According to ​new research, smaller fashion labels are more effective at the use of social media to boost their identity and can now directly compete with bigger brands.

Research from marketing agency Red Hot Penny has shown Instagram to be a gold mine for smaller fashion labels. In an Instagram analysis of the London Fashion Week exhibiting designers, the agency put together a list of the businesses which are using the platform to its fullest. The list rated follower numbers, engagement rates, use of Instagram Stories and shoppable posts. 

At the top of the list is Mary Katrantzou, with a mix of lookbook shots, catwalk imagery and posts with celebrity fans wearing the firm’s clothes. Bigger fashion outlets such as Cristopher Kane and Vivienne Westwood have instead failed to impress and were placed down below the top 10, showing how bigger firms seem to be failing at the use of social platforms to generate engagement.

“Instagram is a powerful tool for designers, allowing them to bring their vision direct to their fans,” Red Hot Penny’s Russ Powell says. “Brit designers are missing what potentially could be a powerful revenue stream.”

At the same time, the list is encouraging for smaller designers, who can now take advantage of powerful social tools to compete with established labels – even without their financial means. Social platforms are key to communicating a strong vision today. “Those brands using Instagram well are bringing the imagination they show on the catwalk to their feeds,” Powell adds.

In today’s constant search for relevance and consumer attention, it’s not enough to have a strong business name anymore. Those businesses taking a strong digital approach to their positioning have the potential to thrive like never before, using every means possible to communicate their vision to the world.