Celebrities have long been integral to the cosmetics industry, endorsing products and influencing consumers. As seen through Estée Lauder's recent partnership with Kendall Jenner, beauty brands are now aligning with those who have an already established, large social media following.
It’s a move that’s paying off. Rather than fighting for followers, cosmetic brands are teaming up with bloggers and social media celebrities to market their products to a ready-made audience. It would take a brand years to reach Jenner’s 16.5 million Instagram followers, so it makes sense for Lauder to get the reality-star-come-model to endorse the brand on her platform.
The trend is proving its worth on other platforms too, such as YouTube. For instance, in March this year, both M.A.C and Michelle Phan posted videos on their respective YouTube channels. M.A.C’s ‘Viva Glam - Behind the Scenes with Rihanna’ scored 58,000 views, while Phan’s video, ‘Matte About You’ attracted a whopping 1.2 million views in a week.
“We are seeing more brands using different social media channels such as blogs, YouTube and Instagram, and they are understanding the appeal of teaming up with social media celebrities,” lead researcher at L2 Inc. Sarah Hynes told CosmeticsDesign.com USA.
“As these figures already use and understand the platform, and have their own native following, it gives brands great insight that is authentic and would be difficult to create themselves.”
