Social Media and the Beauty Industry: How the Beauty Industry is Riding the Wave
Social media connects billions of people together on a daily basis. A great addition to society, users can talk to friends and family from across the world at any time they choose. But, social media is also connecting businesses and consumers together like never before.
The beauty industry is a prime example of leveraging social media to drive business.
Entrepreneurs can learn a lot from the way that beauty companies are using social media to bring in new business and build their brand.
1. Connecting Directly with Influencers
Beauty companies are not afraid to make the connections with influencers they need to drive sales. A lot of small businesses are afraid to reach out and offer a free product to an influencer. Beauty companies are more than happy to make these connections.
If a company wants to promote their Vitamin C Serum, they may choose to send a message to beauty bloggers and influencers.
And this message may be something along the lines of:
“Hi, I am a representative for X Beauty Company, and we would love to send you a free sample of our latest product. If you like our product, we would love it if you told your audience about it.”
You never want to ask for a positive review – it’s against advertising laws.
Endorsements must not be incentivized or misleading. All endorsements, even on social media, need to be truthful.
2. Offering Followers Exclusives
Beauty companies want their followers to promote their business, and this is a lot easier when there is an offer made to the follower. For example, “flash sales” and “exclusive” discounts are very popular.
The idea is simple:
- Offer followers better deals
- Ask followers to share the deal with friends
And everyone wins in the end. The company makes quick sales, consumers save money and other followers will begin following a company’s site. It’s a great way to drum up business and interest in new products.
Don’t forget to add hashtags to your offer and try to become a trending topic on social media sites.
You can also follow the footsteps of benefitcosmetics, which offered a huge makeup kit contest. The two winners of the contest won $500 worth of products. And the requirements?
- Tag 2 friends
- Like the post
- Follow the account (and another account)
It was a post that ended with 211,077 likes and brought in tens of thousands of new followers.
3. Leverage the Strengths of Different Platforms
Every platform has its own strengths and weaknesses. Instagram is a great platform for beauty because it’s image- and video-based. The platform works well for showcasing products and before-and-after results.
But, when holding an event, it’s often best to use Facebook, which allows for events to be posted and followed.
Snapchat may also be a great spot to connect with teens, but a lot of adults aren’t using the platform as much as businesses would like. Twitter is also a great option, and images and video work very well on the platform.
The beauty companies that are able to win in the social media space are everywhere. But, keep in mind that a strategy for each platform will differ, and while time consuming, this is key in attracting interest on social media platforms.