ASOS speaks directly to its fashion-loving 20-something young adult audiences which makes them so brilliant in the digital landscape. They are not trying to please everyone – if you don’t like it, then you probably don’t fit into their ‘hip’ target demographic. (Yes, I just used the word ‘hip’ which indicates that I don’t fit into the target audience anymore).
This week, I’ve seen lots of sassy social media posts from ASOS – they have a trademark for engaging with fans and followers with witty one-liners. They’ve even managed to incorporate Prime Minister Boris Johnson into their content strategy.
Aside from the brand’s sassy content, the ASOS Insiders are another key ingredient to the brand’s online success.
Who are the ASOS Insiders?
ASOS lead the way in influencer marketing by employing a stylish squad of international brand champions called ASOS Insiders. They are a genuine army of new creatives in their 20s, who advertise ASOS merchandise on their own channels, giving their followers styling tips, outfit inspiration and recommendations. Each post displays the product code for a quick ‘reach for the wallet’ user journey – the overriding idea behind this is that fans can shop an insider’s #OOTD (outfit of the day) straight from Instagram.
To top it off nicely, ASOS Insiders beautifully showcases diversity with a great mix of sizes and skin colours represented throughout its social media feeds.
The idea of influencer marketing originates from the 1940 study The People’s Choice, Lazarsfeld and Katz, which explores the theory that most people are influenced by “second hand information and opinion leaders”.
This approach demonstrates how ASOS are playing the long game. It works so well because the Insiders are gradually building up an organic audience of followers and engagement. Content created by these Insiders results in an authentic and natural social media feed – better than a one-off celebrity product placement sticking out like a sore thumb.
Here are some creative examples of how ASOS showcase their Insiders on Instagram and Tik Tok:
Their strategy on Twitter? Short, topical and sassy tweets:
Their tone of voice isn’t popular with everyone:
Love them or hate them, ASOS have nailed its online presence.
According to Jennifer Oleniczak in Forbes, “That authentic voice is what all people, Millennials especially, are looking for.”
@DigitalVinGill 