Selling Cosmetics: The Beauty of Content Marketing
As a beauty brand, you’re on the cutting edge of everything trendy. In fact, you’re often the one who decides what’s hot and what’s not! The last thing your gorgeous marketing should do is cling to old-school advertising while your competitors embrace what’s new and popular.
What’s new and popular — and effective — is content marketing. Blog posts, social media updates, e-books, and other formats, enable you to charm your target audience by offering them engaging, personalized content that meets their needs for the most recent beauty scoop.
Want to know more? Here are four tips on how content marketing can make your brand shine:
Use stories to captivate customers
Because cosmetics and beauty products are so personal, storytelling is an effective way to connect with your customers. Presenting well-written, inspirational stories within your content marketing pieces will shape the perceptions of your brand and can turn casual browsers into dedicated, well-informed shoppers. Content marketing also gives you platform to tell your brand’s story, creating a clear, specific brand narrative and building relationships with customers over the long haul.
Attract customers with blog posts
Consumers spend 33 percent to 44 percent of their beauty-care dollars online, generating $3.8 billion in the US last year. Even when customers are planning to buy cosmetics at a brick-and-mortar, the sales funnel starts online, with 86 percent of consumers indicating online research is a key factor in the buying decision. So why not feature blog posts on your website to provide consumers the kind of information they’re looking for when they fire up that browser window?
Blog posts are short articles (450 to 600 words) that give tips, comment on trends, and provide inspiration. To draw customers to your website and keep them coming back, you must produce blog posts that address high-interest topics and are written with a distinctive voice. The best topics are likely to come from your customers. What questions do they ask your employees?
Are people asking “how-to” questions on Twitter and Quora? Start with that. Great topics could include tutorials on, say, hair care or natural skin care; Q&As with advice and insights from top industry professionals; or roundups, such as “Best Ways to Protect Yourself from Sun Damage.” And, in the beauty industry, there’s always a “latest and greatest” to write about, whether it’s a product like CC cream or new techniques like strobing and sculpting.
Whatever you do, keep it short and sweet. Offer catchy, click-worthy headlines and brief, engaging content that readers will be eager to share on social media.
Demonstrate your expertise with e-books
If you think of blog posts as the product samples you give out when customers visit the cosmetics counter, e-books are the full-size bonuses you offer your best customers.
Six to 12 pages in length, e-books offer a way to show off your brand’s expertise, allowing you to dive into more complex topics. For example, if social responsibility is a focus for your brand, a thoroughly researched, well-written e-book on sustainable sourcing or ethical product testing would interest your audiences. If your brand does its own research for product development, an e-book is a great way to assure customers that a product really works by explaining the science behind it.
Most website visitors will gladly give you their email in exchange for downloading an e-book on an appealing topic, so you can grow your customer list even more.
Keep the conversation going with social media updates.
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can draw many followers to your website. Social media is where you hook them in, bring them on board, and inspire them to share content with friends. Once they’re on your site, you can offer benefits, such as an email newsletter or e-book sign-up – with exclusive discounts, contests, resources, free samples, surveys, notice of special events, and much more.
Social media success requires that you follow just two fundamental rules: Post updates frequently enough to keep people interested, and never forget that social media is a two-way street. In addition to posting your own updates, contribute relevant comments to existing conversations, and always (yes, always) respond to comments and questions.
If you need assistance reaching your customers with content marketing, we can help. We’ll ensure that your ideas stay fresh, varied, and relevant and that your blog and website offer a unique and dynamic experience. We can also help build and maintain your social media profile. Sign up to gain free access to our platform today — and learn how we can help you cultivate passion, trust, and loyalty in your beauty brand.
