Social media is becoming an important channel for companies in the cosmetics industry to reach out to a wide customer base, so more brands are looking to make the most of it. An example of such a company is Julep, a cosmetics startup that is taking feedback from customers both through social media and in person, and creating products based on this feedback. It's little wonder that this successful startup raised $10.3 billion from venture capitalists in 2014.
The above example reflects how a social-media-savvy-lifestyle is creating a boom for the cosmetics industry. Gone are the days of makeup counters, survey forms and big money ad-campaigns - today it's all about selfies, likes and shares.
Here's a look at how social media is shaping the cosmetics industry.
Instagram allows customers to see a visual representation of a blogger or a celebrity using a particular brand, and this feels more genuine and compelling when compared to a million-dollar ad campaign. In fact, the popularity of Instagram has led to a new line of stores like "#" (pronounced hashtag) and Ricky's NYC that stocks only beauty items famous on Instagram. These New York-based stores are leading the way in capitalizing the power of Instagram to create a new niche for themselves in the cosmetics industry.
YouTube
YouTube has emerged to be one of the most influential sites for customers interested in beauty products. A study by Variety showed that YouTube stars are more popular among US teens than mainstream celebrities, and this is why beauty experts who have a large presence on YouTube are highly successful.
Take the example of Michelle Phan, the beauty and makeup sensation on YouT
ube. With more than one million followers, her makeup tutorials are a huge hit among her fans. She has in fact, made a living out of YouTube, as different brands are reaching out to her to showcase their products. It's a win-win situation for everyone as the brands get to reach out to a wider audience while customers get to learn more about a particular product and its usage through these videos.
Besides Phan, there are hundreds of other beauty experts who provide product reviews and tutorials on how to apply makeup. Such informative content has helped millions of customers worldwide to make the right choices to look and feel more beautiful.
Facebook is the most popular social media site that cosmetics brands use to interact with their fans. According to recent industry rankings, Dove, L'Oreal Paris and NIVEA are the most popular brands on social media, based on the number of followers. These brands have been successful because they fuel the social media lifestyle by giving tips, conducting polls and even answering the questions posted on their respective Facebook pages. How-to contents and user reviews are other popular features that have helped to build their popularity. A close look at all this content shows that brands strive to provide customers just the information they want, and in the process, they are able to fine-tune their own products to better meet their customers' expectations.
In short, social media has made makeup more interesting for everyone, and in turn, this interest has created a boom for the cosmetics industry.