COP Primary Research

INSTAGRAM POLL QUESTIONS:

1.    (Be brutally honest) Social comparison research for an essay I’m writing. Do you feel like you compare yourself on Instagram?

2. If so, do you feel like you do this because:

•    You compare yourself to help motivate you and achieve your goals

You compare yourself to figure out what you haven’t got

RESULTS:

68% YES 32% NO

37 male 76 female

44 male 10 female

81 men answered

86 women answered

38% positive 62% negative

20 male 26 female

22 male 52 female

42 men answered

78 women answered

SURVEY:

481 responses

1.    How regularly do you check Instagram?

-       Several times a day 84.85%

-       Once a day 7.07%

-       Every few days 4.04%

-       Once a week or less 4.04%

2.    How many clothing brands/influencers do you follow on Instagram?

-       None 16%

-       1-5 38%

-       5-10 17%

-       10+ 29%

3.    How often do you see clothing brands advertised when you check Instagram?

-       Every time 35% 35

-       Most of the time 39% 39

-       Sometimes 22% 22

-       Never 4% 4

4.    Do you feel like you are encouraged to buy clothing after seeing it on Instagram?

-       Yes 58%

-       No 42%

5.    Do you think that Instagram influences your style?

-       Yes 60% 60

-       No 40% 40

6.    Do you think that Instagram makes you feel under pressure to update your wardrobe regularly?

-       Yes 36% 36

-       No 64% 64

7.    What encourages you to purchase?

-       Influencers 22% 22

-       Celebrities 8% 8

-       Brand posts 19% 19

-       Your peers 32% 32

-       Other 19

8.    Do you purchase more fast fashion and trends or sustainable slow fashion?

-       Fast fashion 22% 22

-       Sustainable fashion 32% 32

-       Both 46% 46

9.    Do you see more fast fashion or sustainable fashion brands on Instagram?

-       Fast fashion 85% 85

-       Sustainable fashion 15% 15

10. What age category are you in?

-       16-20 28% 28

-       21-25 60% 60

-       26-30 8% 8

-       30+ 4% 4

 Interview with Holly:

1. Is there a particular technique your agency uses to be successful/ gain followers on social media?                                                                                   So, we try to post very regularly and use lots of relevant hashtags, we also try too keep a consistent, recognisable look (like logo and images). We collaborate with brands that tag us. We also send a reminder to follow  us on outgoing emails, and post on websites such as Model Management to connect with potential models and clients. 
2. Why do you think this is successful? Regularly posting is crucial as it keeps us relevant and visible, and tagging our models and photographers etc... broadens our audience, I think this works because it slowly but constantly grows and helps get work, leading to more photo shoots and therefore more posts. It is self perpetuating. Also it is a fast and easy place to find the demographic you need, so you can target them directly. And huge numbers of people have social media, so it’s accessible and cheap. 
3. Do you believe insta will continue to be very prominent within society and are you prepared for any changes. I think it will, at least for a while - the fast passed visual medium taps into our current social climate. I think as as society changes the content will, and perhaps it can be the driving force for change.  I always wanted to explore everyone’s story and every type of person... I always tried to represent all types of unique, individual beauty, and I think sometimes modeling companies are a it behind the times. I hope this will be a change we see (a much wider definition of ‘beauty’) and though individuals in the company I am at are more than prepared, others (management, or more traditional people) may not be supportive and eventually lose their relevance. 3a... as for new social sights, I think our company is quick to adopt new accounts as it is relatively easy and so crucial to success; it is a huge part of how we as a modeling agency do business. 
4. Do you think the social media page affects the overall success of the company you work for? Yes. Absolutely! It’s often how they find models, jobs, companies to collaborate with, see new trends, judge internship applicants (as specially photographers). We receive constant messages, it is how we stay connected to our accepted models. I don’t know if this relatively young company would have got off the ground without it, and it certainly wouldn’t be international. It’s allowed us to work with models around the globe. 
5. Do you encounter any issues when promoting on Instagram? Well, we discovered an account that had used our name and logo for their own agency abroad. This was obviously a problem and it is not easy to prevent this from happening, or get the page removed. It is still being resolved with legal advice. We also have to be sure to get documents signed by everyone to make sure they are ok having us post their images. We also face issues with the method of contacting people; we can’t just spam endless people with our content as we will be removed, we have to be more considered when we reach our to people, sticking to certain numbers. 
6. How regularly do you post and why? We post every day on Facebook and Instagram. We also post a job offer on our website every day. We post on our blog once a week, though If staff are very busy this is not as much of a priority. We also post casting opportunities on model management and similar sites to recruit models. Instagram and Facebook are more widely seen and more regularly seen as people use them a lot. It keeps us current so we are high up the ranks when searched and keeps our brand consistent and in the public eye. 
1. As a modeling agency is an Instagram presence good for finding models? Yes, it can be used to find models, often we can invite local people who are suitable for castings via Instagram, which is helpful as we can narrow our search when required and reach people who didn’t first reach out to us. We get a lot of enquiries from Model Management, but I think Instagram is good also.
7. What opportunities as the agency gained from being on social media? It is like free advertising as far as I am concerned. People can pay huge amounts of money on a billboard or posters that reach very few. It also reaches people around the globe. This is a very fast and direct way of reaching people, specially your target audience. Because Instagram is so visual it is perfect for a modeling agency. I’m not sure there would be a company without it.
8. Do you use influencers and do you believe an online audience can be easily influenced?  I haven’t had any real experience with it within the company, our approach is not focused on this method of reaching people. However I think people can be heavily influenced. I think people who make, or post content hold a certain level of responsibility; it can effect people’s self image, mental health... i really think we can’t underestimate how people can be influenced and how society can be affected either for better or worse. Whether it’s newspapers, word of mouth, or Instagram (which reaches a LOT of people) people can be swayed on an idea, or an idea can become engrained and the norm. 
9. What do you have to consider when creating/photographing content for social media? It’s partially what i said above - I think diversity is crucial... there is beauty absolutely everywhere and there is no need to exclude anyone. We need to be aware of social and political context and consider people’s emotions and values. We also need to be aware of our companies core values and image and the model’s satisfaction. We consider weather, location, time, anything that could affect the way the end result looks and how people will perceive it... and is it relevant.   Also we just want to be creative and artistic, produce things that are beautiful and interesting, not shallow.