In 2021 having a website and social networks to promote your beauty brand is not enough.
To stand out in the fierce beauty industry, you need to build an authentic and customer-centric digital presence.
Here are four essential digital marketing trends every beauty brand should know.
1. Using Extended Reality to Bridge the Offline-Online Gap
One of the most common problems e-commerce beauty brands face is the lack of in-person user experiences. Customers cannot see and try on their products before making purchasing decisions.
Savvy brands are bridging the gap between online and offline shopping with virtual reality and artificial intelligence. The goal is to deliver highly personalized and engaging content while giving customers a better sense of what their products look like.
The implementation of VR technologies delivers convenient shopping experiences and caters to tech-savvy mobile searchers. A customer takes a selfie, uploads it via your brand’s website/app, and virtually try on different items from the comfort of their homes.
Many beauty industry giants, including L’Oréal, Sephora, NYX Cosmetics, and Mac Cosmetics are taking advantage of virtual reality tools. That way, they build trust with their target audiences, improve browsing experiences, and shorten the sales cycle.
2. Injecting Personalization into Marketing Campaigns
Uniform brand messaging does not resonate with modern customers. They expect brands to provide highly personalized and relevant user experiences at every touchpoint.
Statistics back me up on that. According to a 2018 survey, 80% of respondents were more likely to buy from brands offering targeted experiences.
Beauty brands are striving to individualize user experiences in multiple ways.
For example, many beauty brands add quizzes to their websites and offer free digital consultations. Whether a customer wants to reduce stretch marks or find the best hair color for themselves, serve them with personalized content.
For example, Curology asks customers to upload a photo of their skin using their app. The app uses machine learning and human expertise to diagnose the skin and provide perfect skincare solutions. To encourage customer loyalty, they let consumers tweak their subscription plans and chat with their dermatologists.
Bite Beauty has taken personalization to a whole new level, allowing consumers to create their own lipstick. They can choose the shade, finish, and fragrance that meets their needs.
Some brands are investing in AI-driven beauty tech to deliver highly individualized shopping experiences. For example, Neutrogena has created MaskiD, a personalized 3D-printed face mask that adapts to each customer’s face shape. Customers use it along with Neutrogena Skin360, an AI-driven app that analyzes skin pixels and delivers a unique treatment formula to each user.
3. Influencer Marketing Is your Key to Success
With the rise of social media users, influencer marketing has become one of the most powerful brand promotion tools. Its adoption in the beauty industry is growing at an astonishing pace.
From fashion bloggers to the best makeup artist, beauty brands can connect with various fashion & beauty influencers to increase their reach and attract new customers.
Huda Beauty’s influencer collaborations back me up on that. Their Instagram feed is populated with social media influencers, who have a massive following on their own. In fact, influencer collaborations represent the largest share of voice for this beauty brand. That way, they build trust with their target customers, maximize brand reach and recall, and boost sales.
4. Diversity and Equity as the Core Value
Diversity and inclusion play a fundamental role in marketing. According to Adobe, 61% of Americans find diversity in advertising important. The same study found that 38% of customers are more likely to trust brands that show diversity in their ads. This percentage is significantly higher among specific customer groups, including Latin+ (85%), Black (79%), Asian/Pacific Islander (79%), LGBTQ (85%), and Millennial (77%) customers.
Beauty companies focus on increasing diversity and equity in their branding and marketing campaigns. According to recent research, color options in cosmetics have grown seven times the rate of product lines in recent history.
Fenty is a perfect example of a diverse brand. In 2017, Rihanna shook up the beauty industry when announced that her brand would offer 40 different foundation shades for all skin tones. Rihanna customers can even take a face shade finder quiz to find the perfect match for themselves. The models on the popular brand’s website and social channels reflect diverse backgrounds. That way, Fenty builds trust with its target customers and creates products and content that truly resonate with them.
Over to You
Over the past few years, digital marketing has become customer-oriented. Beauty brands focus on building and nurturing strong relationships with consumers by providing personalized, relevant, and engaging user experiences. Instead of building uniform campaigns, they celebrate customer individuality and encourage diversity.
How do you use digital marketing to promote your beauty brand?
Eve Anderson is a marketing specialist turned blogger. Interested in sports and exciting travel destinations. Love to share content that can inform people.
