The Influencing Beauty report by influencer data tool Celebrity Intelligence - which surveyed 385 beauty marketing specialists – found 84 per cent consider influencers as their top choice for marketing activities, way ahead of celebrities.
An almost identical proportion (83 per cent) have influencers as their number one choice for upcoming projects.
The research points to the strong return on investment from influencer marketing. For every £1 spent on beauty influencers in 2017, brands secured an average RoI of £8.81, it found.
Other findings include:
- Instagram is proving the most successful channel for collaborations for 78 per cent of respondents, overtaking YouTube, which has historically been very popular
- 98 per cent of respondents agree the beauty industry is working more effectively with digital influencers, compared to other industries
- Influencer marketing budgets are set to increase for 70 per cent of the beauty industry
- 80 per cent say influencers are pivotal in influencing opinions and buying decisions of millennial customers
- Building brand awareness, and not sales, is the primary function that influencers and celebrities serve
- 82 per cent of beauty brands use social media engagement figures as a measure of success, surpassing traditional metrics such as column inches and website traffic
- 84 per cent of survey respondents say they have worked with digital influencers in the past 12 months.
Megan Falconer-Taylor, director of product at Celebrity Intelligence, said: "I think the report findings prove that when collaborations are well thought through, there is the potential for influencer marketing to deliver RoI that easily surpasses traditional forms of advertising."
The respondents included individuals from a mixture of in-house and agency roles, as well as consultants and media owners.
