THE UTILIZATION OF INSTAGRAM MICRO-INFLUENCERS FOR WARDAH BRAND AWARENESS IN THE DIGITAL ERA
Salsabilla Rahmadanty, Indira Fatra Deni
Abstract
In today's highly digital era, numerous business actors compete through social media platforms. The skincare industry, in particular, has emerged as one of the most dynamic sectors, experiencing rapid growth in recent years. Wardah, as a leading local brand, must maintain its branding by enhancing brand awareness. With the rising beauty trends and increasing consumer awareness of high-quality local products, competition among various local cosmetic brands has intensified. This study aims to analyze and understand the utilization of Instagram micro-influencer accounts as a means to build Wardah's brand awareness in the digital era. A qualitative research method is employed to address research questions that require explanations or insights related to social phenomena and their contexts, particularly the use of influencers on Instagram. The study involves interviews with five participants who meet specific criteria, namely micro-influencers affiliated with the Wardah Youth Ambassador program, with follower counts ranging from 1,000 to 100,000. This research seeks to identify the effectiveness of leveraging Instagram micro-influencers in enhancing Wardah’s brand awareness in the digital age.
Keywords
Micro-Influencer, Brand Awareness, Wardah, Digital Era.
Collaboration between brands and influencers has become a widely adopted strategy by companies, particularly in the beauty industry—one example being Wardah, a brand under PT Paragon Technology and Innovation. Wardah has formed a community known as the Wardah Youth Ambassador, which serves as a platform for young female micro-influencers to support and engage in beauty-related initiatives (Syahwitri & Dianita, 2024). Instagram, as a social media platform, acts as a bridge connecting the Wardah brand with its predominantly Gen Z followers through these micro-influencers.
In today’s digital era, Instagram stands out as a platform with high engagement, especially among Gen Z and millennials. It is considered more effective due to its emphasis on visual content, which tends to be more appealing and less monotonous for younger audiences. Micro-influencers leverage Instagram to disseminate information about product promotions and Wardah events using various content formats, particularly reels.
Micro-influencers are seen as a bridge between the brand and its followers, owing to the more personal relationships they maintain with their social media audiences. To build interactions, they actively utilize features such as comments and Instagram Stories. When followers engage through comments—whether by asking questions or sharing feedback—it fosters direct interaction with the influencer.
In addition, micro-influencers often use the Q&A feature on Instagram Stories to engage with audiences through discussions about the Wardah brand or its products. The Direct Message (DM) feature also plays a crucial role in facilitating private conversations between influencers and their audiences. The personal closeness built through the content shared on Instagram helps Wardah expand its audience reach. Among Gen Z audiences in particular, the personal touch of micro-influencers has proven more effective in enhancing brand awareness.
The widespread dissemination of information by micro-influencers increases Wardah’s brand awareness and encourages audiences to make purchases. As a result, audiences’ knowledge of Wardah products improves, thereby strengthening the trust and credibility of the brand.
