Monday read: Bloggers and digital influencers are reshaping the fashion and beauty landscape

Here is an informative read on the power of influencers and the shift in marketing strategy of big beauty and fashion brands.

An excerpt:

In early June, Arielle Charnas of Something Navy posted about the Peter Thomas Roth Rose Stem Cell Bio-Repair Gel Mask on her Snapchat story. Then the frenzy happened: Within 24 hours after her story went live, the post was responsible for the sale of 502 masks, or $17,565 worth of product. Do the math: that’s equal to $123,000 in sales in a week, $527,000 in a month or almost $6.4 million in a year.

Nor was that a one-off. An Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils Shocking in Deep Black that Charnas snapped about in July moved 422 units in 24 hours, driving $13,500 in sales. That means she could sell $95,000 worth of mascara in a week, $405,000 in a month or $4.9 million in a year.

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L’Oréal Paris, for instance, has experienced a seismic shift in the way it’s allotting its p.r. and marketing dollars. According to a person close to the company who requested anonymity, 70 percent of the budget given to one of the p.r. firms enlisted by L’Oréal goes toward influencers, with just 30 percent relegated to traditional, editorial placement. L’Oréal Paris declined to comment.

Another beauty brand, founded in the Nineties, has reportedly discovered the only thing “moving the needle” for them is YouTube and influencers, according to a longtime beauty p.r. executive. “They don’t work with magazines or web sites anymore, only influencers,” she said, declining to name the company.