Influencers have been under the spotlight this week in a series of vastly conflicting articles. While one reveres the effectiveness of influencers being used as part of digital strategies, others call into question their reliability on delivering return on investment. Perhaps we can learn a thing or two from both.
Earlier this week the Daily Telegraph wrote that a number of big companies have ceased working with a selection of influencers due – in part – to tactics used to artificially inflate their follower numbers. The outcome of this being that engagement on paid Instagram posts is compromised. Today, the publication has also drawn attention to a Government Health Department influencer campaign to help promote its "Girls make your move" initiative, that encourages women to exercise. The article condemns the decision to use “tax payers money” on influencers, as well as the choice of girls used. "Those hired include an influencer sponsored by booze companies, one who promoted extreme dieting and another who had to apologise in 2017 for racist tweets," the article reads.
While the Daily Telegraph pieces appear to be particularly damning towards influencers, the reams of data that illustrate the positive impact of influencer marketing, particularly on beauty sales, far outweigh the negative. Overnight, WWD shared the results of yet another report that shows influencers are beauty's most dominant voice. However, it also suggests that perhaps not all industries will benefit in the same way.
Composed by Launchmetrics, “Beauty Redefined,” looks at the leading voices in the beauty, fashion and luxury spaces. The data reveals that (owned) Media remains the most prominent voice across the fashion and luxury categories, but when it comes to beauty, influencers have come out on top.
The report defines the three major types of beauty influencers as bloggers, celebrities and makeup artists. It found that most are generally less loyal to one specific brand, mentioning up to 10 at a time, whereas fashion or luxury influencers mention on average one to three. As WWD reports: "Beauty influencer Tati Westbrook, for example, will quote 10 brands on her socials, whereas Gigi Hadid, fashion influencer, will only quote three.
"The data also shows that high-end brands have a stronger-owned media voice presence, while mass market brands have a greater influencer presence. On the influencer tier, high-end brands generate more value via mega- and macro-influencers, whereas mass brands generate more value with medium- and micro-influencers."
The full report can be viewed here.
So is there a takeaway from all this? As more content around influencers – both good and bad – is generated, a picture is being painted. Advice to brands remains that research should always be undertaken when commissioning influencers for sponsored content. Using digital tools to spot fake followings and ensuring that values align should be absolutely essential. Husskie has some great advice on this too.
We're also learning more about which categories in particular are benefiting from influencer marketing – along with how the size of a following relates to product pricing – as brands and companies delve deeper into engagement and ROI (for example, big versus small ticket items). What's becoming clearer by the day though, is that for the beauty industry, trusted influencers with varying sized followings, will and should remain a staple part of any digital campaign.
