developing app portals.
• Brand Owner; Leo Wang
• Parent company Hong Kong Bi’an Information Technology Co. Ltd 
• Headquarters in Hong Kong

Academic Research

“Marketing Fashion : Strategy, Branding and Promotion” is a publication by Harriet Posner that focuses on marketing as an essential factor when projecting a business’ full potential. Chapter 2 focuses on marketing strategy. This chapter has a quote by Tia Savage “..and then theres mobile, the store in your pocket. The game is to satisfy demand wherever and whenever it is.” This perspective is a good point of evaluation of Zaful as an ecommerce retail store. Where they successfully meet demand and where they may not be. In relation to brand vision and market segmenting it is important to investigate how Zaful positions themselves and why this may be successful. The book also has a small section on digital marketing where it hioghlights the importance of online precence in the areas of: Images, Gifs, Videos, surveys, podcasts, infographics, apps, webinars and blogs.

This brings me to the next academic research, a journal by Abhishek Borah called “Improvised Marketing Interventions in Social Media” that discusses the element that virality has to play in online marketing. It discusses what makes something viral, how marketers implement this and how virality can assist in quickly building a community. It will be important to explore trends overtime that Zaful has been mentioned in or engaged in.

Ethical Issues

During this study into Zafuls online marketing it is important that I identify that I will be focusing mainly on sponsorship, online presence and trends as I am somewhat using marketing as a substitue for branding and a few marketing strategies that focus on perception. Clear definition will minimise this ethical risk of miscomunication.

I will need to ensure anonymity to all customer interaction as well as not taking any direct quotes in the formal paper, as not to confuse publicness with participation. Any participation that I intent to have will need the full permission of the user.

In regards to an auto-ethnographic study I highlight any bias I may have. Although researchers have ethical intent auto auto-ethnography entails representing others evaluation as well as my own. Transparency is vital to maintain ethical boundaries, this is a brand I have been aware of and purchased from in the past, it it important to clarify that any of my experiances, positive or negative wont effect the auto-ethnographic research as my question isnt on the product or logistics but rather the presentation to the public eye. I may however use the WHY I chose to purchase as a starting point to seek further clarification.

I won’t be having a personal opinion on the brand or any elements that aren’t relevant to the study. Any evaluations made must be backed up by academic research as well as primary research in order to remove bias. Only after this process can I formulate a valid conclusion onto Zafuls successes or failures.

References

Posner, H 2015, Marketing Fashion : Strategy, Branding and Promotion, vol Second edition, Laurence King Publishing, London, viewed 31 August 2020, <https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1077610&site=ehost-live&gt;.

‘ZAFUL Expanding Multi-Country E-commerce Portals and Exploring Global and Local Identity’ 2019, FRPT – Ecommerce Snapshot, p. 9, viewed 31 August 2020, <https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=135720890&site=ehost-live&gt;.

I want to look further into the brand Zaful and how it presents itself to the public eye. The marketing that Zaful uses has been extremely effective for building themselves up as a brand, gaining traction as an e commerce store and establishing a relationship with it’s customer base. Since they were established in 2014 they have risen to the top 23 of Chinas export brands according to BrandZ with 10 million online registered users and shipping to 180 countries.

As a marketing major I want to explore the positives and negatives of their public image. I believe exploring the tequniques and implecations of their emarketing, especially looking into their use of sponsorship, can prove to be insightful in broadening my own knowlege base as well as others who are intested in this area. This transparency could be interesting for customers of Zaful also.

Inherently the techniques are successful enough to build the online store into a transnational cooperation. I also would like to explore more into the light they put themselves in through using influencers and what the company is tangibly doing to back any claims or insinuations made. Hong Kong Bi’an Information Technology Co. Ltd are transparent about any tangible and impactful changes that they are implementing if any to benefit society. In 2019 Zaful held a “sustainable fashion panel’ themed greener fashion, it will be interesting to indenitfy if this has been incoorperated in their social media marketing and to look deeper in what the brand is doing in this area and how this reflects on them.

Sponsorships are Zafuls main form of online promotion. It has proven a great way to estabish awarness and customer relationship. This research task aims to answer why and evaluate this marketing technique.

The process:

This research will consist of observing and recording reactions to sponsorships by the public to get a general consensus on how they respond to the marketing content. Looking through instagram and youtube comments on the offical page as well as the pages of those who Zaful sponsors. I can download comments into an excel file to keep an accurate record. As someone who has made purchase from this brand I can also exercise auto ethnography as to why if it relates to the area of the research project.

Below is a visual representation of how I plan to keep on track throughout the process. This schedule is of course an approximation that I have made and this is why I have left weeks 11-13 in order to leave room for error in the schedule. I believe the thing that will take the longest will be ensuring the data I collect of other people is accurate and communicated effectively.