Social media influencers have overthrown the beauty industry. Gone are the once-coveted celebrities and senior makeup artists. In are the social media stars with followings in the millions and content that spans for hours. Nonetheless, while there is an undeniable movement towards social media influencers as brand ambassadors and promoters, tension is still evident between the makeup industry’s traditions and the social media industry’s revolution (New York Times).
One brand in particular, Maybelline, has boldly thrust these two components together. Not only did Maybelline’s 2016 Fashion Week marketing campaigns capture audiences throughout social media, they also successfully encapsulated a seamless integration of influencers into a traditionally rigid and hierarchical industry. In our influencer marketing case study series, we go over Maybelline’s Instagram Fashion Week campaigns and break it down by brand goals, marketing approach, and results.
In this Instagram marketing case study, we explore how Maybelline leveraged top Instagram influencers from around the world to flood social media during New York’s Fashion Week. The campaign included high reach beauty influencers such as @ninaabdelmalak, @enjoyphoenix, and @model_roz as well as small, more niched influencers like @asahisasaki, @madelenbillman, and @shereenlovebug.
Social reach: Using 15 social media influencers from 15 different countries, Maybelline’s 2016 New York Fashion Week campaign reached over 13.9 million users from around the globe.
Engagement: The number of likes for all content generated by the 15 sponsored influencers reached nearly 3.6M. The total number of views on Instagram for videos created by the 15 influencers totaled 2.2M.
User/Influencer-Generated Content: The top Instagram influencers generated a total of 230 sponsored Instagram posts using at least one Maybelline tag or reference in the post. Within the content, #maybellineitgirls was used to tag 192 of them. Other tags seen on these Instagram posts were #MNYFW (Maybelline New York Fashion Week), @maybelline, and #maybellinemasterstudio.
Story: Maybelline’s integration of top beauty Instagram influencers during Fashion Week shows that the brand is bringing together the everyday girl and high, sophisticated fashion. Moreover, Maybelline’s adroit use of influencers to access mainstream social media audiences in a saturated and high-profile environment shows the brand’s understanding of influencer marketing to create a standout and strong social media presence.
Kisses from @maybellinemasterstudio NYC party ???#nyc Dress by @sergidevcia
A video posted by JESSICA GOICOECHEA (@goicoechea22) on
#maybellineitgirls #NEWYORK #ninaabdelmalak#ninarmy#ninzu #ad A video posted by • Nina Abdel Malak (@ninaabdelmalak) on
The success of Maybelline’s Fashion Week is an excellent example of how collaborating and partnering with social media influencers can benefit in developing brand identity and spreading brand awareness. In this campaign, influencers enabled Maybelline to market millions of engaged potential consumers. Moreover, by collaborating with the right social media influencers, Maybelline’s Fashion Week campaign gave targeted consumers timely, valuable, and relevant content.
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