What Social Media Means for Beauty Brands




http://eurorscgsocial.com/2010/06/30/what-social-media-means-for-beauty-brands/

 








What Social Media Means for Beauty Brands

Stacy Mackler June 30th, 2010
Social media isn’t just a way for friends to stay in touch—smart PR professionals and marketers know that SoMe can be the answer to their prayers. Though beauty is the rare—and lucky—industry that may have bucked the trend of dwindling budgets (because women want to look good no matter how much the economy is suffering!), it still benefits resourceful pros to understand how employing social media in their strategies can have a great impact with a small budget.


We at Euro RSCG Worldwide PR engage in social media everyday—for our company and for our clients. We know that the Web is not just important, it’s essential to reach consumers in today’s fully connected world. We embrace the opportunity to link up with people on such a micro-level; anyone can follow any (or all) of us at ERWW PR on Twitter, either at the company level (@ERWWPR) or at the personal level; each of us at the agency is a citizen of Twitterville.

Beauty brands may have the most to gain from engaging in social media marketing in all its forms. In the real world, beauty products have long been at the center of social gatherings—BFFs help each other decide the right shade of eye shadow, mothers tell daughters which lipstick color looks best (and vice versa!), sisters help each other do their hair just so…and the list goes on. So when a beauty brand is able to tap into the strength of online bonds, it’s really hit the SoMe jackpot.




http://www.youtube.com/user/juicystar07


Girls (and women) can be intimidated by the prospect of seeking out advice and how-to tips in person. Mainstream fashion and beauty media outlets are already aware of the demand for these services; the clever marketer or PR pro will figure out a way to supply this need via social media. How-tos online in the privacy of one’s home, behind closed doors or with a trusted pal, can be just as good as that magazine page…or even better, since it has the benefit of being multidimensional (in other words, the real deal).


If you look at the places where social media stars and the championing of brands have intersected, you’ll often find beauty products to be the subject. Look at YouTube sensation Blair Fowler, known as Juicystar07: The 16-year-old shares her fashion and beauty expertise (and her shopping “hauls”) with 330,000 subscribers. Her YouTube channel has been viewed almost 18 million times, and she has appeared on “Good Morning America.” Her older sister, Elle (now 21), has another ultrapopular channel, allthatglitters21.

These girls have scored by leveraging the power of social media; but what PR and marketing professionals need to realize is that their brands have scored, as well. The number of YouTube videos of unwitting teen brand ambassadors is astounding—they plug products with on-brand messaging that could make a PR maven weep with joy. They’re using their 15 minutes of fame to advertise their favorite merch, and the marketers who tease out the special sauce of really leveraging these unpaid brand ambassadors may actually revolutionize social media marketing.

Have there been companies that have done it well already? Procter & Gamble may be the closest to really getting it right. Its site and newsletter Vocalpoint engages women not just with free samples (which are always nice!) but also with a forum for women to talk to each other in a nonthreatening, inviting community. Many of P&G’s brands are big players in the social media space. Among them are Olay, which has an active social media presence, and has been able to broaden its user base and demo in recent years; Pantene, which recently became one of the first brands to launch a community manager (the Pantene Beauty Maven); Cover Girl and Herbal Essences.

There hasn’t been one knockout win yet in the beauty arena—but it will happen. The question at this point isn’t “Why not?” The question is “When?”



http://www.glitzy-glam.com/store/