Why beauty has the highest engagement on social media

Did you know that beauty is the most engaging category on social media? New research from US analysis firm Shareablee has divulged that the beauty category across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram generates engagement 5.5 times higher than the average brand. 

In the US alone, 2017 has seen over 1.5 billion people engage with beauty brands on social media with that number only expected to rise. 

Further, the average beauty brand has 756,000 followers and sees 16,082 actions per post, compared to 623,000 followers and 15,375 actions for all other U.S. consumer categories.

Shareablee founder Tania Yuki spoke with Cosmetics Business about the reason for the monumental growth in engagement, and puts it all down to influencers:

“Brands also benefit from the prevalence of branded content and influencers in the beauty category. While beauty brands themselves have garnered 1.5 billion interactions in 2017, beauty influencers have generated almost five times as many actions, at 6.4 billion across Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

“Put another way, three out of every four “branded” content engagements in beauty have happened with an influencer.

“To see the power that influencers and branded content represent to the beauty category, one needs to look no further than Kylie Jenner. Kylie Cosmetics is by far the most popular beauty brand across all social platforms, totalling nearly 250 million actions in 2017.”

More than ever the beauty category on social media is being driven by consumers desire to emulate their favourite influencers, with Yuki adding: “This consumer is looking to be ‘fully connected’ with a brand, and that means content that does not seem like traditional advertisements.

“Branded content and influencer partnerships provide a powerful way to ensure that marketers continue to bridge the gap between being a passion brand and something less and helps drive engagement that cannot be replicated."