Content-Formate auf Instagram im Vergleich: Eine Benchmarking-Analyse von Beauty-Influencer:innen auf Instagram

Abstract

Influencer marketing has become an integral part of companies' communication policies. The beauty & personal care industry in particular is characterized by trends, growth and strong competitive pressure. This is why more and more companies in this market are relying on influencers to pass on their advertising message through their reach and recognition. Instagram offers a variety of formats for this, such as reels, stories, feed and carousel posts, allowing products to be presented to a large number of users. While studies have already examined the commercial posts of influencers, an analysis that examines both non-commercial and commercial content of the different influencer types is missing. This bachelor thesis addresses this research gap and aims to find patterns in the use of the different content formats on Instagram for product marketing by the different influencer cateogries. The motivation for this work arose from the personal observation that more and more influencers on the platform are promoting products from the present market on Instagram. The thesis is divided into a theoretical part and an empirical analysis. At the beginning, the basics of influencer marketing, its area of application in the communication policy of companies as well as the types of influencers and their commercial activities are defined. Furthermore, the functionality and the various content formats of Instagram are explained. To conclude the theoretical part, the beauty & personal care market is defined and then the common formats for product marketing are explained. In order to achieve the aim of the thesis, a benchmarking analysis was carried out with 14 influencers and two content creators from Austria and Germany (only female influencers were included in the analysis). Stories in the period from April 2 to May 2, 2025 and feed postings including reels in the period from May 1, 2023 to May 1, 2025 were documented and subsequently analyzed. The analysis shows that reels were the most frequently used format by the selected influencers to present products. This was shown by the formats tutorials, reviews, get ready with me and unboxing or the pure application of the products. Stories were used to communicate discount codes and links to online stores and to share spontaneous and everyday content. Feed posts and carousel posts were primarily used to present products, with feed posts occurring the least frequently. However, no differences in product marketing were found between the influencer types. It was noticeable that influencers with a higher number of followers recorded more commercial content through advertising labeling in contrast to those with fewer followers. However, the variety of products was not as pronounced among mega-influencers. Macro-, mid-tier, micro- and nano-influencers showed more reviews compared to mega-influencers and used them more in their everyday lives. The study provides valuable insights for companies that want to optimize their social media strategy in the beauty industry and use influencers. It offers a well-founded insight into the formats used by influencers to present products in a more targeted way.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Gerald Petz (Supervisor)