If you want to succeed you must pay attention to the SKIMS social media strategy.

Why?

👉 In 2022, SKIMS reached $500M in sales.

👉 In 2023, they managed $750M in sales.

Today, SKIMS is valued at a cool $4 billion. Yes billion! 🤯

The brand has partnered with big names like Usher, Naomi Osaka, Amanda Anisimova, Candice Swanepoel and more.

SKIMS even partnered with other brands, like Swarovski and Fendi.

But there’s more.

In 2022, Time named SKIMS as one of Time’s 100 most influential companies to watch.

As influencer marketing managers we can learn much from SKIMS’ social media success.

Let’s see what nuggets of wisdom we can find by looking at:

🔎 SKIMS social media stats,

🔎 How SKIMS started,

🔎 How SKIMS’ influencer marketing works,

🔎 And where SKIMS could improve.

Ready? Let’s roll. 👇

I used my favourite influencer marketing platform to look at SKIMS’ social media stats. Here’s what I found:

📊 SKIMS’ Instagram audience has grown by nearly 6% over the last 6 months.

📊 They get an average of 702K Reels views on Instagram.

📊 87% of their audience are women.

And the SKIMS social media stats look just as good on TikTok.

📊 On TikTok their audience has grown by nearly 13% in only 6 months.

📊 Their top TikTok post snagged an impressive 885.38% engagement rate!

📊 18 – 24-year-olds make up the majority of SKIMS followers on TikTok.

Now, let’s put all of this together.

✅ SKIMS has 7.23M followers on social media.

✅ Their social media accounts are growing by 10% every 6 months.

✅ 40% of their audience is interested in “Clothes, Shoes, Handbags & Accessories”

It’s clear: SKIMS is nailing its social media strategy. Want to check out the SKIMS social media stats for yourself? Just hit this button. 👇

Let’s dig a bit deeper and see what we can learn from SKIMS. 

SKIMS’ journey starts with Kim Kardashian. 🤩

Before launching SKIMS, Kim, with 361M followers on Instagram, faced a common problem:

👉 Finding shapewear that matched her skin tone. 

She even dyed her shapewear with tea bags and coffee in her bathtub to get the right shade. 

This creative but impractical solution highlighted a huge market gap – the lack of inclusive shapewear options. 😅

Determined to address this, Kim teamed up with Jens and Emma Grede. 

In 2019, they launched SKIMS, a shapewear line that offers a wide range of skin tones and focuses on comfort and functionality.

What makes SKIMS stand out is its unwavering commitment to inclusivity. The brand offers products in over ten skin tones, from “sand” to “onyx,” reflecting real-world diversity. 

This dedication to inclusivity is core to SKIMS’ mission: empowering everyone to feel confident in their own skin.

But SKIMS doesn’t stop at skin tones.

 Their tagline, “Solutions for every body,” says it all. 

With sizes from XXS to 4X and adaptive lines for consumers with limited mobility, SKIMS champions diversity, inclusivity, and innovation. 

SKIMS redefined itself in a market previously dominated by a single company by putting people first. Fashion should adapt to individuals, not the other way around.

What can we learn from how the SKIMS brand started? 🤔

💡 Understanding and addressing a genuine consumer need, as Kim did. That’s how you create a loyal customer base and set your brand apart.

Now, let’s delve into the influencer marketing strategy that propelled Kim Kardashian onto the Forbes’ World Billionaires List. 👇

The SKIMS social media strategy uses 6 clever influencer marketing tactics to scale their brand quickly. Here’s what I discovered:

SKIMS excels at reactive marketing by collaborating with high-profile celebrities and influencers. 

From Nicola Coughlan from “Bridgerton” and Usher during the Super Bowl and Snoop Dogg to Lana Del Rey, SKIMS partners with trending and influential names.

The result?

👉 This strategy keeps the brand relevant and visible in social conversations.

SKIMS’ influencer program is robust and strategic. 

With over 56K creator mentions on Instagram and TikTok, the brand harnesses the power of user-generated content (UGC) and influencer partnerships.

But there’s more. SKIMS makes it easy for creators to apply directly through their website. It takes one click and you’re in!

But there’s even more. 😅

SKIMS uses UGC in their paid Meta ads, which adds authenticity to their marketing efforts. 

And on TikTok? Here, SKIMS promotes influencer content through social media whitelisting.

But the brand doesn’t just work with creators. They also team up with other brands. 👇

Beyond influencers, SKIMS collaborates with other brands to create unique experiences and expand their audience.

For example, partnerships with Swarovski and Fendi introduce SKIMS to new markets and demographics.

Such collaborations help the brand to capture new audiences and enhance the brand’s prestige. 

According to my favourite influencer marketing platform, 8% of SKIMS followers follow Fendi on Instagram, demonstrating the crossover appeal. 

But there’s another benefit to working with complementary brands: a diverse audience. 👀

SKIMS isn’t just for women anymore. 

SKIMS has expanded its consumer base by entering the $5.7 billion men’s underwear market. 

With partnerships with the NBA, WNBA, and USA Basketball, SKIMS is making inroads into men’s clothing.

Currently, men make up 32.4% of SKIMS mentions and 25% of the website traffic, proving the success of this diversification strategy.

And on the topic of diversification, let’s talk about inclusivity. 👇

Inclusivity is the cornerstone of SKIMS’ brand philosophy. 

In 2022, SKIMS was recognised as one of Time’s 100 most influential companies. The company emphasises that fashion should fit everybody. 

Their “Fits everybody” tagline proves this commitment, as they ensure that their products cater to all body types and skin tones.

Here’s an example from their recent men’s clothing range:

Now, let’s move on to the final tactic in the SKIMS social media strategy.

SKIMS understands the power of experiences. 

By hosting pop-up shops and celebratory events, such as the summer pop-up in NYC and the SKIMS Swim event in Miami, the brand creates buzz and engages with its audience in memorable ways.

But there’s another bonus.

👉 These events attract celebrities and influencers, further amplifying SKIMS’ reach and reinforcing its status as a trendsetter.

The SKIMS social media strategy is a playbook for all of us aspiring marketing managers, but is there something that the brand can do better?

I did some digging. 🔬

While SKIMS is a wildly successful brand, there’s always room for improvement:

❌ Social Responsibility & Sustainability

SKIMS could be more transparent about its impact on people, the planet, and animals.

The ethical brand rating app Good On You gives SKIMS its lowest rating, “We Avoid,” due to limited information on their practices. 

I also learned that the brand has faced scandals involving former staff alleging withheld wages, unpaid overtime, and lack of breaks.

❌ Build a Community

Kim Kardashian has a huge fanbase, so why not give back? Creating a community program would build loyalty and elevate SKIMS to the next level.

And there you have it. I took a deep dive into the SKIMS social media strategy. There’s a lot that young and old brands can learn from SKIMS. What do you think? Ready to put your influencer program into action?