"Making" a beauty blogger

What kind of appearance does a beauty blogger need? How does appearance play a role in the entire business mechanism? How should we understand the relationship between appearance and traffic? The author of the following article analyzes how to become a beauty blogger. Let's take a look.

"You think my figure would look good even in grandma's floral sheets?"

The "oxidized chrysanthemum" in the video looked a bit sloppy, but with the bed sheet draped over her, the camera turned and a bright and beautiful woman appeared. Netizens left comments such as "beautiful and beautiful" and "she looked like what I wanted when I was a child".

Recently, thanks to the "Everything Can Be Wearable" series, "Oxidized Chrysanthemum" has continuously received millions of likes on Douyin videos, thanks to her supermodel-like aura of wearing floral sheets, yoga mats, mops, etc. According to the data platforms XinDou and XinHong under Xinbang, "Oxidized Chrysanthemum" has gained more than 770,000 followers on Douyin and more than 470,000 followers on Xiaohongshu in the past 30 days.

In 2020, when "Oxidized Chrysanthemum" was just a sophomore, she signed with the MCN agency Tisu Culture because of her status as Miss World. Her agent was Xinyi, the leader of the sixth department and sixth group of Tisu Culture. But at the beginning, "Oxidized Chrysanthemum"'s data was not very good, and she had a bottleneck period of one year.

"She has a nice waistline, dyes her hair in strange colors, likes all kinds of nail plates, and looks a bit like a T-shirt..." When she first saw "Oxide Chrysanthemum", Xinyi thought she was quite special, "but she seemed too individual." Faced with this partner who would get a wolf-tail hairstyle on a whim and was extremely confident in her aesthetics, Xinyi could only use data to convince and transform her little by little.

“You can wear a small camisole and tie up your long hair, preferably natural black. Don’t be too cold and smile more…” Gradually, with the suggestions of Xinyi and fans, the “Oxidized Chrysanthemum” in front of the camera changed more and more, and more and more people praised “Oxidized Chrysanthemum” for her beauty. Later, “Oxidized Chrysanthemum” also got the nickname “Chrysanthemum President”.

In the open field, the "oxidized chrysanthemum" wearing bed sheets and smiling brightly looked like a top supermodel wearing haute couture.

Xinyi feels that “Oxidized Chrysanthemum” releases a kind of energy field related to beauty in her recent works, “with firm eyes and strength from the inside out”.

Aristotle once said, "Beauty is a more useful letter of recommendation than any letter of introduction." For bloggers, appearance is an excellent weapon to gain traffic.

With the development of the celebrity economy, countless boys and girls, like "Oxidized Chrysanthemum", are rushing to the eye of the storm of monetizing their looks, hoping to become a beauty blogger with traffic and the ability to make money.

Wuyou Media staff is live broadcasting to recruit bloggers

What kind of appearance does a beauty blogger need? How does appearance play a role in the entire business mechanism? How should we understand the relationship between appearance and traffic?

With these three questions, I recently had a chat with three MCN agencies, Chenfan, Tisu Culture, and Wuyou Media, hoping to answer: How did the appearance blogger come into being?

1. How to find a good-looking blogger? Recognition is important

What kind of appearance does one need to have to make a living as a blogger like "Oxidized Chrysanthemum"?

Xinyi’s answer was: “Don’t be too internet-savvy, have your own characteristics.”

In her opinion, the reason why "Oxide Chrysanthemum" became popular is not only because of her supermodel appearance, but also because of the confidence and desire on her face that says "I want to shine and glow." Taking the Internet beauty as an example, Xinyi believes that beauty is beautiful, but excessively following the current aesthetic trend does not show one's own uniqueness.

“It’s important for bloggers to be recognizable.”

But Xinyi also emphasized that this is just her personal standard. "Regarding what is recognisable, the standard is in the hands of each internet celebrity agent, and everyone's preferences are different."

From the goddess of otaku, the ceiling of pure desire, the hot girl who attracts men to the silly beauty, the arrogant sister, and the heroine, the changes in aesthetic trends in recent years seem to have verified one thing: it is difficult to have a unified standard for appearance. The face blogger "Eleven's Face Diary" believes that " a good-looking face is a very subjective thing.

For example, although it is called a model face, not all girls need to be like Yang Chaoyue. "What's more, under the advocacy of aesthetic diversity, "everyone can be beautiful" is setting off a growing trend.

Different styles of bloggers

But from the perspective of MCN agencies, there must be specific standards for appearance, which is related to the efficiency of monetizing appearance.

However, Fox, general manager of Chenfan's celebrity business department, said frankly: "We don't have any clear standards, and we won't ask for three-quarters and five-eyes, but you have to be able to make us take a second look."

MCN agencies do not have too many specific standards for appearance, it is more about feeling.

In the past year, plus-size girl "Su Banyue" has received multiple videos with millions of likes thanks to her confident treadmill transformation. In August this year, she was also invited to walk the runway at the Shanghai Fashion Week.

"Su Banyue" may not have a slender figure like traditional beauties, but "super beautiful and super elegant" is the most frequently seen reply under her works.

Even among the many beautiful women in Chenfan, "Su Banyue" is one of the most outstanding new bloggers.

"There are so many good-looking faces, why should I pay attention to you?"

In the view of Amy, head of the Hangzhou Content Center of Wuyou Media, “ The blogger’s appearance must have a difference that can be magnified.

The biggest feature of the appearance track is the volume.

In the beginning, bloggers only needed to have good looks, and later they needed to have a good figure and good clothes, but now they must have a distinct personality and certain specialties. In recent years, the market's requirements for bloggers' looks have been a process of continuous upgrading and gradual internalization."

Blogger "Chaney Lin Qiunan"'s tag is handsome guy + Taekwondo

Rare beauty is valuable beauty, because scarcity means differentiation and traffic. But just like "Oxidized Chrysanthemum" once fell into a bottleneck period because of its too unique personality, beauty needs to be scarce, but not too scarce. Scarcity is easy to stand out, but it also means that it is more difficult to realize.

Xinyi added: "In the past, people preferred internet beauties, but as the entire track became saturated and mainstream concepts changed, some independent women with careers began to become more popular. In addition, due to changes in the economic situation, the most natural and simple state of motherhood has become popular again this year."

"Three to five years ago, some girls pursued double eyelids, high nose bridges, and oval faces, but now they prefer a more natural state. For example, the characteristic of the pure desire style is the presence created by weak makeup, coupled with a fluffy hairstyle, a high skull, and an attractive smile. The facial features of a peaceful face are usually round and stretched. It is a typical oval face without strong aggressiveness," analyzed "Eleven's Face-Looking Diary."

Different genders like different looks. The picture shows the characteristics of looks that men like, summarized by "Eleven's Face Diary"

Different appearances will be popular at different times, because different user groups and platform atmospheres have different preferences for bloggers' appearance. Chen Muyuan from the live broadcast guild Zhongchang Media gave an example, saying that if he were to do a show live broadcast on Bilibili, he would let the anchor learn home dance instead of learning jazz like the Huya anchor.

Many MCN agencies believe that Xiaohongshu is more fashionable, Kuaishou is more down-to-earth, and Douyin can accommodate people of all looks because of its large user base.

In general, MCN agencies must always keep abreast of market trends and find the appearance that best suits current user preferences and can earn the most traffic.

2. How to package a beauty blogger?

After finding a suitable blogger with good looks, the work of the MCN agency officially begins.

Amy revealed that she would first refine the blogger's personal characteristics based on his or her real personality, create a unique character label, and then equip the content team, photography team, post-production team, and promotion team to help the blogger produce more heartwarming content and gradually increase influence. Some bloggers with a fan base will also use the method of big leading small to help new bloggers attract traffic.

"The most popular characters now are the cool heroines and contrasting personalities. For example, before Xu Jie'er had 1 million fans, she was all about looks. Later, based on her personal traits, I specifically highlighted her cool and arrogant vibe. In addition, we also asked her to imitate some boys' daily behaviors to create a sense of contrast," Amy gave an example.

The four most beautiful girl warriors selected by netizens, with girlish appearance and heart of steel

It is understood that Wuyou Media generally has a content transformation period of 1-3 months, and the internet celebrity agent will adjust the content based on the blogger's operating data and delivery data on various platforms.

"The most popular word this year is atmosphere. The blogger does not need to show facial expressions too much in the video, but must use body language to express emotions. The picture does not need to be very high-definition. But there must be scenes and BGM to set off." Amy believes that injecting a story that resonates with everyone is the key to an atmospheric video.

Xiaohongshu's atmosphere video

To some extent, a blogger is like a piece of rough stone. MCN agencies need to constantly work with bloggers based on a deep understanding, and try to amplify the blogger's appearance through personality and content adjustments as much as possible.

But appearance is not everything. Even if you magnify the charm of appearance to the extreme, you may not be able to make a living as a blogger.

"The appeal of pure beauty is limited, only 7-15 days."

Chen Muyuan took the example of a show host and said that appearance is a stepping stone that can solve the first step of traffic problem, but whether the "big brother" can be retained and made to pay depends more on whether the host can establish sufficient emotional connection with the "big brother".

"'Big Brothers' watch live broadcasts more to dispel negative emotions. The anchor's job is a bit like psychological massage. They pay for appearance more because of the novelty. The cycle of short video bloggers may be longer, but the essence remains unchanged," said Chen Muyuan.

When reviewing the popularity of "Oxidized Chrysanthemum", Xinyi mentioned that "Oxidized Chrysanthemum" has many advantages: for example, she is relaxed and will not have too much emotional fluctuations due to negative comments; for example, she is confident and has the courage to wear whatever she wants; for example, she is frank and will generously admit that she is from a small village in Guangxi... But the most fundamental reason is that "Oxidized Chrysanthemum" has become the dream of small town girls.

"A girl from an ordinary family who earns a million a year by herself becomes a role model for those girls who can't break through the class barrier and live a happy life. They also want to be such a person in their hearts."

Xinyi believes that the essence of traffic is to capture people's underlying desires, some of which are money, some are loneliness, and some are yearning. For "Oxidized Chrysanthemum", appearance is more like a carrier and amplifier of this yearning. Xinyi revealed that she will let "Oxidized Chrysanthemum" have more talk content in the future to encourage more small town girls like her.

According to new Douyin statistics, more than 78% of "Oxidized Chrysanthemum"'s Douyin fans are female

Fox believes that MCNs need to convey beauty to the extreme, but they also need to find the reasons behind beauty. This is the output point for beauty bloggers to have long-term value.

"Beauty is just a result. Beautiful waistline is the result of a long-term self-disciplined lifestyle, and exquisite appearance is the result of persistence in a good life. These relatively positive things are the key to attracting fans and brands."

For bloggers, appearance is important, but establishing an emotional connection with fans and conveying a touching understanding and values ​​will have more long-term value.

3. How to monetize your good looks?

With traffic and fans, the next step is naturally monetization.

From a business perspective, the person who ultimately pays the bill is the real judge of the value of appearance.

Yi Fei, founder of DP Mofan Luma, gave an example, saying that each brand has its own preference for appearance, some like big round eyes, some like Chinese-style phoenix eyes, and some like cool wheat-colored skin. As a service provider, DP needs to prepare anchors who meet the brand's appearance requirements as early as possible for the brand to choose.

Colored contact lens products require the host to have good looking eyes

Chen Muyuan said that whether a host can make money from live show broadcasts depends on whether they have enough label symbols to attract the "big brother", such as whether their legs are long enough, their skin is white enough, and their breasts are big enough. "The aesthetics of the 'big brother' will not change with the times."

These answers are full of second-party thinking. In Fox's view, whoever pays for the blogger's appearance determines the importance of the blogger's appearance and how to display it.

"Why do Xiaohongshu bloggers generally look more refined and high-end? Because high-end luxury brands who like refinement and high-end are more willing to pay for them."

Taking the most frequently mentioned high-end face as an example, fundamentally speaking, it does not mean that the high-end face is more high-end than the internet beauties, but that the high-end face is easier to create recognition, is more in line with the brand's tone needs, and can help the brand shape the necessary values.

"As far as I know, luxury brands and international brands are unlikely to work with cute and childish Internet beauties. They prefer beauties with their own temperament."

Fox mentioned that brands of different levels have very obvious preferences for bloggers' appearance. High-end luxury brands prefer beautiful women with style and class, domestic brands prefer sweet girls and girls next door, and international brands will adjust their choice of bloggers according to different product lines.

Both were released on the Chinese Valentine's Day. Armani wanted brightness and clarity, while Shu Uemura wanted a sense of atmosphere.

"Dior wants rich girls, Chanel wants elegant heroines, YSL wants wild cool girls, and Guanxia likes girls with their own niche preferences." Xinyi revealed that before signing a blogger, Tisu Culture will think through the blogger's entire monetization path. "For example, because of the cool girl temperament of 'Oxidized Chrysanthemum', YSL has a high reinvestment rate."

Of course, the brand's requirements are still superficial, and the users behind them can really determine the fate of the beauty blogger. Because of the rise of the "her economy" in recent years, almost all bloggers of Tisu Culture target first- and second-tier female users. "We won't do bloggers who wear black silk, because to be honest, male fans are not that valuable. What we need is bloggers who can attract female fans." Xinyi's preference for "oxidized chrysanthemum" style bloggers is essentially because powerful and non-male-flattering appearance can attract more female fans.

Because of the content preferences of female fans, bloggers will also make some adjustments in content display. Fox gave an example, "'Peng Wangzhe Shi Xiaoyang' looks very popular with men, with an angelic face and a devilish figure, but under our operation, the proportion of female fans once reached 90%. A very important reason is that the blogger's content does not convey that I am sexy, but the reasons why I look good, such as what clothes I wear and what makeup I put on."

From this perspective, there is nothing wrong with being white, thin and young. The real reason why some people don't like it is that it is too common and not liked by the majority of female fans, especially those of high-end luxury brands.
"How you look depends on whose money you want to make," Fox concluded.

4. Behind the creation of beauty bloggers, there is a carnival of beauty

If you think about it carefully, what MCN agencies are actually doing is a business of discovering and selling beauty. Unconsciously, thanks to the changes in media channels, MCN agencies and bloggers have gained the right to define and interpret beauty to a certain extent. In the past, fashion magazines and celebrities were needed to tell boys and girls what beauty is and how to become beautiful, but now they are more likely to follow bloggers on platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin to apply pure makeup and heroine makeup.
Behind the "creation" of beauty bloggers, it is more like a carnival of beauty.

On the one hand, thousands of bloggers with different styles have disrupted people’s perception of beauty, and the improvement in delivery efficiency has further promoted the development of aesthetic diversity.

In the TV era, due to the low efficiency of advertising, advertising has to rely on hard work to achieve miracles. Only when a star is liked by as many people as possible can the ratings be guaranteed and the TV station can get enough advertising revenue. At this time, the star's appearance must be popular.

But in the Internet age, even if a blogger’s appearance is niche and he can only attract one percent of the fans of a star, he can still get enough income because he can directly contact users and has his own fan base.

On the other hand, people's perception of beauty has entered an unprecedented state of confusion. Every kind of appearance can be beautiful, but what exactly is beautiful? This seems to have become a question without an answer.

The commercial nature of MCN agencies and bloggers makes them more inclined to follow data and trends. Pure desire is popular, the whole network is full of pure desire, heroines are popular, and a lot of heroines are ready to go. The appearance seems to be diverse, but it seems to have fallen into a homogenized chaos.

Fox lamented that even after 10 years, Chenfan still cannot clearly define appearance and beauty. "Maybe after defining it today, it will change immediately next season as the trend changes."
The industry is changing so fast that standards seem to be meaningless. Everything is accelerating.

How to further explore the connotation of appearance and how to find the beauty that truly belongs to oneself from the complex aesthetic preferences is the next topic that MCN agencies and appearance bloggers need to think about.

Author: Yun Feiyang 1993

Source: WeChat public account "New Ranking (ID: newrankcn)"