State of the Barber Industry: Influencer Marketing Trends
This article originally appeared in my newsletter, theGuideline. Sign up and get trending barber content sent right to your inbox every Monday.
In case you missed the last 3 weeks, we are running a special mini-series to close out 2023. Each week, we share a theme related to the current State of the Barber Industry.
The themes are based on content we have shared throughout the year.
Theme 01: Clash of the Chargers
Theme 02: The 6 Figure Barber
Theme 03: The Rise of Hair Consultations
Theme 04: Barbers & Influencer Marketing Trends
Whether you like it or not, influencer marketing has transformed the barber industry. Take a look around, nearly every barber brand is partnering with influencers.
Typically called ‘brand ambassadors', companies strategically collaborate with barbers who have a significant following. Leveraging their credibility, an influencer’s recommendation helps brands expand their reach and sell more products. It has quickly become one of the most powerful approaches to help barber brands grow.
“Influencer marketing harnesses the power ofword-of-mouth — and scales it via social media. As a result, it’s become a leading marketing strategy in 2023" (HubSpot).
But you don’t need over 100k followers to be considered an influencer. We now have categories.
Nano-Influencers: 1k-9k followers or subscribers
Micro-Influencers: 10k-99k followers or subscribers
Macro-Influencers: 100k-999k followers or subscribers
Mega-Influencers: over 1 million followers or subscribers
In HubSpot’s State of Marketing Trends Report 2023, they shared:
“Interestingly enough, companies saw the most success with macro- and micro- influencers.”
This lines up with what we’ve seen in our industry. Wahl just announced the newest members of the USA Education Team featuring nano and micro-influencers. Their follower count ranges from 6k followers to 74k followers.
Andis’ Ambassador Team similarly features nano, micro and macro-influencers with a follower count ranging from 7k followers to 103k followers.
Babyliss is the only brand with an Ambassador Team featuring mega-influencers like VicBlends and ARod.
The Prime Example of Influencer Marketing
Speaking of Babyliss, influencer marketing was the strategy that brought them from the most laughable clippers to most innovative. Early on, they landed the largest macro and mega influencers in the game: Vic Blends (2.7M), Rob the Original (1.7M), Sofie Pok (497k) and Los Cut It (395k).
Led by Jay Majors, this team of ambassadors became Babyliss’ mastermind group that sparked the creation of tools we all know and use today. Eventually, they literally released a limited edition line called the ‘Influencer Collection’.
Money on the Table
There are a lot of marketing dollars going around right now. Check out these stats from HubSpot’s report:
In 2022, influencer marketing ballooned to a $16.4 billion industry
33% of Gen Zers have bought a product based on an influencer’s recommendation in the past three months
More than one in four marketers currently leverage influencer marketing, and it offers the second-highest ROI of any trend
Influencer marketing isn’t going anywhere. It will only get bigger.
So why does this matter?
We are seeing a shift in influencer marketing. Barber brands are no longer the only companies recognizing the power and influence of barbers. It’s time for barbers to look for partnerships beyond ‘barber brands’ and graduate from the mindset that says becoming a clipper company ambassador is the holy grail.
Google is not a barber brand, but they partnered with mega-influencer VicBlends and macro-influencer Vince Garcia. Lululemon is not a barber brand, but they partnered with nano-influencer Chris Eliares. Gillette is not a barber brand, but they created the Gillette Barber Council featuring mostly micro-influencers like Mark Marrero.
Google, Lululemon, Gillette. They have big budgets. You better believe these barbers are getting the bag with these partnerships.
Why partner with barbers?
Think about it, barbers are the original influencers. Your barber tells you where to eat in town. Your barber tells you where to buy your shoes. Your barber tells you what grooming products to use. Your barber connects you to resources in town.
Consider all the different types of business people who sit in your chair. You have been recommending products, services and businesses to your clients for a very long time. You do it everyday.
Have you been paid for it? Probably not, but you probably could...
Written by Matthew Mendoza
Licensed barber, educator and consultant based in California. He is passionate about helping barbers pass their barber exam, develop their business and diversify their income.
He hosts a podcast, writes a weekly newsletter for the modern barber and offers 1-on-1 consulting.
