In 2019, Sephora announced the #SephoraSquad, a partnership with 24 diverse influencers. The program has grown since then, and this year’s class will be made up of 70 influencers, including Iyana, a black creator with albinism; Young, a TikTok skinfluencer who wants to reduce the stigma of men in skincare; and Stephania, a Hispanic creator who represents the disabled community and creates content in Spanish and English.
Sephora’s hope is twofold. First, by partnering with influencers, the company can reach audiences that might not otherwise use their products. Second, by helping these influencers gain more followers, the association can broaden society’s understanding of beauty and help solve beauty problems for everyone.
“We think of them as a small company,” Abigail Jacobs, Sephora’s senior vice president of integrated market and brand, tells Fast Company.
Influencers can apply on Sephora’s website, asking followers to submit testimonials about why they should be a member of the team. This year’s team members were chosen from over 9,000 applicants and have a collective reach of over 5 million followers on Instagram, 14 million on TikTok and 4 million on YouTube. Team members receive a one-year paid contract (Sephora declined to disclose how much), in which they agree to support various Sephora campaigns and feature Sephora products. According to Sephora, there is no set post count and contract requirements are specific to each influencer.
Members also receive training sessions on topics like contract law, private workshops on social media platforms to explore new features or discuss best practices, and access to events like meet and greets with Jennifer Lopez to talk about her beauty products.
Last year, Sephora Squad influencers saw their following grow by 32%, and this year requests are up 40%. Over time, the show has become more discreet with its influencers, Jacob says, trusting them to know how to best reach their respective audiences, as well as appreciating that some influencers will find new and unique ways to market products.
“One of our goals is not to find the biggest influencer, but to find someone with a unique perspective,” says Jacobs. “We measure our success with diversity. We want to have a diversity of voices and make sure the team looks like our customers.”
Source: www.fastcompany.com