The impact of COVID-19 on beauty influencers and resulting content trends.

1. Beauty Influencers
& Content Trends
During COVID-19
Analysis by category Q1 2020 vs Q1 2019
Markets: US, UK, France

2. 2
Methodology
•This report was compiled using Traackr, an influencer
marketing platform, based on the content produced by a
panel of 33,389 beauty influencers with audiences in the
U.S., UK and France.
•For the purposes of this report, influencers were selected
because they produce content featuring beauty brands.
•This report draws on content produced between January
2019 - March 2020 across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube
and Twitter.

3. 3
Insights Summary
•Covid-19 is top of mind for beauty influencers, as are topics related to
our “new normal”. March has also been a huge month for TikTok
experimentation.
•Beauty mentions decreased in March 2020, in part due to Covid-19, but
mentions had been trending downward in January and February as
well, prior to the virus becoming a global concern
•Engagement rates on beauty content have also decreased but at a
slightly lower rate than mentions, indicating that it’s not just that beauty
mentions have slowed, but also that Covid-19 has changed audiences’
engagement habits
•Despite the decline in mentions and engagement rates, the types of
beauty content that drive high engagement rates hasn't changed
much during the pandemic indicating that audiences are still interested
in beauty content that provides entertainment, education and inspiration.
•It’s an important time for brands to optimize the work they do with
influencers to align with the influencer and audiences' needs and
interests during this time

4. 4
COVID-19 Quarantine & Stay Home
20223
16558
1534
3378
1298
2074
January February March
COVID-19 &
Quarantine
Preoccupies
Beauty
Influencers
As the pandemic became a global
crisis, influencers quickly began
posting about the virus and
quarantine. More than 20,000 beauty
influencers were posting the
pandemic in March.
*Measuring general COVID-19, quarantine and stay home terms across US, UK, FR beauty panels in 2020: IG, YT, TW, FB

5. 5
Beauty influencers are
actively talking about
their “New Normal”
Posts discussing cooking, fundraising (supporting causes) and
working from home have exploded.
Posts per Week by Theme
0
3500
7000
10500
14000
2020-02-24 2020-03-02 2020-03-09 2020-03-16 2020-03-23 2020-03-30
Working Out Children WFH Fundraising Cooking
*Measuring general “new normal” terms across US, UK, FR beauty panels in 2020: IG, YT, TW, FB

6. 6
Beauty-related mentions declined in Q1 2020 and most
significantly in March, when the pandemic became global
*Measuring general beauty mentions across US, UK, FR beauty panels in 2020 vs. 2019: IG, YT, TW, FB
The first three months of 2020 show a decline in beauty-related mentions, with March seeing the highest decrease
YoY. In part, the decrease can be attributed to the shift in conversations and activity surrounding Covid-19 but the
decrease for the full quarter indicates that influencers had already starting posting less about beauty content than
the year before.
Total
Makeup
Skin
Hair
Fragrance 9,102
44,774
43,213
94,701
172,390
January 2020
-13%
-13%
-10%
-19%
-1%
Total
Makeup
Skin
Hair
Fragrance 10,561
44,858
42,237
89,889
168,203
February 2020
-9%
-12%
-0%
-13%
+2%
Total
Makeup
Skin
Hair
Fragrance 9,185
39,733
42,406
81,402
153,679
March 2020
-23%
-26%
-9%
-28%
-20%

7. 7
Engagement rates also decreased but at lower rates than mentions
*Measuring general beauty mentions across US, UK, FR beauty panels in 2020 vs. 2019
Total
Makeup
Skin
Hair
Fragrance 2.17%
2.74%
2.75%
3.43%
2.89%
January 2020
-11%
-9%
+4%
-12%
-7%
Total
Makeup
Skin
Hair
Fragrance 2.39%
2.59%
2.59%
3.28%
2.77%
February 2020
-15%
-11%
-8%
-19%
-2%
Total
Makeup
Skin
Hair
Fragrance 2.16%
2.54%
2.47%
3.34%
2.75%
March 2020
-17%
-14%
-12%
-22%
-2%
The average engagement rate on beauty content decreased as well, indicating that not only are audiences not seeing as
much influencer beauty content but also that they aren’t engaging as much with the content that they see. Audiences are
understandably preoccupied and are likely seeing more Covid-19 related content at the tops of their feeds.
This has impacted the hair category the most as they saw the biggest YoY decrease in mentions and engagement rates.

8. 8
TikTok is having a
moment.
There has been a 99% increase in mentions of TikTok by beauty
influencers on the other major social platforms since January.
Instagram Live is also seeing an increase in mentions, albeit much
lower volume overall.
Posts per Week Mentioning TikTok & Instagram Live
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
2019-12-30 2020-01-06 2020-01-13 2020-01-20 2020-01-27 2020-02-03 2020-02-10 2020-02-17 2020-02-24 2020-03-02 2020-03-09 2020-03-16 2020-03-23 2020-03-30
Instagram Live TikTok Mentions
*Measuring general “new normal” terms across US, UK, FR beauty panels in 2020: IG, YT, TW, FB

9. Changes in Content

10. 10
What’s Changed: Top Makeup Content
2019
by engagement rate
Topics: Bright looks, bold
colors, St. Patrick’s Day
2020
by engagement rate
Influencers are still sharing
makeup routines and doing
tutorials but in March 2020,
we're seeing more mentions
related to TikTok makeup
trends, using content to spark
joy/give us a sense of
normalcy and content focused
on the makeup collections
they already own.
Topics: TikTok tutorials, content
to spark joy, decluttering
content and giveaways

11. 11
What’s Changed: Top Skin Content
2019
by engagement rate
2020
by engagement rate
Topics: Routines, giveaways,
educational content around
skin problems
Skincare topics seems to have
changed the least in March
2020 with influencers still
creating content around best
practices for taking care of
your skin. Some brands like
Farmacy are continuing to
host giveaways. Similar to
makeup, there are more
mentions related to products
they've seen on TikTok.
Topics: Routines, giveaways,
educational content around
skin problems (+TikTok)

12. 12
What’s Changed: Top Hair Content
Trends: DIY styling, hair care routines,,
flashbacks/looking forward to being
back in the salon
Trends: Professional content, hair
color, polished product shots
2019
by engagement rate
2020
by engagement rate
Hair content has changed the
most as the top content in
2019 was dominated by
professional hair color looks.
Since most people can’t get
to the salon, conversations
have shifted to hair care and
styling you can do at home.

13. 13
What’s Changed: Top Fragrance Content
Tremds: Favorites, organic
reviews and collections
Trends: Favorites, sponsored
giveaways
2019
by engagement rate
2020
by engagement rate
Most recent fragrance content
has been in the form of
organic mentions, with
influencers highlighting
favorite scents. Brands like
Diptyque are continuing to
send mailers and getting
mentions from reviews.

14. Recommendations
Maintaining Influencer Programs During COVID-19

15. 15
Maintain & Nurture
Relationships
Focus on relationships and content creation.
•Check in to make sure your partners are safe
and doing ok.
•Ask your influencers what types of content
they are thinking of creating.
•Brainstorm ways that you can contribute to
their work.
•Monitor for organic advocates and engage as
often as possible.

16. 16
Research Creative
Content Ideas
Spend time reviewing influencer content in
Traackr reports.
•What kinds of content are your influencers
creating?
•What are your competitors doing?
•What is getting the highest engagement
rates?
•How are audiences reacting?

17. 17
Think Give, Give, Give
(not Give, Give, Get)
This is a time to help your community. Consider
partnering with your influencers to help your
audience navigate their “new normal”. Some
brands are:
•Hiring influencers to provide virtual classes
•Organizing online one on ones between brand
leadership and influencers
•Partnering with influencers to amplify
fundraisers and other giveback initiatives.

18. Thank you!