Interview with Kiabi, queen of social networks and influence marketing

Can you introduce yourself in a few lines?

Caroline Fauvarquecarre, I am responsible for press relations and influencer Marketing at Kiabi.

Margaux Raniolo, Community Manager, in charge of editorial planning, animation and moderation on all our platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok.

What part does Influencer marketing play in your overall marketing and communication strategies?

Before, we had a print catalogue, which was stopped a year ago, and which was a strong medium in combination with TV and radio.

We still do 360° but social networks are getting more and more important. 2020 has played a role as a digital accelerator – sales via our website have literally exploded.

We have gained 5 years on our digital financial objectives by being reactive, by adapting to difficulties, by launching the drive, click & collect, and above all by remaining consistent with our values.

What is your vision of Influencer Marketing?

It’s positive and it’s evolving. We’re aware that we have to be vigilant and benevolent while pursuing our strategy. It’s a strong evolution, which is going very fast. Influencer marketing allows us to reach a reliable target, in a transparent way, while at the same time conveying our values.

How do you measure the impact of your Influencer marketing campaigns?

We do an assessment after each operation – measured with Kolsquare. We look at engagement, the number of likes and views. We also work with nano and micro influencers, we like to work with them to create a common thread and transmit our human values.

We use the EMV, which is a priority criteria that gives us visibility on what a specific media brings. It’s also a way of highlighting the performance of influencer marketing and sharing it internally.

Let's talk about Live Selling - is this something you do?

For the last few months we’ve been trying to keep up a rhythm of one live per month to present our new products and trends. The community is really enjoying it and the views have exploded. We have recently developed Live Commerce, a live show designed to boost sales, with the presence of a fashion consultant and recorded in the boutique.

How do you identify the KOLs you collaborate with?

Via Kolsquare of course, but we also have KOLs who come to us more and more frequently. It’s a great result for us that it’s even reversed and that content creators are approaching us directly. The topic of inclusive fashion is in our DNA – we want to represent all women and all body types, we are looking for different profiles to develop long-term partnerships with, who are talking to everyone and who have an engaged community.

What are the tips for a successful social media strategy on TikTok?

We’ve been on TikTok since August 2020, almost a year, with a first test at the start of the school year. We are often mentioned on TikTok, users create their own videos with our outfits. For our own content, it’s starting slowly, we’re building a strategy. We need to adopt a more relaxed tone, with a touch of humour, close to a community, the one of teenagers, that we are getting to know – even if the network is diversifying. There is a real evolution of Influencer marketing on TikTok that is more than interesting to explore for a brand like ours.

Any future trends in Influencer marketing and on social networks?

First of all, the ”nano-influencers” under 10K subscribers. This is not new but it’s booming – they are closer to the communities, more authentic, and customers need transparency and to receive real feedback. On the format side, there is the strong evolution of video. It spreads other messages, offers more dynamism, creativity and movement. Moreover, KOLs have an impressive know-how in this field. Being an influencer is a real job – it’s not that simple!