Influencer Session with Babette Crowder

Socially Powerful interviewed pro-age beauty influencer Babette Crowder (@babettecrowder) who empowers mid-life women through self-love and the Silver Sisters movement. Babette’s journey began in the beauty industry at the age of 25 and later transitioned to social media after being retired due to COVID. Her main platform is Instagram, where she shares posts, Reels, and Carousels, with no-makeup posts receiving strong engagement. Babette values authenticity in influencer marketing and only collaborates with brands she genuinely supports. She advocates for more genuine marketing and hopes to inspire the pro-age movement by encouraging companies to acknowledge that older generations have significant purchasing power. Babette’s goal is to become the face of a brand and drive inclusive change in marketing.

Babette Crowder @babettecrowder

We caught up with pro-age beauty and skincare influencer, @babettecrowder, to talk all things self-love, social media and the Silver Sisters movement. Read on to discover how this beauty activist is using her platform and expertise to empower mid-life women one day at a time.

We love your passion for uplifting women! Is there any advice you wish you were given when you were younger to help you better realise your beauty and your worth? 

This is tough. I wish my Mother had been more supportive. I was overweight and she wasn’t kind…”no one will love you if you’re fat” etc. But I had a dear Grandmother who helped me realise my weight wasn’t my worth. That has stayed with me ever since.

When I lost weight and people started treating me differently, I always remembered that I was the same person, heavy or not; this is why I feel strongly about accepting people for who they are.

Tell us about your background and how you started to build your following. 

After leaving graduate school, I entered the beauty industry at 25.  I was forcibly retired at 56 due to covid, so, with time on my hands, I started my main IG account.  I started off in the Silver Sisters community, and slowly started to grow.

I’m not sure how I have so many followers because I have so many bots who follow…and they are like bad boyfriends…they never really go away; you delete them and more come back. Having said that, my growth is continuing as I’ve reached out beyond the Silver Sisters group into areas I’m interested in.

Which platforms do you predominantly use? Which is your favourite for posting and which is your favourite for community engagement?  

I only use Instagram.

What type of content do you create (video/static etc), and which type works best for your audience?  

Reels, Posts and Carousels. Posts, especially when I have no makeup on, do really well.  I haven’t figured out why yet.

In your own words and experience, how would you define “influencer marketing”? 

I would define influencer marketing as promoting a product you really can stand behind. I know this isn’t the case, but for me, this strategy has worked very well.

Why do you think influencer marketing is so powerful today? 

I think people want to discover new things and hear recommendations from people they trust. I also think sadly that it preys upon women’s insecurities and in turn causes spending/consumption to continue. It’s a vicious cycle.

Have you worked with brands before? How do you decide which brands to work with?

Yes,  I only work with brands that I truly believe in; I’m a bad liar. If I don’t believe in it, I won’t promote it, even though I’m losing money.

How do you think influencer marketing will change over the next 12 months?

I would hope to see more genuine marketing. This is one of the reasons I don’t do TikTok. I’m older, so I’m past the fad thing, but I think sincerity is the best way to drive sales.

How has influencer marketing changed since you began working within social media?

I think there has been a shift to inclusiveness, different voices, ages, etc. Engagement has become way too important, as I think that number can be artificial.

Do you use any software to help create and edit your content?  

I use Temply mainly, but I’m an awful video editor. Editing reels in IG works for me too.

How do you balance your online and offline lives? 

I’m retired, as is my partner, and, believe it or not, it’s sometimes hard to strike a balance. I’ve been able to carve out specific working times for me, but I always put our relationship first.

Which influencers inspire you? 

I’m inspired by the people I’ve made connections with; women in my niche who have small followings but are genuine and use IG to network and share.

Where would you like to take your career as an influencer?  

I would love to be the face of a brand…lofty goal I know. I would also like to be a stronger influence in the pro-age, silver hair movement. Companies need to be aware that our age group has plenty of money to spend and we are not all youth-obsessed…how fabulous it would be to be able to influence the ways companies think about their marketing.