Humans have been altering their appearance with products since the times of ancient civilizations. The beauty and cosmetics industry isn’t new, but ever-evolving. And with the rise of social media, it could be argued we’re more obsessed with our appearance than ever. The beauty industry is thriving, which makes it a perfect sphere for influencer marketing to work.
According to Business Wire, the beauty industry is estimated to grow at a 6.4% growth rate, reaching a global market valued at over $675 billion going into 2020. That means a lot of people are interested in beauty, and a lot of social media influencers are talking about it.
So how does influencer marketing impact the beauty industry, exactly? This is something I could do multiple posts on, and I might in the future. But today, we’re talking about some of the larger positives and negatives using influencers to sell products has had on the industry.
The Positives of Influencer Marketing on the Beauty Industry
(+) Consumer Driven Changes–
…like inclusivity and cruelty-free Statuses have been a huge positive on influencer marketing in the beauty space. Because more and more personalities online are talking about brands and products, more and more consumers are becoming interested.
There have been significant scientific breakthroughs in beauty with a focus on company ethics, brand stories, and ingredient sources, largely due to consumers wanting it. Kat Von D’s beauty brand suffered extensively when she came out to say she was against vaccinating her child. People stopped buying her products. On the other hand, other brands like CoverGirl noticed a huge market for cruelty-free beauty not tested on animals and changed their cruelty-free status.
I think brands who start to listen to consumer demands will surpass those that don’t, especially with the millennial and Gen Z buyers at the forefront.
(+) More Men in Beauty —
We talked about ancient Egyptians before, where men and women alike wore makeup. A 2016 report showed the male grooming industry was worth $50 billion worldwide with nothing but growth on the horizon. Major players like Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs have recently launched cosmetics lines targeted at men.
And more than widening the market for male dollars, influencers are paving the way for boys in makeup. Youtubers like James Charles and Manny Gutierrez, who have both worked with major cosmetics brands, are showing men can be the face of beauty power players. While small, the market for male cosmetics is competitive.
(+) Exposure of Bad Business Practices to the everyday consumer —
There have always been brands who operated with some shady business practices. But with the rise of social media and social influencers, they’re getting called out on it.
Sunday Riley was recently under fire for encouraging employees to write false-positive reviews on retailers’ sites to sway sales. And Huda Beauty was called out for neglecting PoC in their marketing campaigns.
The Negatives of Influencer Marketing in the Beauty Industry
(-) Distrust in product promotion —
While brands are having their bluffs called, there has also been a huge movement of distrust within the beauty community. Undisclosed sponsorships and advertisements cause consumers to distrust the people promoting the products.
Big influencers like Jaclyn Hill and Nikki Tutorials have been accused of only talking about certain brands because of their affiliation to the brands. This leads their audience to question the genuine love or use of a product.
(-) Promoting hyper-consumerism —
The beauty industry isn’t causing a consumerist mindset. However, it has definitely grown with social media.
Influencer marketing typically involves brands sending people new releases for review (or in hopes of review.) Constantly seeing new releases can cause all of us to buy, buy, buy. The FOMO is real sometimes. But this definitely can cause us to buy things we don’t need and honestly won’t use. (Me, I’m talking directly to me here.)
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