How to Identify and Work With the Best Makeup Influencers

When beauty blogging first began, and YouTubers hit our small screens with their refreshingly honest reviews, it was makeup that received much of the buzz from viewers keen to perfect their winged eyeliner. And, now, makeup tutorials are still some of the most eye-catching and engaging influencer videos around, giving you instant gratification with the sweep of a lipstick or the dab of a blending sponge.

However, our data found that Cosmetics mentions fell dramatically through 2021 – which may sound like a negative, but actually presents an opportunity for makeup brands to stand out in the media. One of the most effective ways of doing this is through successful influencer partnerships. The key, quite simply, is forging a collaboration that feels authentic to your audience.

Here, we reveal five steps to identifying the right makeup influencer for your brand with fact-based decision-making to drive performance…

Step 1: Define What You Want to Achieve

It’s important to have clear objectives for your influencer campaign – especially if you have certain goal figures in mind, such as a target engagement rate or audience size. With these objectives, you can start to form an idea of the talent that may produce the results you’re hoping for. However, it’s important to remember that a large following doesn’t always mean high engagement figures. In fact, many micro influencers have a more engaged audience than macro influencers, so you may want to explore a group of talent that you have previously overlooked.

Step 2: Work On Your Brand Messaging

 What is the key messaging for your makeup launch? It might be that you’re promoting an eco-friendly lipstick range, or debuting a vibrant eyeshadow palette that calls for creativity from an influencer. Your choice of talent should reflect what makes your new makeup product unique, and their rave review should sit comfortably amongst the rest of their content, so it feels like a natural fit. Consumers are looking for brands and influencers they can trust, so authenticity is crucial – not just for your brand, but for your chosen partner too.

Step 3: Identify Influencers With a Tool

Now you know what your objectives and messaging are, you can channel these details into the identification process using an influencer tool. The right service, such as influencerCONNECT, will enable you to search for Cosmetics influencers with ease, using granular categorisation that filters by interests, platform, audience size, engagement rates, and more. Soon, you’ll have a shortlist of influencers who fit your specific campaign needs, with data to help you validate your choices to your wider PR and marketing team.

You may also choose to identify influencers that are outside of the beauty industry to reach a different audience. For example, a parenting influencer to promote a quick, tool-free routine that helps them get ready faster in the morning. InfluencerCONNECT features a broad range of influencers in an array of sectors, including sport, music, lifestyle, and much more.

Step 4: Approach Your Chosen Influencer

 Once you’ve chosen the influencer(s) you would like to work with, it’s time to approach them. The aim here is to demonstrate why your brand is a good fit for them, because the partnership needs to be mutually beneficial. In your initial communication, you should explain:

• The story of your brand and the product you’re promoting.
• What makes the product special, and why you think they’d like it.
• Why you reached out to them and what you love about their content.
• All expected campaign deliverables, so they can quote accurately.
• Expected deadlines and timelines to ensure this won’t clash with their other campaigns.
• Any relevant legal small print to avoid later miscommunication.

Step 5: Track the Performance Of Your Campaign

Before your campaign goes live, ensure you have the right tools in place to analyse and measure performance, so you can understand whether it has reached your initial objectives. You may even want to turn this short-term collaboration into a long-term partnership, which will further drive authenticity for future campaigns.

Up next: Discover the top 20 sustainable beauty influencers from 2021.