The fashion world is one of the industries which has a significant impact on the economy. The introduction of new forms of consumption due to the technological advancement observed in recent years that has changed both the way consumers shop and think has greatly affected the fashion sector. The sector is characterized by high volatility, speed, variety, complexity and dynamism. New forms of interpersonal communications have emerged so that the fashion brands are able to reach wider audiences. This has forced the marketers within the fashion sector to combine both traditional offline instruments and digital platforms such as the Internet and Social Networks. These social communication tools influence decision making vis-a-vis fashion consumption. 

The most essential part of communication and brand management strategies is the Internet. With the introduction of Web 2.0, a great change in social interaction can be seen. New technologies are driving new behaviors which are establishing new social norms. In this new technological era, companies have decided to expand their brands online presence and services in order to offer their customers more alternatives and more brand experiences.

For several fashion and lifestyle brands, social networks stand at the top of the priority list. The search for new ways in which companies can monetise their use and provide quality relationships with customers is continuously going on. A key marketing opportunity for the fashion brand is to turn into a digital environment to attract greater consumer engagement and wider consumer reach. The resources that the brands receive from social media offers a large potential for companies to approach customers and to generate greater efficiency and reduction of costs resulting from greater and better communication with them. According to Vinerean, cetina, Dumitrescu and Tichindelean a relevant feature of listening is provided by social media which the brands often forget. Listening is an element that contributes value and learning in business improvement [1,2]. 

The consumer’s voice is very important today for the management and consumption decisions due to the ability to interact with other consumers and organizations. The brands have started to believe that the information that is provided by the consumers is of much greater value than corporate information. These interactions with the consumers tend to increase confidence in the company an consequently, increase the consumer’s intention to consume. The one disadvantage that comes with social interactions with the consumers is that the consumer review if negative can spread quickly and can get viral which can pose some challenges to the brands. That‟s the reason that these interactions have to be monitored regularly otherwise it could result in a viral disaster which only the Public Relations department can handle effectively [3,4]. 

All the brands that are low cost or from a high cost fashion sector, where price is supposed to be the consumer‟s main decision factor, to the brands as symbol of social identity, every brand has an online presence. The brands take advantage of this social reach and visibility not only to promote the brand but also to establish a direct relationship with customers that is customer engagement. 

The Generation Z are called the digital natives and are the first generation which are born in a world surrounded by digital communication technologies. This audience segment is the one who consumes this digital content more than any other age groups. They are exposed highly to the social media advertisements and checking Instagram at least five times a day. This target audience prefers to communicate with social media elements like emojis, texts, images, etc. Approximately 32% of the global population consists of Generation Z. It is necessary for the brands to understand the consumer behavior pertaining to impulse purchasing. Impulse Purchasing cannot be ignored as it is an important part of consumer behaviour studies [5,6]. 

In today‟s world, a company or organisation without using digital strategies to promote their businesses can simply not survive. It is an era of digitisation. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the world has transformed into a digital bubble than it ever was. The invention of the internet has resulted in technological advancements. It has also transformed the communication mode that affects billions of people around the globe. Now people can connect with their friends over a text due to the online communities that are present on social media.

Social Media acts as fire. All the businesses today do not fail to include social media strategies in their promotional mix. A large number of organizations are making social media an integral part of their marketing strategy on the basis of highly promising features which include large and swift expansion of internet users, ease of use, speed of internet and lot more. The reason that marketers are very keen to engage in social media marketing is due to the growth of internet and registered social media users [7,8]. 

Social media refers to the tools available online where content, opinions, insights and media can be shared and one of the major characteristics of social media is about relationships and connections between people and organisations. These online tools consist of blogs, chat rooms, consumer product rating sites, discussion boards, social network sites, widgets and several other applications available online. It is due to the consumers that social media continues to grow exponentially. On social media users can build profiles and share information in any form. It could be memes, social posts, news or any form of information that the user wants to share. Users can connect with other users on the site where they can build relationships and share common interests. In comparison to the traditional marketing methods, marketers get a wide reach of consumers which they can connect and network with through social media. The communities which are available online are playing a crucial role as important networks of consumer acquaintances to influence their behaviors. Facebook alone has around 1.65 billion subscribers who are constantly interacting with the online community through posts, pages, groups, events, etc as of June 2016. Instruments of social media help to record meaningful insights such as internet usage patterns of consumers, searching product information patterns, customer‟s reviews about their experiences with products, consumer decision making process etc. According to Best, Manktelow and Taylor that the wide web of this comprehensive information about the consumers helps marketers to design a much interactive marketing strategies in the areas of advertising, customer relationship management, digital content generation and dissemination, communication with target publics at a very low cost [9,10]. 

The social media sites like Facebook and Instagram have helped the fashion brand to communicate their messages with the audiences effectively. With the use of superior technology which has already proved advantageous for the fashion industry while brands are building customer relationships via social media through creating online communities and collaborating with influencers. Due to the advent of such inventions the brands are now relaxed in introducing themselves and create highly customized information while engaging in casual/relaxed interactions with customers. The fashion industry is very competitive with entry of new players. This makes the fashion industry even more involved in designing a social media marketing strategy than ever.

The Indian fashion market is on top priority because of the factors such as increase in disposable income, change in mindset about credit, more employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, information affluence due to high internet penetration, etc. The two-way communication platform that is social media has become the most preferred option for the fashion brands to communicate and spread their message to the target audience. For instance, Mercedes Benz which is a German company introduced GenerationBenz.com as an invite only forum only for those few young customers who can give personal feedback on vehicles. Similarly, Swarovski an Austrian crystal brand are currently linked to four international fashion bloggers who advertise their jewellery spring collection [11,12]. 

While engaging in casual interactions with customers, the firms and brands can introduce themselves and provide information in an interactive and engaging way through social media. It has become important for the marketing researchers to analyze the impact and effect of social media marketing on purchase intentions of consumers due to the growing use of social media by fashion brands. Marketing is about building long term customer relationships and in this study we intended to analyse the social media campaigns over Instagram and Facebook of two major fashion brands that are Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) and Label by Ritu Kumar.

Literature Review

The term global village has been continuously used for the past few years. The brands have found a way to connect with the masses through the internet. Promotion over the digital platform is a crucial step which no major brands has imagined skipping over the years.

India's Online Fashion Market

India is adapting to the digital changes. Many businesses in India are taking the digital landscape seriously. A dedicated team of digital marketing is constituted to employ digital strategies. Fashion industry is using digitisation at its best use. The continuous storytelling aspect of social media like Instagram and Facebook are attracting customers and also building long term relationships with them [13].

Trend of Seeking Digital Fashion Solutions to Continue (Mathures Paul: Telegraph India)

The Covid-19 pandemic didn't change the fashion industry. All it did was transform it into a more portable version of it. This pandemic has helped to make the fashion not only comfortable but also embracing. This can be seen in the buying habits on a platform like Amazon. Head of Fashion Amazon, India Saurabh Srivastava said that Amazon has a vast fashion designer product range and they have witnessed 50% growth in demand from which 45% of growth is seen coming from non-metro towns. 

The Director and Head of Fashion Amazon, India further commented on the online buying behaviour of the people. He said that lockdown drove individuals towards seeking reliable digital solutions for shopping with utmost safety. This was the reason why the e-commerce sector experienced the greatest shift to online shopping activities across varied cities. Now, even though the lockdown restrictions have eased out, we have observed the demand for trendy online fashion only grow stronger. Online fashion industry will have a strong hold in the future as well [14].

Phygital: Changing fashion retail landscape in India (India Retailing, 2020)

Phygital is the combination of physical plus digital. This word has been around in the market for a few seasons but it is only during lockdown that this word has captured significance. A spokesperson at Myntra said that Phygital is the key pillar of how the world of online fashion and offline fashion merges into one seamless concept. This allows customers to browse and shop online and have it delivered quickly from the nearest store in the vicinity. Sanjay Garg at Raw Mango Company said that the retail stores are still important to them. They have launched an online studio just during the pandemic. He further adds that Raw Mango's digital platform is to employ new methods of visual storytelling to share a broader perspective. There are even talks of AR/VR (Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality) powered trial rooms which makes the digital landscape even more adaptable. The lockdown has given the chance for the fashion to go all digital because that was the only option left.

India's Online Fashion Market to Grow 3.5x from $4 Billion to $14 Billion by 2020 (Brand Equity 2018)

India has over 450 million internet accessed population which is predicted to grow by 62% to 729 million by 2020. The people who access the internet at least once a month amounts to 310 million. Even this is expected to increase by 35% to 419Mn by 2020. 

In 2017, the total number of online transactors was 200 million and by 2020 they are expected to increase by 65%. Among these transactors, the base of online shoppers’ amounts to 60Mn and is estimated to double by 2020 to about 120Mn [15]. 

There is a significant shift in the numbers of changing online consumer profiles, such as 50% reside in the rural areas opposed to the earlier 30%. Also the vernacular content has increased from 45% to almost 60%. 

Ananth Narayanan, CEO, Myntra-Jabong said that a customer went through a 3-5-year cycle from the moment of his first digital experience till he was comfortable buying products online. These time frames will be compressed and the ecommerce sector will be as high as 50% of the organised retail market over the next 3 years in India.

Online Shopping Behavior

Social Media like Instagram and Facebook are attracting thousands of people to their shopping website with their shoppable posts feature. Some brands also use retargeting strategy that means if you visit a shopping website once then when you come back to these social media applications you will keep seeing the product that you wanted to buy. Social Media is no more just a medium of entertainment but also has become an important tool for businesses in promoting their brands [16]. 

Agents That Drive Consumers Towards Online Shopping

Sales Promotion: American Marketing Association defined Sales Promotion as "those marketing activities other than personal selling, advertising and publicity that stimulate consumer purchasing and dealer effectiveness such as display shows, expositions, demonstrations and various non re-current selling efforts not in the ordinary routine".

Dadson Awunyo-Vitor, Edward Kwame Ayimey and Regina Adzoa Gayibor conducted a research study on "Does Sales Promotion Influence Buyer Behavior: A Study of PZ Cussons Limited'' published in 2013. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of sales promotion on consumer buying behaviour. They observed that sales promotion did influence a lot of young consumers to buy the product. They further discussed that the company regularly organizes sales promotion to improve its sales. 

Sales Promotion is a crucial element of businesses today. It not only creates demand but also attracts new customers towards it. It helps the company to create a long term relationship with the customer which in turn helps to improve sales of the particular product.

Coupons 

Chaharsoughi & Hamdard in 2011 defined coupons as a voucher or a certificate with which the customers are eligible to obtain a product at a cheaper price. Coupons is one of the sales promotional strategies that marketers use in the current world [5]. 

Marianna Sigala in 2013 conducted a research study titled "A framework for designing and implementing effective online coupons in tourism and hospitality". The study observed that online coupons are appealing and boosts sales. It also discussed how social media creates a larger reach for this promotional strategy. 

A coupon comes with an expiration or validity date. Once the coupon expires then the product returns to the actual market price which was assigned to it before. Therefore, this sales strategy attracts customers to buy the products before the coupon turns invalid [8].

Discounts

Business Dictionary defines discount as deduction from the face amount of an invoice, made in advance of its payment. That means the actual market retail price of a product is lowered to attract customers. Discounts are very beneficial because they provide an opportunity for the customers to obtain products that they want to purchase at a lower price. Therefore, businesses have the opportunity to satisfy customers need which in return also attracts customer loyalty.

Most of the discounts are offered during the festive seasons. People shop more during these seasons. So even if the company provides a discount on their products, the profit works in their favour as the number of individuals purchasing the products are large in number [6].

Free Delivery

When the delivery is free of charge, customers are observed to buy more products. People tend to add more products to their online shopping carts when they see the word free delivery. Sometimes companies set out a certain minimum cart value which if fulfilled the customers can avail free delivery. For this customers often try to exceed the set cart amount so that they don't have to pay extra delivery charges [7].

Social Media Promotion

Social Media is playing the role of a batsman in the world of digital fashion marketing. The amount of interactions or feedback an online campaign on social media generates is enormous. The influencers add gasoline to the already existing fire that is social media. 

Dokyun Lee with other contributors Kartik Hosanagar and Harikesh Nair in a journal article “Advertising Content and Consumer Engagement on Social Media: Evidence from Facebook” published in 2018 states that social media has a significant impact on users which raises the user engagement rate measured through Likes and Comments. They further observed that persuasive content that is emotional in nature attracts more audiences than the monotonous content which has no specific type of appeal [10].

Loureiro with other contributors S.M.C, Serra J and Guerreiro J. in a journal article "How Fashion Brands Engage on Social Media: A Netography Approach" published in 2019 observes that the best way to communicate with the audiences depends upon three factors which includes the interaction of the brand with consumers, the constant and consistent update of photos and videos with relevant content and engaging in celebrity endorsements in their marketing campaigns. 

Arora, A.S., & Sanni, S.A. in a journal article "Ten Years of Social Media Marketing" published in 2018 discusses the evolution of traditional social media marketing to the new social paradigm that the brands have achieved. They mentioned that the world of social media marketing today incorporates the use of discussion forums, electronic word-of-mouth, consumer online reviews, functional social media networks with video sharing capabilities and open channels of communications between firms and consumers which results in establishing firm consumer, consumer-consumer, consumer-firm and firm-firm interactions in social media. Gautam, V., & Sharma, V. in a journal article "The Mediating Role of Customer Relationship on the Social Media Marketing and Purchase Intention Relationship with Special Reference to Luxury Fashion Brands" published in 2017 observed that building customer relationships is 

important than building social media relationships in deciding purchase intentions of consumers in context of luxury fashion brands. 

Nawaz Ahmad with other contributors Atif Salman and Rubah Ashiq in a journal article "The Impact of Social Media on Fashion Industry: Empirical Investigation from Karachiites" published in 2015 established that social media and the fashion industry are interdependent on each other. They further recommend that brands include an active presence online so that they can connect with the consumers better. 

Denni Arli in a journal article "Does Social Media Matter? Investigating the Effect of Social Media Features on Consumer Attitudes" published in 2017 studied the technological acceptance model in relation to the connection between social media and the brands. They concluded that entertainment is one of the driving factors in the success of a consumer's relation with the brand. It is through social media brands influence consumer loyalty, awareness and purchase intentions [12].

Instagram 

Millennials spend most of their time by scrolling social media applications. Instagram has become one of the most popular social networking applications. The banning of Tik Tok in India has benefitted Instagram. They came up with a new feature called Instagram Reels. With features like business insights, shoppable posts, reels and IGTV, Instagram has opened networking opportunities for the brands. Through these features brands are not only able to track consumer reach but also are able to create valuable relationships with their consumers [14].

Features of Instagram 

Kaley Hart (2019)

Instagram Marketing for Clothing Brands: This blog article talks about some of the marketing features which Instagram entails. The visual nature of Instagram has been successful in attracting people from all over the world. With regularly updating the features, Instagram is the digital catwalk in the world of social media. Some of the features highlighted by the author are:

• The Power of User Generated Content: The author discusses how user generated content steers the brand towards success. It is a world of selfies and in this world everybody clicks a picture and posts it with tagging the brand or using the hashtags. People want followers and brands want recognition. Through the user generated content, the brand becomes known and attracts positive review from around the world

• Influencer Marketing: We want to see our favourite Instagram influencers using the brand. And that's how brands collaborate with influencers to influence the audiences which in turn increases the reach. The brands approach the trend setters to promote their product lines

• Business Features: Using the business features of Instagram is the top most priority of a brand. With insights the brands can track the reach and responses they get on a post. New features like tagging a brand partner, adding links to the story, story highlights and story swipe ups which takes the user to your website adds extra advantage to the brands social reach

• Product Tagging: Shoppable posts on Instagram are attracting more followers. Brands can tag upto 5 products in one single post. You can also tag 20 products in a multi-image post. So that means if people like a product they can click it on the post which will take them to a separate landing page from where they can purchase it

Lexie Carbone in a blog article of later.com "Ultimate Guide to Instagram for Fashion" published in 2019 says that on Instagram brands are partnering with Instagram influencers for a better reach. She further discusses that Instagram shoppable feature has become popular because through that it becomes easy to showcase your brand. 

Tiahn Wetzler in a blog article of adjust.com "Social Media Marketing for Mobile Fashion Apps: Everything You Need to Know" published in 2020 highlights the importance of social media marketing in today's digital world. She also talks about the rise of influencer marketing and the power of social media in increasing brand awareness, building relationships with the audience and driving traffic towards the brands fashion app. 

Elmira Djafarova and Tamar Bowes in a journal article "Instagram Made Me Buy It: Generation Z Impulse Purchases in Fashion Industry" published in 2020 observed that when it comes to making impulse buying decisions Generation Z females are up for it. On the contrary, the male demographic do not favour this behaviour. 

Trong Nhan PHAN, Truc Vi HO, Viet Phuong LE-HOANG in a journal article "The Impact of Content Marketing on Customer Engagement on Instagram - A Case Study of Fashion Brands" published in 2020 discussed how content marketing on Instagram has its own perks. The content that you post matters. It includes factors like posting timeframe, message interaction with customers and the emotional appeal that the post holds. 

Laura Elizabeth Dorado in a research article titled "The Effects of Social Media on Fashion Retail Industry" published in 2011 observed that the majority of people who use social media to connect with retail brands is due to the discounts and other promotional materials they offer. They further observed that social media led to a strong consumer-brand engagement which was impossible before. 

Ben Touchette, Morgan Schanski , Seung-Eun Lee conducted a research study titled "Apparel Brands’ Use of Facebook: An Exploratory Content Analysis of Branded Entertainment"  published in 2015 observed that Photos and Advertisements were the predominant forms of branded entertainment. 

This research study focuses on comparing the online fashion promotion of two fashion brands which are Hennes and Mauritz and Label by Ritu Kumar. Comparative analysis will be drawn regarding the type of content and promotional strategies used by them.

Research Gap 

Several comparative studies have been conducted for understanding the online promotional strategies of fashion brands.However, this study focuses on comparing the online promotional strategies of a Foreign Brand that is H&M and an Indian Brand which is Label. The study will explore the difference in online promotional methods of both the brands.

Research Questions

• RQ1: What are the different online promotional strategies of fast fashion brands such as Label and H&M on Instagram 

• RQ2: Which element in the promotional strategy in Instagram posts generates greater engagement

• RQ3: How brands are using social media to promote themselves

• RQ4: What are the promotional features that Instagram provide to the businesses

Research Objectives

• To understand how the brand promotes itself using social media

• To find out different strategies the brands are using to promote their products

• To study the factors leading to greater consumer engagement

• To compare the online promotional strategies used by Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) and Label

The research methodology used for this study is Content Analysis. The content will be collected from the Instagram page of H&M and Label by Ritu Kumar. Only the content posted by these two brands in the month of March, 2021 was analysed. Further information about the brands was collected through websites, journals and blogs.

Context of Analysis

Given the aim of the study, the main focus was on Instagram as it was highly impactful in the fashion industry. On Instagram, the brand posts its campaigns and products for the users to view. They can shop through Instagram, comment if they like or vice versa. With new emerging features of Instagram, fashion industries have been more social than ever. They are not only promoting their brand traditionally but also socially through social media like Instagram where they have a wider reach. Often engagement units like comments and likes are analyzed to evaluate a brands social presence.

Process of Analysis

The analysis covered the period between April 1, 2021 to April 22, 2021 in order to count the number of likes and comments posted by the users on the brands posts so that they could reach the maximum degree of reaction. An analysis of daily posts was then carried out of all the posts published by H&M and Label by Ritu Kumar on Instagram. A coding system was later generated from observing the nature of content posted by the brands. 

The content was categorized into three categories. The first category was named as Stimulus. The second category was named as Organism and the third category was named as Response. Each of these categories were divided into subcategories. Stimulus covered three sub-categories which included Instagram Image Post, Instagram Video Post and Reels Post. Each of these stimulus recorded the online promotional strategy used and analyzed the caption content based on Product Description, call to Action and the Textual Phrase used in the caption. Organism recorded the likes and comments of each Instagram post that H&M and Label by Ritu Kuma had posted in March 2021. Response covered one category which was named as Purchase Intentions. This category was sub categorized into three categories which included Availability, Price, Time and Date. To find out the Purchase Intentions of the users, the comments on Instagram were recorded and then divided into the three sub categories mentioned above.

A thorough analysis of literature review was done to find out the reason behind brands using Instagram for fashion promotion. A textual analysis of the data was conducted. Codes were generated which included the features of Instagram and reasons of using Instagram for fashion promotion.

Figure 1: Codes were Generated Which Included the Features of Instagram and Reasons of Using Instagram for Fashion Promotion

A comparison will be drawn to analyse the difference in the Instagram promotion method by H&M and Label by Ritu Kumar. This comparison will bring out the weakness and strengths of both the brands

Hennes and Mauritz

Hennes was founded by Erling Persson in 1947 as a women‟s clothing store in Sweden. Hennes in Sweden meant “hers”. In 1968, Hennes was combined with Mauritz when Erling Persson bought a hunting and fishing store in Stockholm. Today the world knows it by the name of H&M. The first store that the company ever opened outside Sweden was in Norway in 1964. As the years passed on, H&M had to evolve. It was with Karl Lagerfeld that H&M had its first collaboration in 2004. The H&M foundation is regarded as a non-profit global foundation. It has been in the market with several outlets and is dominating in the fashion industry. As of February 28, 2021, H&M has over 4,327 stores, 72 store markets and 53 online markets (hmgroup.com). Most of the board members of H&M consist of women. H&M evolving from a company to a fast fashion brand is a glorious story.

Negative Response Received by H&M in March 2021 on Instagram 

Every brand goes through ups and downs. In March 2021, even H&M was criticised in the comment section by the Instagram users over three major issues. The one started with #JusticeforJeyasre. The second was about users commenting that H&M have stolen designs from Luna and the third got viral with the hashtag, #getoutofvietnam. H&M didn‟t responds to these issues over Instagram. It didn‟t tries to instigate war over Instagram.

Justice for Jeyashre

Jeyasre Kathiravel, a 20-year-old girl from Tamil Nadu was allegedly murdered by her supervisor after suffering months of sexual harassment on the factory floor of Natchi Apparels in Kaithian Kottai, Tamil Nadu. Natchi Apparel is an H&M supplier. H&M decided to carry out an independent investigation on this matter. The international labour rights group Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) and Global Labour Justice- International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF) claimed that H&M failed to police its own codes of conduct on gender based violence. H&M sent condolences to the family and responded to the situation by saying that they won‟t terminates the business relationship with the supplier and instead will work on strengthening the workplace safety. Due to this incident, several Instagram users commented on H&M posts with hashtag #justiceforjeyasre. The hashtag contains more than 600 posts. 

Design Stole from Luna

Instagram flooded with comments on certain posts that the design was stolen from Luna fashion brand. Thousands of comments mentioned the word Plagiarism with the moon sign which represented Luna Fashion Brand. H&M did not respond to these plagiarism comments. It only responded to those comments which enquired about the product.

Get Out of Vietnam

The hashtag spreaded like a wildfire in Vietnam when H&M agreed to change a problematic map online on its website by the Chinese authorities. Chinese authorities did not specify the problem with the map. It only showed a graphic from an earlier People’s Daily report showing the nine dash line which marks Beijing showing that it claims 90% of the disputed waters of the South China Sea. This did not go well with the Vietnamese people. They accused H&M for kowtowing to Beijing. Vietnamese people lashed out as they believed that H&M had taken the wrong side and the part which was rectified on map belonged to Vietnam. Many users commented on H&M‟s Instagram platform telling them to get out of Vietnam.

Product Collections that H&M Launched in March 2021

H&M launched three collections in March 2021 which included the Simone Rocha Collection, Science Story, Good News Shoe Collection and Sports Collection.

Brand Message that H&M Promoted on Instagram in March 2021

Through the collections launched during March 2021, each collection represented a particular message. The Simone Rocha collection promoted the message of Unity with captions like” You Me, We and Us”. It influences their consumers that every piece that they have designed is in unity with one another. Each piece is in conversation with each other. 

The Science Story collection promoted the message of environmental sustainability. It showed the consumers that their clothes are recycled and redesigned for maintaining environmental sustainability. H&M also launched a Good News collection which consisted of shoes having smaller environmental footprints. This shows how H&M are doing their part in protecting the environment. 

The Sports collection named HM Sports promoted the message of being healthy. It tried to influence the consumers that a good run can help to solve problems and attain inner peace with captions like “Running is a form of healing”. It not only promoted a healthy lifestyle but also tried to promote inner peace.

Online Promotional Strategy used by H&M on Instagram in March 2021

H&M is a global brand. So, the burden of keeping itself updated on social media is really heavy. H&M has tried to promote its fashion collection using several features of Instagram. 

Hashtags

Hashtags are like the oxygen of the brand on Instagram. H&M has used hashtags in all the posts that were posted in March 2021. The hashtags used during March 2021 are listed as Table 1.

H&M have created their own hashtag to promote their collections. #HM remains the popular hashtag with 11.9M posts on Instagram from all over the world. Through the creation of hashtags, the amount of user generated posts rise.

Product Tagging

The new Instagram feature gives the opportunity to the brand to include product tagging where the consumers can click on the product mentioned in the image and shop. These posts are known as shoppable posts. H&M has used this feature wisely. H&M has used six shoppable posts with product tagging in March 2021.

Tag Mentions

With tag mentions not only the post of the brand gets higher reach but also the person who‟s tagged gets a high amount of profile visits and exposure. H&M has tagged the models, designers, stylist and everyone who was a significant part of the particular campaign. These tags made sure the right exposure was given at the right time attracting thousands of users of Instagram.

Interactive Video

Visual content always stays in the minds of the consumer more than the written words. H&M in the month of March 2021 produced 21 videos. These videos altogether recorded 2802047 views and 194,549 likes. These videos were interactive in nature and promoted the brand message successfully. Among these videos, there was also an IGTV video, a feature of Instagram that H&M used.

Endorsement

During the month of March 2021, H&M used several endorsers to promote their collections. Some of them were models, actors, bloggers and others. It resulted in attracting a high number of likes and comments.

Collaboration

H&M announced its collaboration with the designer Simone Rocha and Good News London. Several posts were created to launch their collection. Simone Rocha collection was promoted through 17 Instagram posts which included videos and images in March 2021. Good News London was a collection of shoes with smaller footprints. It was promoted once in March 2021.

Table 1: The Hashtags Used During March 2021

Source: Instagram 

Table 2: Purchase Intentions

Source: Instagram 

Engagement Metrics

H&M recorded 1,957,347 likes, 79661 comments and 2802047 video views on Instagram in March 2021.

Call to Action

H&M inserted their website link in the caption description in some of their Instagram posts. It was inserted so that if a user likes a product, he/she can visit the website and put the product into the cart which resulted in rising the sales of the product.

Purchase Intentions

H&M had received 541 comments on Instagram which determined the consumers purchase intentions in March 2021. The Purchase Intention was further sub-categorised into 4 categories which included Consumers asking for Availability, Consumers asking for Price, Consumers asking for Launch Date and Consumers asking for Launch Time of a particular product collection. Out of 541 comments, 66 Instagram users asked for the Product Price, 31 users asked for the Launch Date, 264 users asked for the Launch Time and 180 Instagram users asked for Product Availability. As H&M is a global brand, users from around the world were curious to know the launch time in their country. That is why we can see the maximum comments consisted in the time category of purchase intentions.

Label By Ritu Kumar

The boutique culture in India was first started by Ritu Kumar under the brand name Ritu. It is since the 1970's that the designer culture has been retailing in Europe and India. The products that Ritu Kumar focused on were mostly on couture, formal prêt accessories and also a fashion sub brand called Label, Ritu Kumar. The main production centres are at Gurgaon and Calcutta which is operated by Ritika Pvt. Limited. In-house printing, tailoring, finishing and quality control facilities are what factories are mainly equipped with. Ritu Kumar is known to bridge the gap between conservative and conventional styles. Ritu Kumar was awarded with Padma Shri in 2013. Her clothes are wide known among other fashion stylists too. Her collections are worn by celebrities around the world and film stars in India. She has designed a unique concept of combining Indian style with contemporary essence.

Negative Response Received by Label in March 2021 on Instagram 

Label by Ritu Kumar didn‟t receives any negative response in the month of March. The comments were analysed to see if there are any negative responses. It recorded over 492 comments out of which none fell under the negative category.

Product Collections that Label Launched in March 2021

In the month of March, Label launched Label Mate collection and in products it launched Maxi Dress, Ruffle Dress, Black Dress, Floral Dress, Belt, Denim and Bag.

Brand Message that Label Promoted on Instagram in March 2021

Through the collections launched during March 2021, each collection represented a particular message. The Label Mate collection promoted the message that a piece of cloth can be your friend, your mate. Other products influenced the consumers to have a bright summer with their Floral Collections. Ria Sharma, a NGO activist who was awarded the UNICEF Global Goals Award spoke about her journey about saving acid attack victims wearing the Label Mate Dress. This showed how the brand stands in support of such social causes.

Online Promotional Strategy used by Label on Instagram in March 2021

Label is an Indian brand which is not only popular in India but also in European nations. As social media is changing the way people buy products. Consumers depend on electronic word of mouth and social media is one source they could get it from.

Hashtags

Label has used hashtags in all the posts that were posted in March 2021. The hashtags used during March 2021 are listed in Table 3. Label have created their own hashtag to promote their collections. #labelritukumar. Through the creation of hashtags, the amount of user generated posts rise.

Tag Mentions

To receive a high amount of profile visits and exposure, tag mentions are used. Label has tagged the stylist and endorsers who were a significant part of the particular campaign. These tags made sure the right exposure was given at the right time attracting thousands of users of Instagram.

Reels

Visual content remains longer than the written words. Label in the month of March 2021 produced 2 reels. These reels altogether recorded 1,197 likes. These videos were about fashion styling and were interactive in nature which promoted the brand message successfully.

Table 3: The Hashtags Used During March 2021

Source: Instagram 

Table 4: Purchase Intentions

Table 5: Comparative Table

Endorsement

During the month of March 2021, H&M used several endorsers to promote their collections. Some of them were models, actors, bloggers and others. It resulted in attracting a high number of likes and comments.

Engagement Metrics

Label recorded 75972 likes, 492 comments and 4091 video views on Instagram in March 2021.

Call to Action

Label inserted their website link in the Instagram Bio. The caption used in most of the Instagram posts consisted of words like Shop Online and Follow the Link in the Bio. It was inserted so that a consumer can go to the website when it visits Label‟s Instagram page.

Purchase Intentions

Label had received 492 comments on Instagram in March 2021. Out of which 199 comments determined the purchase intentions of the consumers. The Purchase Intention was further sub categorised into 4 categories which included Consumers asking for Availability, Consumers asking for Price, Consumers asking for Launch Date and Consumers asking for Launch Time of a particular product collection. Out of 199 comments, 198 Instagram users asked for the Product Price, 0 users asked for the Launch Date, 0 users asked for the Launch Time and 1 Instagram user asked for Product Availability. As India is a country where people ask for the price first before the availability of the product, most of the comments consisted of consumers asking product price.

Hennes & Mauritz is a global brand and therefore they have a large number of followers. But due to its global reach, one crisis can break the brand‟s image and reputation. That’s why there are few posts which received negative responses from the Instagram users. The negative responses consisted of issues such as Justice for Jeyasre, Plagiarised Luna Designs and Get Out of Vietnam. Hennes and Mauritz used Instagram features well which included usage of hashtags, tag mentions, product tagging, collaboration, endorsements, interactive videos and call to action. These strategies were used to generate greater engagement among the consumers. The videos received higher engagement than images posted on Instagram page. 

On the Contrary, Label is an Indian brand which does have global reach but is still lacking behind to attain maximum social media reach. It didn‟t attracts any negative responses. The comments which were analysed recorded a good number of purchase intentions. That means that the consumers like the product just an apt social media strategy needs to be constructed. For Instagram promotion it used strategies like tag mentions, call to action, endorsements, hashtags and reels. The major feature which Label left out of their Instagram strategy is product tagging. It is a feature which allows the consumers to buy a product there and there if they like it. The consumers don‟t has to go through the hassles of going to the website and searching for the product. It is a quick way to buy and it saves time. 

Instagram has a lot of other features too which weren‟t used by the brands. It would be great if the brands got their hands on features like Instagram Guides and Creation of AR filters on Instagram. The brand should also try to increase the number of shoppable posts so that consumers save time and can note down the price and save the product for future purchase too. As we know, videos are more interactive than images. To produce more videos would mean to put the brand message out there clear and in a concise way. Instagram reels are trending these days. The brands can keep up with this trend as the Instagram Remix feature gives the Instagram user to be a part of it. It can increase the number of user generated content.

Limitations and Future Research

This study has several limitations. First, it does not study all the platforms of online promotion. It studies only the online promotional activities of H&M and Label by Ritu Kumar on Instagram. Future research may study other platforms where these brands have promoted their products. Moreover, differences in the engagement metrics over a period of time can be explored further. Second, the study does not explore the entire Instagram page of H&M and Label. It only analysed those posts which were posted in March. Future research may explore other time periods and analyse the changes or the evolution that the brands went through. Third, the findings of this research cannot be generalized to other fast fashion brands. The study only analyses H&M and Label by Ritu Kumar. Future research can be conducted to investigate online promotional activities of other brands and comparisons can be drawn between them. Finally, this study only analysed image posts, reels and video posts of the brands on Instagram. Future research may investigate other features like Bio Content, Story Highlights and Story Posts through an experimental research design.

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