Top 5 trends in Social Media and Influencer Marketing this month

Each month we want to put together a list of the top trending things we’ve spotted. Compiled of things sliding into our DMs or shared in the hallowed halls of our Prinsengracht office, we’ve lovingly put together this edit for your viewing pleasure.

Without further adieu, here are this month’s top 5 trends in social media and influencer marketing.

1. Teeny tiny bags

French fashion house Jacquemus is known for their Instagrammable creations and their latest masterpiece does not disappoint. Enter: The Le Chiquito Bag.

It’s caused so much social media furore that it even has its own Instagram fan account (not kidding) and thousand of Instagram posts using #jacquemus and #jacquemusbag. Now meme fodder, the handbag-cum-accessory is too small to carry anything you might need--even too tiny for apple airpods, deeming the Le Chiquito bag brilliantly ridiculous in our eyes.

2. Toy unboxing videos

Last year 7 year old Ryan, from Ryan’s Toy Review, was named as YouTube’s highest earner. The securing of this title has come amidst an explosion of toy unboxing videos made by and for children or ‘kidfluencers’, but this hasn’t come without criticism.

Some experts researching these trends have said that these types of videos are exploiting children, as they can become highly addictive. We’re on the watchout for Youtube to enforce stricter regulations for kidfluencers, in line with the trend of social media platforms stepping in to help protect online communities (see Instagram’s Wellness team & Pinterest’s open letter on algorithms).

3. More transparency in influencer marketing

At the start of the year, The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK partnered with 16 social media stars, ranging from Rita Ora and Ellie Goulding, to Alexa Chung and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley , right through to cast members from cult TV shows The Only Way Is Essex and Made In Chelsea.

The partnership--aimed at transparency and protecting the wellbeing of their undoubtedly young followers--aimed at fully disclosing partnerships of any kind with brands, will clearly state paid for, and even gifted and loaned things. This is something we can fully get behind!

4. Disruptive beauty

Last week, we saw founder of Huda Beauty, Huda Kattan, removing her makeup with shaving foam. Shaving cream! The video went viral, gaining a lot of attention, with internet users questioning whether this was a genuine hack, or just beauty clickbait.

In other beauty news, Amazon is the latest brand to jump on the beauty bandwagon. The company has just released a new skin care line called Belei, a collection made up of 12 high quality, ‘no-nonsense’ products--with everything priced under $40. The new brand aims to be a simple, no nonsense answer to skincare and we look forward to seeing how it competes in the saturated beauty market.

5. Brands making changes for good

adidas first released their ocean plastic trainers containing 95% post consumer recycled plastics from ocean and beach clean-ups in 2017, and year on year since, production for the shoes has only increased. This year, the company aims to produce 11 million pairs of recycled shoes - that’s a lot of reused plastic.

In the UK this week, several fashion brands including ASOS met at the House of Lords to discuss modern ethics and sustainability in fashion. These fashion companies will be signing a pledge work towards eradicating modern slavery in their supply chains, working together to raise awareness and annually demonstrate and discuss the changes that have been made. It’s hoped that onlooking brands will take note and also begin to put human rights first in their business models, rather than the competitiveness that fast fashion is known for.