Does the beauty industry need more influencers?

How is the beauty industry doing? Ups and downs, we’d say. Growth — which until recently seemed endless — now appears to be slowing down, or at least decelerating. Small brands are struggling to survive, while the larger ones are dealing with the crisis in the Chinese market, expanding into Africa and India. One thing seems certain: collaborations with content creators pay off in terms of brand vitality.

Wicked’s Make-up

A perfect example is R.e.m. Beauty, the brand founded by Ariana Grande, which — according to the influencer marketing platform Traackr — saw a peak in social media attention in October thanks to its collaboration with Universal Pictures and Wicked, the film of the moment starring Grande herself. In addition to having a very passionate fanbase, she also made a comeback with a new album and a refreshed social presence.

The Vitality of a Beauty Brand

Traackr used what can be described as a vitality score (VIT), a metric that measures reach and engagement on social platforms, heavily based on influencers and mentions. Topping this ranking is Sephora, thanks to the vast network of content creators who collaborate with the brand. Sephora received mentions from over 7,000 creators in October, far exceeding the average of 1,530. Another regular top performer is Maybelline New York, which performed particularly well in October due to its first-time sponsorship of the New York Marathon, advent calendar promotions, and the buzz around its Brave Together campaign for World Mental Health Day.

Rare Beauty and Skkn by Kim Kardashian

Rare Beauty stands out because it engaged more than 3,000 influencers in October. This is in stark contrast to another celebrity beauty brand, Skkn by Kim, which had only 102 active influencers in the same month but still managed to make it into the rankings thanks to the star power of its founder, Kim Kardashian.

The Top Ten Most Popular Beauty and Make-up Brands of October

1. Sephora (VIT Score: 305,688, Activated influencers: 7,371, Average reach per mention: 254,269)
2. R.e.m. Beauty (VIT Score: 130,988, Activated influencers: 598, Average reach per mention: 2.5 million)
3. Rare Beauty (VIT Score: 99,403, Activated influencers: 3,498, Average reach per mention: 405,635)
4. L’Oréal Paris (VIT Score: 66,445, Activated influencers: 2,603, Average reach per mention: 211,563)
5. Ulta Beauty (VIT Score: 64,035, Activated influencers: 2,926, Average reach per mention: 191,547)
6. Skkn by Kim (VIT Score: 59,922, Activated influencers: 102, Average reach per mention: 10.1 million)
7. Colourpop (VIT Score: 55,965, Activated influencers: 2,223, Average reach per mention: 133,614)
8. E.l.f. Cosmetics (VIT Score: 53,134, Activated influencers: 4,501, Average reach per mention: 94,297)
9. Maybelline New York (VIT Score: 50,146, Activated influencers: 3,012, Average reach per mention: 142,510)
10. Huda Beauty (VIT Score: 47,009, Activated influencers: 3,656, Average reach per mention: 133,930)

Beauty Needs to Diversify and Explore

This ranking offers a good overview of what works right now. In summary, it’s time to invest in diversification. A multi-pronged approach, based on partnerships and collaborations even with worlds seemingly far from beauty, offline events without giving up on content creator activation, is crucial. It’s important not to put all your eggs in one basket and to participate in events that are part of society and culture, like national days, with well-thought-out and meaningful initiatives. The vision is expanding to longer-term projects, often in collaboration with appreciated online personalities, defining the brand's heritage and reinforcing its values.