Love it or loathe it, #influencers are a lucrative business right now. The industry is (possibly over) saturated with celebrity endorsements and up-and-coming Insta-bloggers, and everyone want’s a slice of that money pie. I was even on holiday with my mum recently and she got approached twice in the same day as to where her bucket hat was from, leaving her elated with her new self-proclaimed influencer status!
Being seen as an ‘influencer’ myself, I have started to notice a shift in the industry – especially when it comes to beauty and skincare. When I started, I had little knowledge, just an overriding passion and belief that I was going to make a success out of my reviews. I suppose it’s what they call entrepreneurial blindness, and thank god it worked out because I was useless at all my other occupational attempts!
Fast forward three years and I believe you need much more than an aesthetic Instagram feed to become a success and get noticed by brands. Followers are showing an increasing desire to be informed – not just influenced. They are super smart and savvy, especially when it comes to skincare and the age old “OMG I am soooo obsessed with this new product” just doesn’t cut it, at least not for my audience.
As I became more aware of this, I realised that is really what my followers want from me – they want to be informed enough to make their own buying decisions, they want science, facts, along with a dusting of my opinion. In light of this demand I started ‘Bambi Does Beauty Guide To…’ a story series honing in on skincare ingredients and concerns. My recent guide to Vitamin C was probably my most engaged content ever, racking up more views and DMs then any pouty golden hour shot ever could. I never saw myself as an authoritative kind of person, I hate to be preachy and also hate telling people what to do, so leaping into this kind of content was definitely out of my comfort zone. The response from these series’ is all the confirmation I need to continue – and it really has got me thinking about where the #influencer industry is heading.
Of course there is always going to be a market for celebrity endorsements, all I have to do think back to 1999 when I was so desperate to look like the Olsen twins I got my hair chopped into the signature bob only to leave the hairdressers deflated after realising the bob would not equate to me actually BECOMING them. What I do see however, is a new tier of ‘influencer’ who provide their audience with facts, information science and stats – so they can make a considered decision with their wallets, and here are some of my favourites…
@ReallyRee
The first port of call for new beauty launches, she has her finger on the pulse of what’s coming before you’d even imagined it.
@CarolineHirons
She’s just bagged herself a coveted skincare segment on the This Morning, sharing her zero BS approach to the science behind skincare that wades through all that marketing fluff.
@SaliHughes
One of the most respected voices in beauty. I was once on a consultation panel with her and was actually bamboozled by her knowledge of the beauty industry. She has just launched her own podcast in collaboration with Avon, and I eagerly await every episode.
@EmShelx
I recently met this ultra business savvy woman on a press trip. Don’t be fooled by her heavily filtered Insta feed – her blog posts provide a plethora of information and recommendations, particularly when it comes to travel, she’s my new go-to.
