The state of fashion media
Place clickbait title in the middle of a photo to maximize your social media engagement.
Covering fashion for the last decade has given me a unique perspective on how fashion discussion has evolved since the forum days. We went from talking about clothes in niche corners of the internet with like-minded people to fashion becoming one of the most covered topics on social media.
The current state of how we talk about fashion online is a topic that has been on my mind for what feels like years. The way it has evolved and where it’s heading isn’t leaving me excited about the future. Today it’s all about maximizing engagement and not the actual fashion itself, and because of that, there’s way too much focus on constantly needing to prioritize the execution of content in hopes of keeping up with the algorithm.
When the masses figured out what the formula is to get the most engagement out of their posts, that’s when things started getting absolutely repetitive and boring. We’ve ended up with content that looks exactly the same, blending together in a whirlpool of low quality that lowers the expectations of what good content should look like, and the latest trend of placing a clickbait caption in the middle of a photo is probably the worst example of that right now.
Recently, every conversation I have with peers in the industry lands in the same place. “I hate posts with text in the middle of the photo. It’s pure engagement farming.”
Even though I’m in the fashion media world, I refuse to abide by social media trends in order to maximize my viewership. I think that constantly needing to “hack” and figure out new ways to get my content across is an insanely daunting process that takes the fun away from posting online.
It’s already corny to be constantly posting so much, and on top of that you want me to dance like a jester for some extra likes? Yea, I’m good on that, bro.
My viewership on Instagram has been fluctuating because I don’t post videos, show my face, or put clickbait titles in the middle of my photos. I try my best not to look at the numbers, but we’re all human, and there was a period where you could post a simple photo with no caption and it would do numbers. Those days are gone and have since been replaced with content that doesn’t actually do any of us good.
I was curious to see if following the current rules of Instagram would yield better results, so I decided to make an experiment post that would mimic what everyone else was doing.
The formula is simple: find a random topic that you think is interesting, do a short write up in the caption, find a clickbait title to throw on the first image, followed by a carousel of vibey photos to support your claim or story, then hit post and watch as the numbers go up.
So, I did exactly that with a post called “The Lost Art of the Luft”. To my surprise, it worked really well. I did absolute numbers on this, and it remains one of the best performing posts I’ve had in months, but the truth is, a successful post in this style brought me no joy.
Sure, the topic was cool and it was great to learn more about it myself, but having to jump through all of these hoops to get more eyes to see it just felt exhausting. The vultures don’t think so because many of them ended up posting their own version of the same post right after me.
Listen, I’m not saying that I was the first person to talk about this topic but I do find it interesting to see how quickly the copying happened after my post. These types of accounts are starving for engagement and they will do anything to continue to stay relevant by jumping on anything that’s deemed as valuable to them.
That’s a problem.
There was a time when we were much more authentic when it came to discussing clothes online. Part of it had to do with the fact that fashion just wasn’t as popular online as it is today, and we only have social media to blame. But for whatever reason, everyone wants to be an influencer of some sort, and a lot of these people lean into fashion for their own gain — if I’m being real, we need more plumbers and less influencers, but that’s a topic for another day.
Throwing clickbait titles in the middle of a photo is eroding our attention spans. It also allows the so-called leaders in media to get away with putting out low quality content because they know the formula will get them the engagement they want.
I’m not going to say which accounts are the worst for doing this… It’s Outlander Magazine. There’s no beating around the bush. We’re all talking about the same account here. Sure, it’s a platform that’s consistent at providing information quickly and it’s insanely easy to digest, but at what cost?
The content is just bad and it baffles me how many people interact with it.
We’re addicted to receiving information as quickly as possible, and if you’re someone who’s constantly on top of your game in terms of providing that information, then it doesn’t matter how or what you post. The name of the game is consistency, but I believe there is a moral duty to at least try and make half decent content.
The internet is not what it used to be and it’s only getting worse. We went from fashion forums filled with great discussion to one line clickbait sentences that lowkey make me feel stupid when I read them. I mean, what are we doing here?
You can’t beat them, so the answer to this problem is to simply block this content and move on with your life. Easy fix, but when you commentate on fashion culture it’s impossible to sit idly by as you watch a space that used to be great, get worse by the day.
Back in the forum days you got called out for corny behavior. We don’t do that anymore, and I think we should bring it back, which is more or less the point of today’s letter.
I know I’m not alone when it comes to these thoughts, and neither are you. What’s important is what you consume and support. The algorithm is actively working against creators that are making great content, and it’s up to you to uplift and support them. If you’re reading this and you think you’re part of the problem, then it’s up to you to do better by start making better content that isn’t dictated by the algorithm’s standards — just remember, it’s not corny to try.
Despite trying the formula and knowing that it works, I still won’t use clickbait titles on photos, even if that means sacrificing viewership. I can’t be caught dead doing something I don’t believe in.
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