How beauty brands can tackle issue of TG mismatch in female influencer collaborations

Delhi: Influencer marketing is a staple strategy for beauty brands targeting female audiences. When employing this approach, they predominantly partner with female influencers specialising in lifestyle and beauty.

However, were you aware that, according to KlugKlug, an influencer-tech company, only about 12-15% of beauty influencers have a 50% female audience, as revealed by their analysis of 1.4 million female profiles on Instagram? 

This suggests that many brands using female influencer profiles are actually reaching a predominantly male audience, even when males are not their target demographic.

Arpan Soni, Founding member, and VP of Creators Management, Iplix Media, told BuzzInContent.com that while beauty brands are aware of this challenge, they still lean on collaborating with female influencers due to the perception that such collaborations better align with their brand image and resonate more effectively with their desired consumer base, even if that base includes a substantial male audience.

He added, “Beauty brands targeting female audiences often prioritise collaborating with female influencers due to the belief that they can establish a stronger rapport with their target demographic.” 

However, when considering influencers with predominantly male followings, beauty brands may exhibit caution in direct collaboration. 

Giving an example, Soni said, “For instance, if a creator boasts a sizable following of 100k but with 90% being male, brands may hesitate to engage directly with them. Instead, they might opt to utilise the creator's content (UGC) for advertising purposes, recognising that the brand image may not seamlessly align with a predominantly male audience.”

He further commented that there is a prevailing trend among micro-creators to maintain a more balanced gender distribution among their followers, often around 50% male and 50% female.

To mitigate this challenge of wrong audience targeting through female followers with a majority of male followers, brands must do detailed analysis and set expectations, said Soni. 

He explained, “Brands should conduct thorough research and analysis of potential influencers, focusing on demographics, follower characteristics, and engagement metrics. By gathering detailed statistics, brands can set clear expectations and make informed decisions about which influencers to collaborate with.”

This indicates that beauty brands are conscious of the audience composition of influencers and prioritise collaborations with creators who can effectively engage their desired consumer base.