Influencer brands might be common now, but that wasn’t the case half a decade ago. One of the original Instagram influencers, Marianna Hewitt launched Summer Fridays with her co-founder Lauren Ireland in 2018. As the first influencer brand at Sephora, Summer Fridays quickly became a top seller with its cult Jet Lag Mask. Funded by Prelude Growth Partners, the brand now has a full lineup of skincare and makeup products.
On this week’s Glossy Beauty Podcast episode, Hewitt joined to talk about her career and how she discovered the power of Instagram early after starting out her influencer career on YouTube. She also shared strategies for going viral on social media with collabs like her Erewhon smoothie, as well as her thoughts on the most effective social platforms and formats for driving sales. While she may have gotten in on Instagram in its photo days, she discussed why the video format is the most effective sales driver on both Instagram and TikTok.