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Five reasons why digital content is critical for beauty

Mediablaze

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September 30, 2020 | 5 min read

Taking control of your own narrative is crucial for brands, not least at a time of global upheaval

Here are five reasons why you should be embracing content creation — now…

1 - Great content gives you authority

Millennials and Gen Z beauty customers are passionate about ingredients and are savvy about what goes into the products they are using and why. If they’re buying a hyaluronic acid serum they want to know that it’s the right formulation for their skin, and when and how to use it within their existing skincare routine. They also know what results to expect.

As ingredient-led brands like The Ordinary and The INKEY List become more popular — and as more traditional brands start leaning towards this ‘ingredients first’ model — creating the right space for content on your websites and social channels allows you to communicate with your customer on your terms and demonstrate the value of your products.

The skin care brand Paula’s Choice is a good example. The landing page for each product carries a link to a piece of editorial under its ‘Expert Advice’ vertical, telling you what each key ingredient is best used for. It also includes links to clinical studies and, crucially, to simple, practical and useful advice for who should use it and how.

Brands can no longer bestow their product with a fancy anti-ageing name and expect people to use it. Today’s customers want to know what it is and why they should buy it. It is an opportunity for your brand to build trust and add value.

2 - Show your audience you’re listening

Consumers are becoming increasingly demanding of beauty brands and retailers. Both the global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement have shown customers to be outspoken and unbending in what they expect, and social media call-outs for transparency around diversity and working conditions are topics Community Managers encounter daily.

Many brands use social channels to issue statements, but the right content can pack a greater punch with both existing and potential customers. Using a platform like Instagram and its IGTV and Lives allows your audience to interact with your staff and ambassadors. It can give a glimpse behind the scenes, bringing to life where your products are designed, formulated, packaged and even distributed. The right content directly addresses your customers most pressing concerns, answers their burning questions, and can even solve their problems.

3 - Great content drives positive engagement

Engagement of any kind delivers invaluable insight. Consumer habits are normally slow to shift but that has changed; customers are thinking differently, and, ultimately, shopping differently. Putting out content – whether it’s on your own website in the form of a deep-dive into a specific ingredient, or a real-time Instagram Live – delivers the most meaningful insight into your customer. It allows you to instantly see what people are interested in, as well as what fails to resonate.

Glossier – the ultimate beauty disruptor – has built its entire business model around engagement. It famously came up with the idea of its Milky Jelly Cleanser after noticing that its social followers never included a cleanser in their ‘Top Shelfie’ posts, which sees Glossier fans share a photo of the inside of their bathroom cabinets. Glossier spotted an opportunity to create a cleanser its audience would welcome. Genius.

4 - Clever content exposes other avenues for sales

Cult US brand, Il Makiage didn’t anticipate its UK launch taking place in the middle of a pandemic but, undeterred, it pivoted and launched alongside its PowerMatch makeup quiz for its Woke Up Like This Flawless Base Foundation. The quiz takes people through a series of questions and then matches them to one of its 50-shades. The brand claims the quiz is accurate 90% of the time, but if consumers receive a mis-match, products can be returned or swapped.

Retailers and brands have traditionally found it difficult to sell foundation online due to consumers’ desire to test it on their own skin. Il Makiage’s ‘flawless’ UK launch shows that clever interactive content can greatly enhance — or even act as a substitute for — the in-store experience.

5 - Leverage your in-store ambassadors online

From on-staff makeup artists to hair stylists and skin care experts, brand ambassadors give your brand a ‘face’, make you approachable, and fuel desire for your products. But just because stores are closed or unable to operate as usual, don’t waste this precious asset…

Brands have an opportunity to use ambassadors to build buzz and generate excitement with live beauty tutorials, Q&As or even private, one-on-one virtual consultations, while content can be live and made available on demand. Customers have moved online in droves — get creative with the content you produce and continue to deliver value, wherever they are.

Talk to Mediablaze, the digital marketing specialists.

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