Introduction
The research below seeks to establish the online presence and form an in-depth analysis of the social media analysis of the Gucci clothing brand. Three social media analytics platforms will be leveraged to guide the study: Answer the Public, Social Blade, and Keyhole. Gucci is a global fashion brand with a good reputation and positioned itself as a top luxury commodity. However, it has been subject to controversy. It has come under fire on online platforms for several styles, such as the Blackface Sweater and a lawsuit with Balenciaga over an ad campaign (Bilro et al., 2021). However, Gucci still boasts over fifty million followers on Instagram, close to four million followers on TikTok, and over seven million followers on Twitter. The vast social media following enables the brand to market itself and provides avenues for consumers to channel their grievances to enable them to make informed decisions on where to improve.
The brand
Officially known as Guccio Gucci S.p A. but operating under the simple name Gucci, it is an Italian luxury fashion line headquartered in Florence. The company’s official name stems from its founder, who then passed the mantle to his son, Aldo Gucci. The latter transformed the company into a global brand during the Italian fashion boom dubbed Dolce Vita. However, family feuds led to its expulsion in 1993. However, like the controversial Nine Lives of a Cat, the brand was rejuvenated in 1999 as a subsidiary of Kering, a French firm formerly PPR. Gucci’s top products include handbags, clothes, shoes, jewelry accessories, and home decoration. It operates 487 stores, generating an annual revenue of billions of dollars, and has over seventeen thousand employees.
Media and Industry Commentary
In the modern day, it is compulsory for any organization, large or small, to establish a pronounced online presence due to the growing digital age. The growth of e-commerce and online shopping has changed the dynamics of brand awareness, and hence, all companies have led a fast-paced journey to catch up with the digital train (Guercini et al., 2020). In this context, Gucci has made motivated efforts to enhance its digital marketing strategies in a bid to expand its consumer base. Half of Gucci’s customers are millennials, and what else defines this age group better than being glued to mobile and computer screens for most hours of the day? Gucci is therefore cognizant of this fact, and to bode well with the consumers, most, if not all, advertising and marketing strategies have undergone a digital rollout (Furui, 2021). The company’s digital reach has completely redefined luxury and enhanced Gucci’s collaboration with other captains of the industry.
Gucci’s innovativeness has made it a master of social media influence. The company has made concerted efforts to ensure maximum recognition globally and to reach even its most remote clients; the company resorted to employing social media influencers and celebrities to market its top-of-the-line products. Celebrities and influencers amplify the brand’s products and create a sense of exclusivity for the same products. Notable celebrities such as Kendall Jenner, Jessica Chastain, and Miley Cyrus are some Gucci social media influencers. However, some celebrity collaborations have backfired on the company, as was the case with the Harry Styles Gucci HA HA HA campaign that many customers online deemed creepy and cringe, but Gucci has since apologized.
Gucci has also moved into Augmented Reality, and notably, its collaboration with Miley Cyrus featured a futuristic launch of products on the Metaverse. This concept is gaining traction in the digital age. The metaverse launch was performed in Roblox Gucci Town, and the ad campaign has boosted the brand’s recognition. The company has also developed digital sneakers and a Gucci Sneaker Garage using Augmented Reality that retails for twelve dollars. Users can then customize their sneakers into unique versions using the Sneaker Garage. The main key point drawn from the discussion here is that brands ought to consider Gen Z, and there is no better way to reach them than establishing an online presence. Similarly, brands should be aware that digital communities are equally influential and essential as offline communities.
Dashboard and Outputs
Answer the Public, Keyhole, and Social Blade are the three selected platforms. Answer the Public is a content ideation and research tool platform that users can leverage to discover questions asked online and topics searched about a brand online. After reviewing information in search engines such as Google, the tool generates visual representations to help founders and marketers understand the market.
On the other hand, Keyhole is more focused on social media analytics and trends to monitor searches and keywords on platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. The users can then measure the social media reach of their platforms using parameters such as Real-time tracking, Audience insight, and competitor analysis.
Finally, Social Blade is an online tool that provides statistics on social media platforms like Keyhole. However, the fundamental difference between the two is that Keyhole focuses more on real-time social media tracking, while Social Blade is more inclined toward growth tracking. In the case of Gucci, Social Blade will be used to track insights across Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch.
Data Generated
Answer the Public
Analysis
Based on the collected data, most questions searched about Gucci point to the authenticity of its products. Questions such as where Gucci is made from, how they are made, and other questions surrounding the quality of Gucci products are among the most frequently asked. The leading cause of the frequency of such products can be linked to the increase in fake Gucci products in the market. The total search volume of Gucci stands at one and half a million, with a high cost of slightly above three dollars per click.
Social Blade
Instagram Statistics
Twitter Statistics
TikTok Statistics
Youtube Statistics
Twitch Statistics
Analysis
According to Social Blade statistics, Gucci’s most significant social media muscle is Instagram, where the platform has been graded an A. However, it progressively lowers the Ranking in subsequent platforms, where it is graded an A- on Twitter, a B on TikTok and Youtube, and a D- on Twitch. While Instagram is focused on sharing photos, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch are primarily video-based platforms. The difference in Ranking can be attributed to the fact that most clients are attracted and inclined to images of Gucci products rather than videos. There is remarkable consistency in the monthly number of followers and followers on all platforms. However, the monthly number of YouTube views keeps fluctuating.
Keyhole Analysis (Instagram and Twitter)
Analysis
Over the last two months, Gucci’s number of Instagram posts peaked in late September and late October, as did the number of engagements. In the same period, the number of Tweets and subsequent interactions on Twitter also peaked. The number of Instagram posts also varies, with ninety-four posts on Instagram and sixty on Twitter.
Trends
Gucci’s primary social media platform is Instagram. Most influencers employed by Gucci have a more prominent Instagram presence and hence the high Ranking, where the number of followers has continuously increased by over one thousand followers each in the Two weeks, except for a drop in followers on Monday, October 30th. However, the general engagement stands at a relatively low 0.35%. The low engagement levels allude that either Gucci does not post at convenient times or the followers need to relate to most of the content they interact with. The low ranking rate of following on video-based platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch should also be addressed. With current trends, the company stands at risk of not diversifying its digital content. Twitch is primarily based on video streaming, and to leverage the platform, Gucci ought to stream their fashion shows or product releases on the platform.
Problems
According to the Answer, the public statistics, most questions that linger on people’s minds is the authenticity of the Gucci products they purchase. Gucci’s biggest threat at the moment is duplicated merchandise and counterfeit products. It is not rare to see products with an awkward version of the GG Gucci logo or other funny labels such as GUCGI or GUCCIE. Most of these are low-quality apparel, bags, and shoes that are easy to wear. Gucci also stands as the most counterfeited luxury brand on TikTok. Not only is this a threat to its revenue generation, but it also significantly impacts the brand image. While social media platforms provide luxury brands with avenues to connect with customers, the prevalent levels of brand infringement are a primary cause of concern that should be monitored closely.
Gucci, in several instances, has also faced criticism due to provocative ad campaigns that, even when intended in good faith, have been misconstrued for child sexual abuse, racism, and women objectification. The backlash is visible on Twitter, where people are inclined towards written content. The Harry Styles children’s mattress ad campaign, inefficient use of gender roles during advertising, and the blackface sweater saga are examples of Gucci releasing products that have harmed its brand reputation.
Actions
Gucci’s overreliance on Instagram as its primary social media outreach platform should be addressed. The company needs to add more visual content types and categories to fit diverse platforms to reach a wider audience. Concerning the question of authenticity, Gucci has tried to reduce the presence of counterfeit products by tracking and closing down over forty thousand websites and social media accounts and capturing millions of counterfeit products. The company also introduced new counterfeit-proof technology such as holograms, barcodes, and microprinting the product packaging. To address the issue of social media video interaction and authenticity, the company could, for example, employ YouTube-based influencers to make tutorials on how to style Gucci products and identify fake ones.
Conclusion
Gucci is a strong brand whose products have a resounding visual appeal. As discussed in this research, the company was among the first to dive into technology to adverse its operations. However, online interaction is still low and has been met with some cases of unprecedented controversy. Gucci needs to engage in more personalized visual content for its customers and collaborate with brand influencers to make content that resonates with the general citizenry. Nonetheless, the efforts made by Gucci in the online platforms have not gone unrecognized, as the company has won multiple Brand of the Year awards thanks to its outstanding social media support.
References
Bilro, R. G., Loureiro, S. M., & Dos Santos, J. F. (2021). Masstige strategies on social media: The influence on sentiments and attitude toward the brand. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 46(4), 1113-1126. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12747
Furui, Y. (2021). Analysis of luxury brand marketing strategy under the context of new media: Taking Gucci as an example. Journal of Economics, Business and Management, 9(3), 60–63. https://doi.org/10.18178/joebm.2021.9.3.656
Guercini, S., Ranfagni, S., & Runfola, A. (2020). E-Commerce internationalization for top luxury fashion brands: Some emerging strategic issues. Journal of Management Development, 39(4), 423-436. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmd-10-2019-0434
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