Exploration of the nonprofessional profile of the fashion micro instagramer in Spain

Abstract

The evolution of social networks in general, and Instagram in particular, has led to the emergence and proliferation of digital influencers, a figure that has taken over from fashion bloggers and managed to capture the attention of communication professionals in the sector due to their potential to generate engagement with their public. The objective of the present research is to determine the profile of micro fashion influencers, their casuistics, and the protocols of action that they use when managing their Instagram accounts. For this, qualitative research was carried out through a semistructured interview of a sample selected using the nonprobabilistic snowball technique. Specifically, between May and June 2018, fieldwork was carried out with a group of ten fashion micro instagramers in Spain, analyzing four research questions regarding how micro instagramers interact with and their relationship with brands and communication companies, the nature of their publications, and their motivations for being active on the mentioned social network. The responses of the micro instagramers, with a combined audience of 240,439 followers, suggest that their nonprofessional profile is characterized by the absence of collaboration agreements and minimum economic remuneration. In addition, they are aware of their technical deficiencies when creating and editing their posts.