Netflix attributed much of its early success to their algorithm that allowed them to tap into the value of long tail content.
The most popular movies were also the most expensive, yet there was a huge amount of affordable content that didn’t get the huge promotion budgets, that most people didn’t know of.
Their clever algorithm allowed them to attract users with a few blockbusters, and then suggest content (from the long tail) that they thought the user would like. As they learned about viewing habits, the algorithm got better, and users had access to more and more content. The discovery that the algorithm provided was valuable to the user (as well as to Netflix).
Now apply this logic to influencers. We used to have celebrities who were famous for something, then we had macro influencers, who were famous for being famous (Paris Hilton led the charge back then), and now today we have an estimated 37,000 “influencers”. We also have a shift in culture, where people are seeking out content and inspiration (and influencers) that they see as more authentic and relatable – in many cases this translates to micro-influencers.
Particularly in the world of fashion which is by design “exclusive” and doesn’t represent the majority of us, micro-influencers can provide fashion inspiration that DOES fit, and is representative.
Enter Mys Tyler, a community of over 230,000 women around the world sharing outfits with each other. Similar to an Instagram post captioned #ootd, they show how things fit, how they are styled, and where items can be purchased. As part of onboarding, each woman completes a short body quiz entering information such as height, shape and size and then the app's FIT Algorithm matches them with creators who look most similar. This enhanced layer of discovery allows users to connect with the creators most relevant to them with creators' value to that user increasing with fit match.
Founder and CEO of Mys Tyler, Sarah Neill says
“We’ve created a community-driven platform that helps women discover body-relevant fashion inspiration. We match users with creators who have a similar height, shape and size – so they discover clothes they know will fit – the creator in essence is doing the job of discovery, styling and ‘trying on’ for our users, making the shopping experience more efficient and enjoyable”.
By creating a fashion experience that puts each user at the center, we can create a serving up a curated experience where the inspiration they see is body relevant and the clothes they are seeing fit, Mys Tyler has been able to uniquely do to fashion what Netflix did for entertainment and tap into the value of the micro and nano influencers. Not only helping women find clothes that will fit their body, but by allowing them to find women who are confident, stylish and fashionable with their same dimensions, women have felt included and more body confident as a result.
In the past two decades the emergence of platforms like Shopify and Etsy have made it possible for anyone to spin up an online shop, while platforms like Tik Tok, Instagram, Snap have made it possible for anyone to become a creator and find an audience. Even with apps like Hinge, Tinder & Bumble - suddenly there are more single people than you can swipe continuously at. And there are many more categories like this, where there is so much choice, so much content, that what we need now, is not quantity but quality. Consumers are looking for ways to sift through the clutter to find what is relevant to them.
Long term, we believe the key to platform success will be the algorithms powering discovery, allowing users to uncover the value in the long-tail based on their personal attributes and preferences – there is sure to be a lot of innovation in this space and we’re excited to see what comes next.