The beauty industry relies on influencers to shape consumer preferences and purchasing decisions. Consumers look to influencers to discover new products, and brands lean on them to build brand awareness and generate sales. Marketing strategies may shift as new platforms emerge and others fade, but influencer marketing is an essential component of any digital marketing approach.According to a new report from Hubspot, influencer marketing is expected to be worth over $24 billion by the end of 2024. The sector has seen impressive growth over the last few years, jumping from an estimated $16.4 billion in 2022 to $21.1 billion in 2023. Hubspot surveyed approximately 3,000 people to gain insights into the current state of the influencer marketing industry, over 20% of whom come from the fashion and beauty sector. Here’s what the study found:Key Findings:85% believe influencer marketing is effective.75% admit to having increased the amount that they produce and share. 60% intend to increase their influencer marketing budget over 2024.Respondents strongly prefer working with small (44% nano and 26% micro) influencers over bigger influencers (17%) and celebrities (13%).TikTok is by far the most popular influencer marketing channel (69%), followed by Instagram (47%), YouTube (33%), and Facebook (28%).The main goal of influencer campaigns is creating user-generated content (56%). Generating sales is a distant second at 23%.Influencer Partnerships:Brands value working with influencers they know. 63% work with the same influencers across different campaigns.More than 60% have used virtual influencers.