It’s 2018. Say goodbye to the good ole’ newspaper advertisements and infomercials that are almost cheesier than your Uncle’s jokes at Thanksgiving. The ever-so-changing world of marketing has shifted gears, and they are calling on the hottest celebs to act as their walking billboards. Welcome to influencer marketing.
Companies are spending their marketing dime on what we like to call influencers: powerful individuals who can guide their strong following towards actions or products they endorse. Influencer marketing acts as a secret weapon to companies that properly master it. This trend has infiltrated itself just as social media has grown too large to contain. Influencers are paid to promote a product on their personal social media accounts, serving as advertisement masked as a personal recommendation.
Speaking of influencer marketing brings us to the Lip Kit Queen herself: Kylie Jenner. Recently featured on the cover of Forbe’s “America’s Women Billionaires,” Kylie Jenner is on track to becoming the youngest-ever self-made billionaire. Similar to how her family found stardom, Kylie, and her Lip Kits bloomed from a scandal. By 2014, Kylie released a picture of her overly augmented lips, and her young followers began the “Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge.” Shortly after, Kylie created Kylie Cosmetics in February 2016 and is worth over $800 million today.
Kylie’s revenue derives from the mother ship– social media. Jenner comments, “Social media is an amazing platform, I have such easy access to my fans and my customers.” Kylie’s 111 million Instagram following is composed of the young women of Generation Z, the same target audience as her cosmetic line.
Typical for any Kardashian-Jenner, Kylie harvests her hard work to daily selfies on Instagram and Snapchat. By featuring her face caked with her own makeup line, Kylie utilizes influencer marketing selfie by selfie. Kylie’s siblings and famous friends also sport her makeup products and give her proper shout-outs, with their flower crown filters on the daily.
Generation Z customers are visual buyers, as they are fans of the products they see role models supporting on social media. Advancements in social media allow consumers to simply “swipe up” and boom! You have various Kyshadows, Kylights, and Lip Kits in your cart and you’re still scrolling for more. Leave it to Kylie Jenner to have this down to a science.
Influencer marketing is now taking over the scene. In this digital age, our phones are the source of everything. Rather than focusing on the target audience individually, influencer marketing allows the influencer to use their platform as an endorsement for a product. The power of influencer marketing is insurmountable. Kylie Jenner has not only changed the game, she’s created it.
Still interested? Click here to learn more about influencer marketing.
