Vlogger Influence on Beauty

In the beauty industry, youtube stars are our new spokespeople.  Product developers such as myself have to be obsessed by formula quality, ensuring we only put the best-in-class on the market in order to get these girls to talk about it and share it with their hundreds of thousands of followers.

On the flip side, one bad product can be ruined if it gets in the hands of a popular vlogger and she posts about it.  It is as bad as having an obscene photo of yourself living in the social sphere.

8 weeks ago, we launched a new mascara called Lash Sensational which has been quite a success thus far.  There are already over 14,000 youtube videos on this product.  Beauty Vlogger Lilfeefifofum is the first to pull up and thankfully with a very positive review.

See below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUXzv5v1t8w

Dare to Go Nude

I just wanted to share a recent campaign that we did for Maybelline which proved to be very successful for us.  In 2014, we launched an eyeshadow palette called The Nudes.  We decided to shift our media spend strategy to be 50% digital from typically between 20-25% (I know, that's sad, we are working on it).

Dare to Go Nude is a viral campaign done using Social Supermodels, Jourdan Dunn and Devon Aoki.  It was an authentic piece where we interviewed a few girls in their hotel room about the eyeshadow palette and why they like it.  Questions were a bit vague and the girls were surprised at the end when the final question was "So would you say you are a nudist?".

The interview was genuine, the content was authentic and the reach was significant.  We hit 1.8 million hits on youtube within 2 weeks which is a milestone in the beauty industry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxHdOzOokxs

Fun Facts in the Digital Marketing Space

Just wanted to share some fun facts in the Digital Marketing space in recent weeks.

1.  99% of Game of Thrones videos on youtube are User Generated Content.

2.  Over-the-Top devices such as Apple TV and Roku will generate $31.5billion by 2018, up $8.4 billion this year.

3.  Kik has 200 million users but has fallen under the radar due to Snapchat.  60 brands have recently decided to use it for content.

4.  In the last year, 64% of social media content about Golf happened on Twitter.

5.  54% of boomers use a laptop to purchase Consumer Packaged Goods.

6.  Women are moving up in ad-tech, 41% of AOL staff is female.

7.  Only 21% of online users say that branded digital content is "usually relevant."

Snapchat ranks best for youth

Snapchat taps into a new trend for the young audience which is anonymity.  One reputation-burning post on Facebook or Twitter can follow you for years and even the young generation knows it.  However there is still something enticing about sharing a scandalous piece of gossip or a racy photo without leaving a trace.  Multiple apps have been developed since to cater to the same insight but none with such success.

71% of Snapchat users in the US are between 18-34 compared with only 40% on Facebook and Twitter.  It is still to be seen how Snapchat will catapult their revenue model but for the moment they are generating the critical mass.

Is Google+ already dead?

A recent Forbes article sites that Google has made all the right mistakes to sink the Google+ initiative.  It has had a 97% decline in engagement year over year.  An NYU marketing professor cites the following causes for failure:

• Misalignment with the Google vision of organizing the world's information.
• Google+ isn't fun like other social networks such as Facebook or Twitter.  It seems very manufacturer and hence doesn't engage the millennial with as much efficacy.
• It was a frontal attack on Facebook but offered nothing newer or better.
• Google did not identify an un-tapped consumer segment.  They took a broad-based approach similar to Search Engine but in a space that already had an incumbent player.

I never even started using Google+ until this class.  I saw no added utility in it.  I guess Forbes might be right.

I'm No Angel

Recently one of the top digital ads in terms of engagement was called #ImNoAngel by Lane Bryant.  The premise of the campaign is to celebrate full-figured women in Lane Bryant lingerie.  The girls authentically speak to the camera touting they are sexy, they have more to give and that not everyone needs to look one way to be beautiful.  The campaign is a direct attack on Victoria's Secret who has a cult following behind their supermodel Angels, all skinny "perfectly-proportioned" women.

The overall effectiveness of the campaign in its first week was 2.67% share of voice, 1.8 million hits and 25,000 social posts.

New York Daily News says that while engagement has been high, product sales have not been dramatically impacted because the fashion industry continues to promote the alternative image.  That being said, it is one small step to hopefully what becomes a longer-term movement.  It also will help maintain existing customer loyalty.

Social Superstars in Fashion/Beauty

Social Superstars such as Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner may not have the typical face for the beauty and fashion world but their numbers make them prime targets for beauty and fashion brands hoping to address the millennial.  "Social media has allowed these girls to have a voice and a platform and not just be some random anonymous model," says Teen Vogue editor Amy Astley.  "Young people today are totally open to a self-invented person who uses technology to launch their career and put their message out there."  People are fascinated by the world these girls live in and use social channels to be a part of it.

What does this mean for brands?  Having a social supermodel in your roster allows greater connection to potential consumers, increased brand loyalty, and in the short-term, instantly higher sales.  With Instagram accounts reaching up to 25 million followers, these girls can market a product with more efficiency than any TV campaign with just a simple photo.  The content appears authentic and as users are checking their Instagram accounts multiple times a day, the retention is higher.  Estee Lauder and Maybelline New York have recently signed onto this strategy and they have doubled their own number of followers on their Instagram pages.

2 Tips Marketers Can Learn from Insta-Stars

2 Tips Marketers Can Learn from Instagram Stars

1. Content must be "snackable":  the new norm is to look at bite-sized information just to get a quick glimpse into someone's story, the hottest trend or the latest breaking news.  Digital Advertisers can use this mechanism in their own campaigns, delivering small pieces of information through photo or anthems that eventually build into a larger story.

2.  Think like an advertiser but photograph like an artist:  instagram is about conveying a sense of personal expression and giving those around you a glimpse into the life you want to portray.  The content feels authentic and more impressive when the aesthetic is clear and held to a certain standard.  Online advertising can take a similar approach.  For example a travel & lifestyle magazine may want to post a series of photos from a trip to Croatia that looks like a person is experiencing this vacation but with a level of aesthetic that makes it seem desirable.

http://adage.com/article/offset/marketers-learn-instagram-stars/297680/

A key to beauty marketing

Breaking through with a beauty campaign is proving to be more difficult than ever due to the vast amount of clutter and mostly due to the fact that girls do not want to watch branded content.

One of the most successful beauty campaigns to date was done by a brand called Dermablend who used the power of transformation in a shocking context to sell their products.  Reaching 27 million hits on youtube, Zombie Boy, managed to change the game in beauty advertising regardless of the channel. It is the perfect combination of shareable content that simultaneously sells product and also brings people coming back to your site, social channels, etc.

See below as Zombie Boy puts Dermablend to the test.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mIBKifOOQQ

Beauty Vlogger Sensations

Reposting about a friend of mine who made major waves this past month in beauty social media. Up and coming vlogger deepicam posted a tutorial on her youtube channel regarding using red lipstick under your eyes to mask under-eye circles.  It is a DIY trick that can quickly and inexpensively relieve women of insecurities regarding the age or fatigue that is portrayed by uneven skin.  I have never seen a video go viral so rapidly - apparently the trick is Buzzfeed.  They picked up her vlog and re-posted and within 2 weeks she had 3 million views.  Currently she has 4.2 million views and has been featured on the Today Show, in Elle France as well as Vogue India.  She is leveraging this early success towards her ultimate goal of becoming a Beauty Personality and having her own line of cosmetics.

I found this inspiring because there are infinite numbers of beauty vloggers trying to make a space through makeup tutorials and product reviews.  Deepicam managed to carve a niche through the DIY approach which is what I think resonated with women so well and she is now transforming that into her competitive advantage.  People underestimate these young social media mavens as un-intelligent and having excess time on their hands but in reality they are just junior entrepreneurs.  I think this type of activity should be encouraged because it allows girls creativity, freedom to be themselves and exercise their talents.  And who knows, it could just become a mega-career.