Teaching effective Instagram marketing strategies using an experiential learning project for cotton fibres and textiles

Social media and social media education has permeated fashion merchandising programmes. At the same time, social media influencers have become an essential marketing and advertising strategy for fashion brands to reach consumers. Traditional educational models, such as classroom lectures and textbooks help expose students to theoretical learning outcomes, but they can lack real-world applications, problem-solving, and self-reflection. Therefore, this paper introduces an experiential learning project that provides students real-world applications regarding social media influencer marketing as 'lived experiences'. Specifically, the project provided students with an opportunity to become an Instagram influencer by creating unique and engaging content for cotton fibres and textiles. An experiential learning model was used as the framework for this project and assisted in the creation of a student competition. Through the project's four-stage process, students demonstrated positive learning outcomes, skills, and knowledge relevant to social media, social media influencers, and fashion marketing.