Ethnography Project
Hey, welcome back!
In my two previous blog posts, I determined my media niche of branding and narrowed and mapped my field site. I am now at the stage of developing and planning out my research process. The research process enables me to collect data to reveal the interactions and network within my chosen online field effectively. The research process should not focus on asking a direct question but rather aim to seek out information that then leads to a narrowed research question and topic. Problematising my media niche is key to starting this process.
Problematising My Media Niche
The key focus and question I want to explore, regarding branding, is how small clothing brands are generating their branding systems on Instagram and using influencers to help develop and extend their audience and own brand perception? This concept is broad enough to start with and later on, I can look into narrowing my approach based on data collection and findings. The experience, new insight and understanding gained from this process, aims to inform and engage my audience of clothing brands and their marketing agencies. This audience will benefit from my results as they continue to market themselves and their products via influencers on Instagram. Hopefully, the findings will prove helpful in making this process effective.
Sourced from Instagram: @sportyandrich, @imbusy, @saintparadiso_
Research Method/Plan
I am going to analyse the field site through observational and auto-ethnography research methods as studies show most researchers find they play more of a role as an observer than they do as a participant. An observational approach will allow me to record the many nuances and contingencies of human behaviour as they occur in the natural field site. I will record the data via note-taking and screenshots. This method involves collecting data such as:
– Instagram content (both influencer and brand)
- Profiles
- Sponsored vs. non-sponsored posts
- Profile aesthetics and design
- Which brands collaborate with which influencers (tag function)
- Level of user engagement and interactions via comments
- Instagram highlights and stories (direct marketing content)
- Degree of product promotion vs filler posts (posts with no product attached)
- Posts with influencers vs. everyday customers
– My user experience
- Process of accessing field site
- Process of engaging with field site
- Experience whilst immersing in field site
- Analysing via my cultural lens and perspective
- My actions as a consequence of the field site
– Observing the style and ‘branding’ of influencer’s online profiles
- Post frequency
- Profile colour palette
- Profile aesthetics/design and personality
- User engagement measures (E.g. QNA)
- Clothing type (winter/summer/casual/formal…)
- Fashion orientation/focus
- Target audience
- Demographic
- Focus (health, fashion, beauty, travel…)
- Simplistic
- Creative
- Feminine
- Highly staged or authentic
– My framework (used to help me interpret findings)
- White 19 yr. old female from Cronulla, Sydney
- Active Instagram user
- Lover and user of fashion and travel
- Appreciate and engage with visually pleasing aesthetics and profile design
- Following several influencers who promote clothing brands
- Buyer of clothing brands discovered via Instagram
- Above-average knowledge of marketing, branding and visual communication design
- History in content creation and analysis
- Band 6 results in HSC Business Studies, Industrial Media and Visual Art
Research Schedule
Stay tuned as I conduct my ethnographic research!
Kayla Mathew
Reference List
Capture By Kayla 