Influencer Analysis

Select an influencer - this may be someone you already follow or a notable one that you are aware of. Complete a textual analysis of their instagram page considering;

Influencer chosen: Cassie Thorpe - 19.8k instagram followers, 50k YouTube

instagram: casscass2102

How do they ensure audience engagement? 

• Story games - asking followers to send in questions
• Posting photos in exotic and cool locations - Tiffany and co box caffe at Harrods, Hawaii, expensive restaurants in London, Harrods, Selfridges etc; very luxury oriented photos targeted towards an audience who are interested in high-end fashion/lifestyle.
• Teases for upcoming YouTube videos, for example positing a photo of Prada shoes or her new Birkin Bag, which makes dedicated watchers excited
• She makes series in her bio like 'Cassie Cooks', 'Nails', 'shopping' and 'neverrr'. Never is where fans can send in their luxury purchases which were inspired by her, and she will re-share them to her story.
• She is also responsive to her followers messages, for example, I once messaged her saying how she had inspired me to purchase a bag for my Mum and she replied.

How do they ensure financial gain?

• Links to products, which if consumers purchase through these links, she will gain commission 
• She has another page called "Cassie.approved" where she posts her outfits and links to purchase
• An email address in her bio allows potential sponsors to message her, and get her to promote their products in exchange for payment or free gifts 

How do they use lexis and language to attract audiences? 

• Her bio says "somewhat entertaining and mildly informative. I spend money on ridiculous things." attracts an audience who are interested by the luxury fashion industry and lifestyle.
• Maintains a somewhat relatable mode of address - 'instagram vs reality'
• 'Dressed like I should be in gossip girl.' - intertextual reference to a show oriented around the upper east side, once again targeting an audience who are interested in this lifestyle but cannot necessarily pay for them.

How do they display convergence? (links to other media/products)

• Links to her YouTube channel, where her supporters can watch her content.
• Links to farfetch website, where her supporters can shop using her discount code.
• Her other instagram account is linked to her main account, where fans can shop for clothes.

How do they develop audience habits (encouraging the audience to come back)

• Cassie posts a lot of season and collection reviews, so the audience will keep returning to her page to see what they should/shouldn't purchase from each season and collection.
• Fans can vote which video they would prefer to see, which encourages her audience to return, as they want to see which video was chosen in the end. They also feel as if their opinion is valued by the influencer.

The posts themselves (costume, make-up, lighting, framing, representation..) 

• Versace top, Gucci tights, Prada boots. Very luxury-oriented fashion, which is styled well. This represents Cassie as a fashionable individual, with the funds to style herself in an adventurous way.
• Her make-up is natural and minimal in comparison to the outfit, which has bright pops of colour. For example, the Prada heels have a neon orange streak, which the audience can focus on, as her makeup does not 'overshadow' the purpose of the post, which is sharing her outfit.
• The camera angle is on the floor, which positions the audience below her. I do not believe this is actually the mode of address she is trying to create, as a low-camera angle is actually useful in elongating your legs. I believe this was done to make her look taller, opposed to patronising the audience.

• Photo of the Birkin bag, which is notoriously difficult to buy, as you cannot simply walk into Hermes and pick one up!
• This represents Cassie as dedicated to the luxury market, as she has the time and money to spend on the process of purchasing this bag.
• Hermes works in a way, that you build a relationship with the store and SA, so eventually you may be offered a Birkin bag, but this is still not guaranteed.
• The bag is also a green colour, which is not "traditional", this represents Cassie as being adventurous with her fashion choices, and progressive.

• Chanel bag, Versace dress, all styled well. Versace has a distinctive style which is challenging to pair with other garments, due to the vibrancy of the patterns. Yet here, Cassie effortlessly puts an outfit together, which can be examined through the unified colour-pallet of black, gold and silver.
• The colours of gold act as symbolic coding for wealth and expense, combined with the iconic Versace patterns and Chanel bag with a large logo, demonstrate the amount of money Cassie has invested into her outfit. This represents her as being wealthy, or from a polysemic perspective, dedicated to the fashion industry, to the extent that she invests a lot of her money into it. This outlines her to be a good influencer, as she is willing to personally spend time and finance into her posts. This attracts an audience, who will be thankful someone is prepared to spend their money and time into purchasing and reviewing products they cannot afford themselves.
  
  
  
• Cassie sits on the Tiffany and Co blue jewellery box, which is upscaled to become a chair. This positions Cassie as being comparative to a piece of Tiffany and Co jewellery, evaluating her to be precious and expensive.
• Her outfit also correlates with the setting, the blue Balmain (not 100% sure that's the brand!) blazer, and wedged shoes all match with the blue surrounding colours.