Influencers foster new culture for beauty brands

Social media influencers are having a significant impact on the beauty products category, promoting authenticity, diversity, and body positivity, according to a study by advertising firm Ogilvy. The study analysed content on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp and found that influencers are changing brand stories by discussing real-life problems and solutions. The study also showed that beauty brands are becoming more inclusive by offering a wider range of products for different skin tones and hair textures. The beauty and personal care sector in India is predicted to reach $30bn by 2027.

Prem Narayan, chief strategy officer at advertising firm Ogilvy, believes that social media influencers or digital content creators, seen as catalysts of social and cultural change, may be impacting some product categories more than the others. His theory was backed by a recent study that his ad agency did in collaboration with Meta analyzing content on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp which indicated that social platforms are the front door of culture especially for the beauty products category.

Influencers foster new culture for beauty brands

Content of over 100 influencers was examined to determine how social media was changing brand stories. “Though it didn’t start as a beauty study, we chose it as it is a big content bucket on Instagram,” Narayan said. It also made sense since Ogilvy handles beauty and cosmetics brand Lakme apart from Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s personal care brands like Dove, Vaseline and Sunsilk.

On social media platforms, beauty has moved from being airbrushed to authentic as compared to, say, in television commercials, Narayan noted. “It’s about cherishing imperfections and influencers blowing away beauty insecurities,” he said.

They discuss real-life problems and solutions, and beauty brands are part of those conversations. “Beauty has been liberated from the world of miracles. When creators (or celebrities) open up about their own struggles in overcoming a beauty problem, it becomes a ‘shared vulnerability’. That’s what makes people trust digital influencers as they talk of their own frailties,” he said.

Social media platforms are also promoting diversity and body positivity in the beauty category, believes Aditi Mathur Kumar, creative business lead (north & east) at digital agency Interactive Avenues. Her agency manages several Emami brands in addition to skincare and cosmetics brands Nature’s Essence and Blue Heaven. “Influencers with different body types are getting brand deals. It gives brands a chance to promote a more inclusive vision of beauty,” she said.

However, diversity also means varying skin tones and hair textures, Kumar said. “I follow #browngirlmakeup and it is so cool to see brands bringing out not three but 37shades of foundation because that’s the range of the Indian brown-skinned girl. We owe a lot of these changes to social media because people have access to it and because more people are unafraid to come out without filters,” she said.

She cites Indie brand FAE beauty that not only celebrates varying skin tones but also promotes gender fluid makeup. Cosmetics brands launching more products based on the kind of response the content creators get is a growing trend, she added.

Pure-play beauty and personal care is a burgeoning category in India projected to touch $30 billion by 2027, according to a report by Redseer Strategy Consultants and Peak XV (formerly Sequoia Capital India).

While the newer, online-first beauty brands and their influencers may be leading the cultural shift in conversations around beauty, the legacy brands may have some catching up to do. Ogilvy’s Narayan said the traditional beauty giants are savvy marketers. “The intent of the exploratory study is to highlight some of the cultural changes that social media is bringing to brands,” he said, adding that legacy companies have already raised their digital media budgets.

“India is a young country and these brands also want to onboard young consumers who spend hours on social media. So, while there’s classical form of brand building through print and TV, the evolution of this graph (digital) may be much faster,” he said.

Kumar pointed out that globally, luxury beauty giant Estee Lauder is already spending 75% of its digital marketing budget on collaboration with social influencers. “Closer home, too, many of them have been working successfully with influencers. Some giants may be missing out on real people messaging, but they will get there,” she said.

However, both brands and users must be wary of the perils of social media.

Setting unrealistic beauty standards may be detrimental especially for the younger users. “Influencer content should not lead to a feeling of inadequacy or low self-esteem. Besides, even though there are clear rules, creators often do not distinguish between a review and an ad which is misleading.” Kumar said.

However, what’s changed for the better is that beautification has come out of salons and is an every day ritual now. “It’s not by appointment. The world doesn’t decide when I will look beautiful. It could be for the office or for the gym,” Narayan said.