How nano-creators became beauty’s best marketing tool

In beauty content creation, size no longer matters. Engagement with beauty content has plateaued this year, according to influencer marketing platform Traackr’s ‘The Beauty Influencer Engagement Rate Benchmark’ report. The only pockets of growth have come from nano and micro-influencers. In some cases this is because their audiences are growing at a faster rate, the report acknowledges. However, it’s also because their content is less polished and deemed more authentic; something social media users are increasingly seeking out. “Smaller creators are often at the heart of new trends because they have less to lose and they’re willing to take risks and see what sticks,” said Claudia Leitch, senior influencer marketing and data consultant at Traackr. The marketing firm analysed the creator statistics of 2,518 beauty and personal care brands from January to November 2024 in the US, UK and France. It categorised influencers as VIP (five million-plus following), mega (one million), macro (250,000), mid-size (50,000), micro (10,000) and nano (1,000-plus). “Nano-influencers with lo-fi, authentic content have proven highly effective in resonating with our consumers making them an integral part of the community,” says Akash Mehta, co-founder and CEO of Ayurvedic haircare brand Fable & Mane. “Meanwhile, micro-influencers, especially those who have been loyal advocates of the brand for years, continue to deliver strong commercial results by leveraging their established trust with audiences.” Showercare brand Hello Klean has observed a similar shift. “This year, nano and micro-influencers are proving to be far more effective for driving targeted engagement and return on investment compared to larger creators,” says Hello Klean founder Karlee Ozener. “They [smaller creators] produce content that feels personal, authentic and human, which are qualities that align with our brand values.” As a result, the brand has increased its spending on micro-influencers globally by 20 per cent this year, compared with 2023. Engagement, conversion power and community will be key going into the new year, predicts UK-based PR and content creator talent agency The Tape Agency, which works with brands including Zoeva, Indeed Labs, Luna Daily and Hello Sunday. Nano and micro-creators are better placed to deliver this. “It’s their raw, word-of-mouth, recommended content that speaks louder than any other creator tier,” says The Tape Agency CEO and co-founder Mary Kate Trevaskis. Are large-scale creators losing their grip? According to the report, those influencers ranging from mid-sized up to VIP have seen a slight decline in engagement rates this year, compared with 2023. However, they still have an important role. “Mid to VIP-sized influencers may no longer hold the same singular weight as they once did due to the rise of a more diversified influencer strategy, but they remain highly impactful during critical moments such as product launches and other commercial moments,” says Mehta. “Their ability to amplify reach and reinforce credibility makes them an essential part of our ecosystem, even as we increasingly focus on community-driven partnerships.” Laney Crowell, founder of clean beauty brand Saie, echoes this, saying the brand has found success working with creators of all sizes. “The impact isn’t determined by the size of the talent but the connection that they create,” she says. The report also details overall engagement rates across beauty categories in 2024. Comparing creator content across makeup, skincare, haircare and fragrance with that from 2023, numbers are down. However, makeup was the most-engaged category in the UK (2.4 per cent, down 0.4 per cent compared with 2023) thanks to thriving content buckets like makeup tutorials and beauty hauls. Haircare, meanwhile, (at 1.8 per cent, up 0.2 per cent on last year) came out on top in the US, driven by haircare and scalpcare routines. Skincare and fragrance engagement rates declined in all markets. It’s hard to maintain engagement rates in the ever-changing social media landscape, says Isabella Palmer, senior director of advocacy and partnerships at global PR agency Seen Group. She advises brands to keep this in mind as creators navigate a tough landscape. “We’re in an era where many viewers are passive. However, this doesn’t mean that followers or viewers aren’t enjoying the content, they’re just engaging in different ways.” She says where engagement used to be so closely tied to an external showcase of engagement (likes and comments), success is now measured by saves and shares. Throwing out the rulebook There are no hard and fast rules for brands who want to continue leveraging influencers in 2025, according to Traackr. Not only does each market, tier and category differ greatly, but a brand’s own community can be just as powerful. Brands should try and find creators who are doing something new as they’ll likely get picked up by a social media platform’s algorithm and garner higher engagement, the report states. Palmer points to La Roche-Posay’s recent partnership with TikTok creator Taryn Delanie Smith, known for her light-hearted and humourous content, as an example. The collaboration poked fun at the pronunciation of the skincare brand, with user comments hinting at the positive engagement — “it’s miles away from their regular educational content, reaching a new audience and brand intrigue overall,” Palmer adds. Traackr’s report also recommends that brands review their influencer marketing KPIs. “Brands should avoid metrics that solely focus on volume or absolute numbers, as the data will often skew unfairly (and inaccurately) towards creators with larger audiences,” says Halie Soprano, Traackr’s senior professional services consultant. Instead, they should compare creators and their content based on view rate and engagement rate instead of total views; it’ll evaluate performance in proportion to their reach. “There is still, of course, a desire for awareness and conversion driven by mid-tier and macro-influencers, however, brands now have to understand that content quality does not necessarily only equate to follower count,” says Palmer. “Given micro and nano beauty creators’ growing influence, they’ve become a vital part of the creator economy and it should cement their place on big beauty brands’ gifting lists, land paid campaigns and more — even if they are still growing their following.” Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.

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