Influencer or brand, which came first? the social media success of Huda Beauty

A majority of brands that indulge in social media marketing use influencer marketing and celebrities as faces for their brand, but what if the influencer created the brand? Today, I will be discussing the social media marketing and personal branding strategy behind the brand Huda Beauty, one of the most successful influencer-made companies.

Huda Beauty was created by Huda Kattan, a popular beauty blogger, and influencer. Kattan has had a passion for makeup since she was 12 years old and finally decided to pursue it full-time after leaving her finance job in Dubai. She trained to become a makeup artist in Los Angeles and gained celebrity clientele in the US and Dubai. To advertise her artistry, Kattan created the Huda Beauty blog and also posted makeup tutorials and close-ups on social media in hopes to continue growing her clientele. The Huda Beauty blog and social media accounts gained traction quickly and racked up an enormous fan base which drove Kattan to produce her first makeup product: quality false lashes. Kattan chose false lashes as her first product because as a consumer and makeup artist, she felt there was a missing gap in the makeup industry for good false lashes which was a concern that her followers also agreed with. In 2013, The first batch of false lashes sold out on the first day of business and grossed over 1.5 million dollars in the first year. Now, Huda Beauty is the most-followed influencer makeup brand with over 45 million followers and a net worth of over 1 billion dollars.

So how did she do it?

Kattan was already successful and had gained an audience with content creation through her blog and makeup tutorial video content. Therefore, her target market was already established before the creation of the brand and since the brand was based on the same content that fit her personal brand, the conversion of the established audience was a piece of cake. Kattan also expressed her own needs within the beauty industry and listened to what her audience felt was missing and simultaneously filled both requests through the products she created for her brand. This guaranteed that people would buy her product since her audience liked her makeup style and a need of theirs was being fulfilled. Kattan has continued this strategy throughout the years of success of her business and now 41 product line brand.

Another crucial aspect that plays into Kattan’s brand success is her close relationship with her audience and the true reflection of herself that she implements within her brand. One of the values that are reflected within the brand is the importance of inclusivity which Kattan felt her community lacked growing up in a predominantly white Baptist community in Oklahoma as an Iraqi woman. This value of inclusivity is showcased within actions and products of the brand like the wide range of foundation colors launched and continues to add to.

Kattan used her own experience, values, goals, and morals as part of the personal brand of Huda Beauty to showcase brand empathy and compassion. Also, many of the followers of Huda Beauty continue to follow the brand due to their connection and love for Huda Kattan so instilling personal parts of herself throughout her brand will make the brand more personal and worth buying from for her audience. Even though Kattan is a busy businesswoman now, she continues to run her personal accounts as an influencer and also her brand accounts. Her content still consists of makeup tutorials but now she uses and advertises her own products. Much of her social media feed is also casual vlog-styled content in which she shows what she does to run the business and personal updates of her life. Continuing to reinforce the close relationship in which she has grown with her followers is a big part of why her brand has continued to be successful and grow.

Lastly, since Kattan started out as a beauty influencer, she values the audience and the value that micro-influencer marketing brings to the table. A crucial portion of the brands' social media marketing uses micro-influencers which are smaller-scaled influencers that showcase a smaller audience but a more trusting relationship than larger scaled. Due to the increased trusting relationship that comes with micro-marketing, any products that are advertised, the conversion rate and sales are much higher within that audience. Micro-influencers help cut through the often-overstimulated marketing industry and also receive benefits from advertising larger brands like Huda Beauty. The brand receives exposure to a more niche community of the internet while the influencer receives more exposure, followers, and interactions from the established brand following. This mutually benefiting transaction works well for Huda Beauty especially since it fits perfectly into the creation and personal brand of the influencer-made company. Huda Beauty’s fan base would not be surprised by the use of influencers and already responds well the influencer interactions so it is a smart business choice for the brand.

What are your thoughts on influencers creating their own brand? Are there any brands that you currently like and follow that are influencer-made? Share in the forum tab above!

Reference: Huda Kattan’s Journey to The Top of The Beauty Industry | Influencer Matchmaker.