In the past, just a few skincare brands dominated the shelves in shops and the advertising cycles. Olay, Clinique, Estée Lauder and Nivea were, and still are household names, and there was no real competition to speak of. But as more skincare brands have emerged, those older brands are still using many of the same avenues to advertise their products.
But if you’re a smaller brand looking to nip at the heels of those big brands, you need to do something different. And with modern technology, we also have a whole host of new ways to market your skincare products, reach new audiences and achieve real success. You have unprecedented access to data on your customers by the terabyte, which gives you a real advantage when it comes to marketing strategy. But what does that look like exactly?
Social Media Strategy For Skincare Products
It’s no surprise that social media has completely revolutionised skincare marketing and the way consumers find and buy their products. So we say this plainly – if your skincare brand isn’t on social media, you’re dead in the water. It’s not an optional marketing avenue anymore, it’s an essential tool for getting your brand and products in front of the right people.
The good news is that you don’t need to worry about figuring out which social media platforms you should be active on. The skincare world and its customers have some firm favourite channels, which are:
- TikTok
- Youtube
Unsurprisingly, the more visual platforms are the most popular! TikTok in particular has become the market leader for skincare and beauty, sending industry marketing into overdrive. Beauty brands are increasingly using TikTok to connect with their consumers in an authentic way, building trust in the community. And because the TikTok algorithm gives smaller beauty brands the opportunity to go viral regardless of their following, the app has become an appealing tool for driving traffic to your brand.
Once you have your accounts set up, you will need to create content, and regularly. Social media can be used to promote your skincare products in a huge range of ways,
Content Marketing
The foundation of any marketing efforts from any skincare brand has to be content. That means creating a wide variety of content on a regular basis. Blogs on your website are a good place to start, providing information, advice and tips that your customers would genuinely benefit from. Avoid making it too salesy, as this will put off more people than it attracts. We’ve generally seen that brands who educate their customers on their daily skincare routine and provide suggestions tend to build trust and a community faster than those who don’t bother with content.
You can then use those blogs as the basis for video content, from YouTube tutorials to short TikToks, making sure you have video content in the mix is incredibly important. 73% of consumers prefer video content, and have been persuaded to buy from a brand based on their videos.
Within your website, you need product descriptions. Gone are the days when you could just put a product photo and name up and call it a day. Skincare customers are incredibly picky, and they want to know exactly what active ingredients they’re putting on their skin and what the benefits are. So your job is to provide that information for them. Talk openly about the ingredients in your products and explain what they do, why you chose them, and how they can be paired with other skincare solutions.
Influencer Content For Skincare Brands
In the beauty and skincare world, influencer marketing is incredibly powerful. This is when you team up with an influencer who already has a captive audience for their content, and you pay them to promote or review your products. Sometimes this is in the form of sending free samples, on other occasions, there is a fee involved for your product to feature in a video.
Research by teams at Harvard shows that beauty and skincare shoppers rely on influencers and reviews the most for product information. To show you just how much, they asked the question ‘where do you seek information about beauty products before you buy’, and the results were:
- Social media influencers (67%)
- Third-party reviews (59%)
- Beauty professionals (55%)
- Personal network (48%)
- Company advertisements (44%)
- Public figures or celebrities (34%)
Overall, 62% of women said they follow beauty influencers online, and 67% say they actively seek out information and opinions from social media influencers before making a purchase. On the flip side, company advertisements were one of the least trusted information sources, with only 44% of women looking for information from company ads. These figures speak pretty clearly – consumers want to hear from the public figures they like, know and trust, rather than a company telling them the benefits of their product. Which means if you can work with influencers to promote your products, you’re halfway to success already.
Don’t Forget User Generated Content
User-generated content is exactly what it says on the tin – it’s content around a brand or product that is generated by users, not the brand themselves. This is different from influencer marketing, because here you’re featuring words, photos or videos that are made by genuine users who love your products and don’t expect anything in return.
If you want an example of this, check out the Instagram page for cosmetics brand M·A·C Cosmetics. They do a fantastic job of showcasing photos and videos that their customers have posted on their own social media channels, along with a few words of their own. They will frequently feature user videos and reviews, and actively engage their community in creating content.
It can take a little while to get started with UGC, but don’t be disheartened. Encourage customers to share their experience on their social media accounts by putting little cards in their orders, offering discounts or providing free sample items. Create competitions that encourage users to post selfies or images of your products with prizes, and come up with a branded hashtag for customers to follow along with.
At Lion Spirit Media, we love all things beauty and skincare. We find it so rewarding to work with skincare brands and help them grow their business through authentic content marketing, and it’s something we would love to do more of. We also approach it in a slightly different way to most agencies, using a blend of content strategy, marketing, advertising and communications to not only spread awareness, but create raving fans who can’t stop talking about your products. For us, we want to help beauty, skincare and cosmetic companies find their ROAR. Need some support finding yours? Get in touch with the team today.
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