In this paper, researchers investigated current fashion brands’ social media micro-blogging marketing strategy and consumers’ word of mouth reactions. More than 5,000 of the micro-blogs posted by fashion brands and 143,000 of customers’ comments were analysed in this study. Researchers firstly investigated the overall micro-blogging marketing structure for each fashion brand and compared them. Then researchers identified the type of expression pattern of each fashion brand currently in the micro-blogging context, negative or positive sentiments. Researchers found that fashion brands are using different micro-blogging marketing strategies. Forever21 used 61% micro-blogs for customer communication. H&M posted very diverse micro-blogs content to their official account. Their main micro-blogs were used for new product promotion (43%) and brand’s live event broadcasting (33%). Luxury brands, such as Burberry, more than 52% of micro-blogs posted last year were used for new product promotion and 36% of their micro-blogs contents included celebrities’ images of wearing Burberry product. Chanel used 60% of their micro-blogs to broadcast and introduce their brand events. There was no sale information posted on Chanel and Burberry’s micro-blogs account. Through sentiment analysis, researchers also found the brands have very positive electronic word of mouth (e-WOM). Particular, luxury fashion brands are having better e-WOM than fast fashion brands.

• Ruirui Zhang(Oregon State University)
• Shan Xue(Oregon State University)
• Leslie Davis Burns(Oregon State University)