How can you know if there’s a recession looming?
Keep an eye on lipstick sales.
In 2000, when the world economy plummeted, economists noticed something fascinating – sales of lipstick exploded! This became known as the “Lipstick Effect”. It seems that during difficult or uncertain times, people turn to small, affordable luxuries to help them feel better. Lipstick and beauty care absolutely fit the bill.
In Q1 2022, lipstick sales grew by 48% compared to the previous year. Beauty business owners and marketers, take note!
In a digital-first world, 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 day-to-day marketing strategies and benefit from the Lipstick Effect in your sales results:
1. Build a community of customers
In the past, the relationship between brands and customers was mostly a transactional one. Today? Brands that can turn their customers into a community enjoy far higher engagement rates, and that leads to increased sales.
Community is a powerful engagement tool because it plays on the natural urge of people to belong. Sephora is probably the best example of a brand community in the beauty world. Named “Beauty Insiders”, it is continually evolving to provide more emotionally satisfying offers and experiences to drive sales. As a beauty marketer, you can also engage customers on social media and in your own community forum, encourage them to share their feedback, beauty inspiration, and tips within groups or on their social pages. 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 strong communities and lasting relationships.
2. Include testimonials in your product pages
Happy customers are your best advertisement, hands down. And testimonials are one of the strongest influences on a customer’s decision-making process. Shorten your customers’ research process by giving 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. Video testimonials are particularly engaging, especially for the beauty industry. Videos of people trying out different products and recommending their favorites is a great way to promote testimonials for your beauty brand.
3. 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 or blog site where you can publish all company news and brand mentions, such as interviews, press articles, bloggers reviews, awards, and more. 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.
4. Create lots of (quality!) content
Content marketing is an essential strategy for brand awareness and promotion. Content marketing works, because it engages the target audience with relevant, informative, or otherwise helpful content that provides value to the reader. Over time, people come to associate your brand with the value your content provides. This is a really powerful way to connect with potential customers, and a content marketing 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.
- Survey customers to get feedback about your products and campaigns. You can do this via fun interactive content, like quizzes integrated as popups on your website, or via email campaigns. Use the findings to optimize your marketing strategy.
- Interview people from the 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.
5. Micro-influencers are the key to the customer’s heart
Customers relate best to real people who identify with their everyday struggles. At the same time, businesses want to leverage influencer marketing without having to spend lots of money on celebrities and famous influencers. This is why micro-influencers have become so popular; from 2019 to 2021, online searches about micro-influencers increased by 105%. With the ongoing rise of Instagram and TikTok, there are many more potential micro-influencers who might be a good match for your beauty business.
If you want to analyze the potential reach and impact of influencers on social media platforms, you can easily research all the important data using Social Blade. Choosing the right micro-influencer for your campaign has never been easier.
6. 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, such as “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.
7. Try marketing collaborations
Create a holistic approach to beauty by partnering with other brands and companies in related industries, such as spas, fashion, or entertainment brands. These partnerships will not only help build brand trust and credibility but will also open up new distribution channels. ColourPop is a beauty brand that’s well known for its successful collaborations, such as its Hello Kitty collection that sold out very quickly. Another example is a competition with White Fox Boutique fashion company, in which the winner receives a $250 gift voucher to both brands.
8. Become a “beautypreneur”
Personal branding can be a huge boon to your beauty business. It gives a face and a personal story to your brand, and helps strengthen the sense of authenticity. What’s more, it brings extra PR and another resource to 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 hesitate to spread the word about it!
- Write articles, create videos, and tell your story on Medium, LinkedIn, TikTok, or wherever your audiences spend their time.
- 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, and initiate conversations within your network around those ideas. Build a narrative that people can relate to and sympathize with.
- Generate buzz around your brand by maintaining relationships with beauty magazines and journalists who cover reviews and news on the beauty industry.
9. Content ideas to skyrocket your beauty marketing
One of the challenges for beauty marketers is continually 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 “Instagrammable” content. If you don’t have a huge budget, consider collaborating with talented amateur photographers.
- Publish before-and-after stories to show how amazing your cosmetics really are.
- 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.
- 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.
- Be 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.
In the highly competitive beauty and cosmetics market, simply owning a natural beauty brand with great products is not enough. You have to work hard to tell your unique story and to reach and engage the right audiences. Content marketing is a great way to present your brand, your products, and your unique value proposition on a range of platforms and channels. Implement some of the strategies above and let the beautiful magic begin!
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