Instagram has revolutionised marketing and the way in which we communicate with one another, and it is interesting to note the growth of luxury and lifestyle channels on the platform. I personally believe Instagram has created a ‘lust for luxury’ globally, and has enhanced and changed the way luxury consumers are interacting with luxury brands and products, both on and offline. For example, the the luxury watch specialist and Instagram personality Anish Bhatt, has made sales from his posts on Instagram, using the platform as a channel and communicating with the consumers via the apps direct messaging service. Additionally, I recently read an article this week from the Australian Financial Review which highlighted the success of a young luxury car dealer in Miami, Brett David.
David has already made $2.6 million AUD in sales in the first two quarters of 2017 alone, and he has attributed these sales as being directly caused by his content and posts on Instagram. Furthermore, he emphasised just how important Instagram has been in the growth of gross sales revenue for is luxury car enterprise. David met his largest client on Instagram Kris Singh who initially purchased a Pagani, and has acquired many more exotic cars from the dealership since. Currently, David is in working on a new $140,000 USD green room and production space for his dealership. This will allow clients to create content and photographs of their newly acquired luxury cars, which in turn can be posted and shared on Instagram. This is a brilliant strategy which will in turn increase David’s engagement on Instagram, whilst concomitantly channeling consumers to his dealership. David says is it critical for a successful dealership today to understand modern marketing through channels such as Instagram and social media. And I certainly agree with his line of thinking, Instagram has become a viable channel for luxury marketing and products due to its visual and symbolic content.
Thank you for reading,
Warm Regards,
Eddie
Featured image: http://www.tomclaeren.com
Great post Eddie! I think that the presence of celebrities and other wealthy individuals creates an environment whereby marketing luxury goods can reach and attract the high-income target market. It’s fascinating to see how these individuals can promote the most expensive products on a marketing channel that has users of all age groups and demographics. Even those who can’t afford these products are able to admire and like, share or comment on these photos and accounts attracting more attention to these profiles (increasing exposure).
Thanks Yuval, it is quite unique, you have people selling and promoting luxury items indirectly on platform that is free to use with an incredible global reach, I think the whole visual nature of Instagram is what allows this to work. Thanks for commenting
This is a really good article Eddie!
Instagram is certainly a platform that facilitates high fashion. I guess this is because instagram’s highly visual nature allows for more visually appealing content to thrive. I find it interesting just how much luxury products thrive on Instagram given that Instagram’s demographic is much younger than Facebook’s and generally people under 30 have less disposable income to purchase luxury goods. In saying this, Instagram is a platform that appeals to those of higher socioeconomic status who have more to display than other platforms.
Great read!
Absolutely agree, the visual nature is what is driving this, I think Instagram allows conspicuous consumption to thrive and people purposefully create content on their profiles in order to gain prestige. Perhaps, with the under 30s, even though they may not have the discretionary income levels suitable for luxury goods, the current era of the west and China ensure many people are living on credit and financing luxury vehicles and product that way.
Hi! Interesting insight! Instagram has become a platform for all sorts of business activities, and it is really interesting to see that it applies to the luxury car market. However, I think that Instagram needs to earn the trust of its customers!
True, the way that lnstagram is driving luxury consumption is through indirect means though, it is usually through posts and content, subsequently a relationship is formed and the point of purchase is at a trade show or the dealership itself, obviously instagram doesn’t facilitate financial transactions on its platform.
Hi, very interesting article 🙂 . I noticed how important Instagram was for luxury brands. Influencers, celebrities and wealthy people are sharing their lifestyle through this platform giving luxury brand resonance. Even if sometime the content reach people that cannot afford these products at the moment, it is increasing the brand resonance.
Very true, I started noticing a trend in 2013, I would like to have a look at some quantitative data to confirm this, I might do another post on this in the future.
Great post! Seems like Instagram plays an important role in some business now. I also prefer Instagram sale because its visual effect and symbolic description, This is a unique advantage for Instagram and visualization is an ongoing trend meanwhile.
Absolutely, it is amazing that some sizable dealers are talking about how Instagram has really driven their sales
Interesting read, I particularly like the idea of a green room when purchasing a luxury car, as it not only benefits the business by allowing a buyer to photo and share content from the seller, but the person buying the car has the ability to be aided in content creation and sharing their new, exclusive and luxurious purchase, adding to the user’s purchase journey. Great read 🙂
Yes totally agree as well, and for first time buyers it is similar to creating memories and film akin to weddings, and first home purchases.
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