Spring 2021
Exploratory Study
The study aims to explore the influences of aesthetic styles of Luxury Fashion Brands Instagram posts on consumers in the following three aspects: emotional value, brand luxuries perception, and behavioral intention (i.e., purchase intentions, intentions to like/share the posts, to click on the product link).
Hypothesis 1:
Compared to classical aesthetic Instagram posts, expressive aesthetic posts by LFBs create a higher perceived emotional value for consumers.
Hypothesis 2:
Expressive Aesthetics will encourage a higher brand luxury perception due to a higher perceived emotional value.
Hypothesis 3:
Compared to classical aesthetic Instagram posts, expressive aesthetic posts prompt more social media engagements in the forms of likes, comments, and shares, and prompt the audience to check out the brand website.
THE ROLE OF VISUAL AESTHETICS IN LUXURY FASHION BRAND PERCEPTION AND ENGAGEMENT ON INSTAGRAM
Methodlogy/Design
A framework was analytically developed based on the literature review. An exploratory qualitative study was designed for the study: Instagram posts from four Luxury Fashion Brands' official accounts were sampled and coded, semi-structured interviews were conducted.
Findings
Brand posts using expressive aesthetic images received a higher level of emotional responses and more engagements on Instagram. These posts generate more traffic to the brand websites and lead to a higher tendency of purchases. However, the higher emotional value does not appear to transmit into a higher perceived luxury of the brands.
Theoretical and Practical Implications
The study expands the Uses and Gratification Theory, Art Infusion Effect, and Creativity in Advertising in the context of visual marketing on social media. As visual aesthetics can communicate brand emotion, create values, promote engagements, and trigger purchase intention, luxury fashion brand managers and visual content creators should consider using the appropriate strategy when managing the brand presence on social media.