Marketing strategies for beauty brands was originally published as a guest expert article on outbrain.com (400M monthly page visitors). Inspired by Alba1913 and marketing research I did for them. 🧡
Beauty consumption and the cosmetic market has grown exponentially in the past few years. The global beauty and personal care industry was estimated to be worth US$1.127 billion in 2018 and is expected to continue growing strongly. Beauty businesses and brands are facing enormous challenges, not just in ecommerce, but with the evolution of customer behavior in the digital age.
Nevertheless, the digital world has taken the beauty industry to a higher, more connected level. It’s easier than ever to communicate with customers globally through various types of content, channels and platforms. If you want to level up your beauty business, try to incorporate these strategies in your day-to-day marketing activities:
Table of Contents
Create a community to build brand advocacy
Cosmetic and beauty companies must leverage the inner desire of millennials to connect with brands, to share their brand experience with others, and to become a part of the brand they resonate with. That’s why companies today must invest in building communities of customers and fans, via social media and other online forums. As a beauty marketer, it’s critical that you find your brand voice and stick to the main focus of your brand. Inspire customers to share their feedback, beauty inspiration and tips within the groups. Share special promotions as an exclusive members-only offer, and collaborate with beauty experts to help people solve their beauty problems. Remember that your main goal is to retain customers and strengthen their connection to your brand by building lasting relationships.
Add testimonials to your product web pages
Happy customers are the best advertisement. A testimonial is one of the most powerful influences in a customer’s decision-making process. Shorten your customers’ research process by handing them all the information and valuable links related to your product. Did someone write a positive review of one of your products? Great! Add a link in the product description and watch the magic happen.
PRess the difference
Your website or online store reflects who you are as a brand, so make sure they include all the information that both your customers and the media need. Build a press page where you can publish all company news and brand mentions, such as interviews, press articles, bloggers reviews, awards, etc. This seemingly obvious step will make a huge difference in leveraging social proof of your brand value. Check out how natural beauty brands Youth To The People and Mad Hippie have presented their stories. You can also create a folder with company assets such as your logo, graphics, or beautiful photos of your products. This way, the media can easily access what they need – and what you want them to see – about your company’s story.
Unleash the potential of content marketing
Content marketing is one of the most powerful strategies when it comes to brand promotion. It’s all about distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire and engage your target audience. This strategy and mindset should be inscribed in your brand DNA. Consider these content marketing ideas:
- Create “how to ” tutorials to teach people how to set up a skincare routine or home spa treatments.
- Build a newsletter subscriber list, and use it to send out special promotions and engaging content to your existing and potential customers.
- Go live on video and broadcast your message in a real-time on social media. Video content is highly engaging and therefore an easy way to help boost organic reach for free.
- Survey customers to get feedback and assess the effectiveness of your campaigns. You can do this via fun interactive content, like quizzes, which you can integrate as popups on your website, in native ad campaigns or via social media. Use the findings to adapt your marketing strategy.
- Interview people from the natural beauty industry. Reach out to bloggers and influencers who are into beauty and cosmetics. Influencer marketing is huge in the beauty industry, and it can be a real win-win strategy for both you as a company and the influencer you’re working with.
Micro-influencers are the key to the customer’s heart
There’s a major shift occurring in the influencer industry. Customers want to interact with real people and identify with their everyday struggles. This is why micro-influencers have become so popular recently: a person who knows how to build communities based on trust, loyalty and authenticity will win the attention of customers. If you want to analyze the potential influence, numbers, and engagement on social media platforms, you can easily find out all important data using Social Blade. Choosing the right influencer for your campaign has never been easier.
Find customers through social listening
Social listening is the practice of monitoring your brand’s online presence, by searching and analyzing online conversations about your company, its products, competitors, and more. Social listening software such as Brand24 or Mention can help you do this. Choose keywords that are relevant to your brand, for instance, “YourBrandName”, “skincare routine”, “best organic cosmetics”, “vegan oil/serum” and go for it. The software will aggregate all online mentions and threads where you can easily start engaging with potential prospects.
Collaborate with hotels and spas
Create a holistic approach to beauty by partnering with other brands and companies in other, tangential industries, such as hotels, spas, and fashion companies. These partnerships will not only help build brand trust and credibility but will also open up new distribution channels. For example, Polish natural cosmetic brand Alba1913 is cooperating with one of Poland’s most famous hotels, exclusively providing the entire line of cosmetics for spa sessions at the hotel.
Build your personal brand as a “Beautypreneur”
The power of personal branding can positively leverage your business authenticity. What’s more, it brings extra PR and another resource in your marketing strategy mix. Focus on the human side of your business. Your company began with a unique story, based on your aspirations and dreams, so don’t even hesitate to spread the word about it!
- Write articles and tell your story on Medium, LinkedIn, or on your favorite social media platform.
- Share your knowledge, challenges, and plans for the future. In the long run, it will help you build a strong position as an industry authority.
- Talk openly about the company’s vision and mission; initiate conversations within your network. Over 90% of customers want brands to tell stories through their advertising.
- Maintain relationships with beauty magazines and journalists who cover reviews and news on the beauty industry and natural beauty products to generate positive publicity and hype.
Content ideas to skyrocket your beauty marketing
One of the challenges for beauty marketers is coming up with fresh, new ideas for content. Here are some ways you can use content in your beauty marketing activities:
- Publish visually appealing and “Instagramable” content. If you don’t have a huge budget, consider collaborating with talented amateur photographers.
- Publish “before and after” stories to prove the effectiveness of your cosmetics.
- Collaborate with aspiring beauty MUAs (makeup artists) – they love natural cosmetics and many share their skin care routine and tips online, so it’s a powerful way to attract new prospects.
- Analyze popular hashtags in the beauty niche using IQ Hashtags, then easily plan, manage and schedule your communication with Planoly.
- Tell your brand stories through native ad platforms, YouTube and social media storytelling platforms. Present tutorials, tips and tricks on how to apply cosmetics, product benefits and more. Share your customers’ stories and other user-generated content on your website, social media and other ad platforms – there’s no better strategy to show true love for your products!
- Offer a free giveaway and try to keep it as creative as possible. What can people do for your brand to spread the word? Perhaps a short video showing them using a product, or a before-and-after photo. The winning entries can receive a prize or voucher.
- Collaborate with an organization that supports social causes and values. 87% of consumers will choose a product when the brand supports organizations, activities and issues that they care about.
- Stay proactive and customer-centric; respond quickly and in a friendly way to customer feedback. Place your audience, their needs, and desires at the center of all your ideas and marketing initiatives.
- Engage with people through gifs, content-in-motion and, of course, with videos. Video is a powerful tool – it’s no wonder 87% of marketers are using it in their activities.
In the highly competitive beauty and cosmetics market, simply owning a natural beauty brand with great products is not enough. You’ll have to work hard to tell your unique story and to make sure the right audience is exposed to it. Content marketing is a great way to present your brand, your products and your company’s unique identity on a range of platforms and channels, so you can win your customers’ hearts and attention. Implement some of the strategies above and let the magic begin!
