Blogging – Practice it!

Being able to give your company a voice is highly important. It’s important to make that voice into a person who you envision being the demographic for your company. 

Here is an example of what I imagine the beauty industry’s voice is:

Beauty Industry: “Hi ladies! I hope you area all enjoying your week! I enjoy hanging out with my friends, getting dolled up at night, and taking lots of pictures, and making lots of memories. I work hard, but I still know how to have fun. I love my family and my friends, and I love keeping healthy and in shape. I take very good care of my skin and I love to find new products that will enhance my skin tone and keep my skin healthy. I am extremely motivated and my goal in life is to be a better person each and every day. “

As you can see, this voice is upbeat, personable, and motivated. These are all the qualities that we want in a customer.

Now that we have found a voice for the blog, I am going to talk about some of my best practices for blogging so you can start putting the voice to use.

1. Use a creative and catchy headline. This is because you want people to read your blog, and with all the posts listed on the home page, it’s easy to get lost in the mix. Stand out, be you, and be a little wacky.
2. Be honest. Every blog should have an honest opinion. If your voice is honest and genuine, you will be successful every time. People love to read articles that are different than the rest because they are always looking for new advice.
3. Keep it conversational. The whole point of a blog is to be social with other people. So, keep your blog conversational, and make sure you are engaging your readers with questions or thoughts.
4. Address a problem. The best way to start a blog is by addressing a certain situation, which you want to see for yourself. If you are interested in the situation others will be too.
5. Be visual. Include a picture at the end to tie your post together. It will allow the reader to comprehend your post better.
6. Promote your blog. If you want others to view your blog, then you need to promote it through Twitter or another type of Social Media.

In Groundswell, the author states, “If you know whom you want to reach and exactly what you want to accomplish, then you’re far more likely to succeed”.

That quote says it all. In my industry, we want to reach women who are educated, working professionals, but still have fun. Since we know whom we want to reach, and that we have goals, we can move forward without stopping and wondering who we are. This is leading to success in our industry.

If these tips are fully practiced, and your blog found it’s voice, then I believe it will be very successful.

Resources

Bernoff, Josh. Groundswell. Forrester Research, Inc, 2011.

Taking the Beauty Brand Social: To Risk or Not To Risk?

I once heard that ‘sharing is caring’. The whole point of owning a company, and managing a brand is so that you can share it! Right?

Why keep it to yourself when you can share it with the whole world and make even more sales based off what you share with them?

Well these are the exact reasons why every industry that sells product should be social on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.

I can’t imagine a brand keeping private, unless they only sell to their friends and family. But, if you sell to all of North America and other countries, you need to be on social media sites for your brand to gain awareness. If you’re not on social media, you are pretty much dead to the world!

Imagine one of your friends is not on social media, and you really have no idea what they are up to. You would say they fell off the face of the earth.

Therefore, social media = the face of the earth.

The company I work for has many announcements that we like to share with our loyal fan base and keep them in the loop. For example, we have new products coming out every year, and we like to share it on Facebook to create buzz. We also like to re-launch current products to keep the sales up. Facebook is also a great tool for us to monitor reviews and customer feedback.

Our brand is also big on story telling and we like to explain the history behind our product. So, Facebook is a perfect place to let us share our stories and fact-findings.

We incorporate our stories into trivia, and we ask our fans to answer questions and they will get a prize.

It’s important to update your social media sites at least 3 times a week if you have a large fan base. If you are just starting out, it’s best to update your social media sites every day to create awareness.

Social Media is so much more than “going social”, and I really don’t find there are risks unless something leaks all over the Internet that is extremely private, nobody but the company can know about it. That is very rare though.

The only other risks I can think of are negative reviews, but you can’t prevent that. All you can do is be honest, and do everything you can to keep the customer happy while also following the company guidelines. Sometimes it is inevitable that a customer will be unhappy and write a bad / mean-spirited review or comment because they are just an unpleasant person in general and want everyone to see the way they see. But, most people in the world are positive and ignore the negativity.

I can’t say that having a social media site will make a brand more popular, but it sure will boost its brand awareness. I’m sure there are plenty of stores and products out there doing really well just with sales, but being connected with your fans leads to a whole new world of excitement.

You want your fans to be excited about your brand just as much as you are.

Rachael

Now You See It…

A look at Instagram from the Beauty Industry.

We’ve all heard the phrase “seeing is believing’. Well, now that phrase has proven its point. Instagram is a unique social media application that allows people to share their photos, whether for fun or business.

Instagram is just what this type of industry is in need of to market their products. When marketing beauty products, the important thing to remember is to show off your products in a positive light…repeatedly. Consumers won’t buy something if they’ve never seen or heard about the product before.

This is where having an Instagram account comes in handy, and allows us to succeed in just three simple steps:

1. Take a picture of an array of products

2. Post on Instagram

3. Get likes and comments

Now, the products are viewable to the public and being liked around the world. This motivates people to want to buy the products. That’s the great thing about Instagram, it helps you attract and secure more loyal customers. Plus, it’s fast and easy!

Another cool thing about Instagram is that consumers can post pictures of your products as well, and their followers will see and take it as a positive review. So, you’re not doing all of the work!

Success, on Instagram, is measured by how many followers you get and likes on each particular picture you post. For a business account, I tend to think the number of followers you have is more important.

Remember, you still want your account to look active, so posting daily pictures is a must.

Now, when posting pictures on Instagram for business, there is always a strategy that must be put in place:

First, never post pictures on a whim. Always arrange a display, and then take a picture.

Second, after the picture is taken, carefully look at it and get a second opinion. It is always important to get approval to put it on the internet.

Third, there will always need to be a caption. Captions are what reel people in to the picture and help them understand what’s going on in it. The only times you don’t need a caption is if the picture is absolutely stunning, that no words can describe.

Fourth, filtering is optional. If you are trying to capture the sense of realness of a product, then you won’t need to filter. If you want to enhance the mood of the picture, then filtering is an option.

People are attracted to visually appealing things. That’s what makes the beauty industry and Instagram perfect for each other.

Since starting work in the this industry, I’ve learned that seeing is truly believing, and Instagram lets us prove our point.

Rachael

Social Media and the Beauty Marketing Industry

Where to start… Working in the beauty marketing industry is not as much fun as you may think. You never get free product, in fact you give away product to try and promote it. It takes a LOT of hard work and dedication to keep our brand afloat and noticeable to consumers among our competitors. This industry is highly competitive with new products being introduced to the world everyday. When working for a brand in this industry, you have to constantly come up with new ways to market your product. Social media applications are the perfect solution.

I am going to mention a few of my own rules of beauty, give a brief description, and then include a social media tool as a way to resolve it. These are my thoughts on becoming a successful beauty marketer using social media.

Here we go:

First rule of beauty marketing: Show, don’t tell

People need to SEE with their eyes how to use the product correctly, and what the product will actually do for them. Just telling them the benefits won’t do anything.

Social Media Solution: Youtube

Youtube is a great way to solve this problem. Tutorials are the best way to show people how to do something in a quick step-by-step process. There are currently tons of makeup and skincare tutorials on Youtube done by random people. What is odd to me is that I don’t think industry professionals have been taking the full advantage of it. They are so helpful, and it is free marketing!

Second rule of beauty marketing: Interest

We all need to be interested in a product to be able to market it. As well do consumers need to strike an interest.

Social Media Solution: Pinterest

The perfect way to show your interest for the product is to PINTEREST! Pinterest allows you to proudly show off your goods in a creative way. You can also pin other pictures that interest you as well. It gives the consumers a sense of what lifestyle your product gears towards. It also gives them ideas on how to fit the product into their lifestyle. You could even attach links to a picture to bring back to your website or an interesting article about your product. Another free way to advertise!

Third rule of beauty marketing: What’s trending?

The world of beauty is rapidly changing, and consumers are constantly being forced to reinvent their style. Let me tell you, it can get frustrating, especially if you don’t know what’s in style.

Social Media Solution: Twitter

Twitter is perfect for marketing in the beauty industry because it allows you to link only what is of meaning to your brand. For example, your twitter focus as a beauty brand can be to inform your followers on what’s trending, giving them helpful tips using your product, and reporting any beauty news. Your followers will thank you for keeping them in the beauty loop!

Fourth and final rule of beauty marketing: Social butterfly status

It is highly important to interact with your consumers on a daily basis. No interaction, means no business.

Social Media Solution: Facebook

Here we are, the application we have all been waiting for: The almighty and powerful Facebook. I personally am not a big fan of Facebook, but used as a business tool it’s pretty amazing. You can do pretty much everything with Facebook. With a Facebook page, you can interact with your consumers with a click of a button, but you must update at least once a day. Some great ideas for marketing on Facebook to get people buzzing and writing on your wall are as follows:

• Create trivia questions regarding the fragrances or ingredients in your product
• Giveaway contests. Who doesn’t love free product?
• Posting pictures with informative captions
• Product gift ideas for holidays such as Mother’s Day or Father’s Day

If I had to pick just two applications to use, Youtube and Facebook would be my choices. I would be creating a social media powerhouse. Showing and sharing. You can’t get any better than that.

What to take away from this post: Social media is awesome, free marketing; you just gotta know how to use it in a way that benefits your industry!

– Rachael

Social Media Tools

Starring: HootSuite vs. Buffer

Many people tend to think that HootSuite and Buffer are the same thing. Sure, they are both very helpful social media tools. However, they are extremely different from each other. It is kind of like an orange being compared to an apple. They are both fruit, and sort of the same shape, but they are two different colors and have different flavors and benefits.

I am here to explain how different HootSuite and Buffer really are.

HootSuite: Social Media Management tool

This tool manages and measures all of your social networks on one dashboard. With HootSuite you can manage all of your social networks, schedule messages and tweets, analyze social media traffic, and track brand mentions without losing your sanity.

Features:

– Social Network Management

– Custom Analytics

– Teams

– Conversations

– Message Management

– Mobile Apps

– Security

Buffer: Social Media Sharing Tool

This tool makes it incredibly easy to share any page you are reading. Add articles, pictures,  videos, and Buffer will automatically share the posts for you through out the day.

Features:

– Multiple Accounts

– Analytics & Insights

– Team Members

– Mobile Apps

Now that you know the basics of each tool, let’s move on to how they are being used.

HootSuite vs. Buffer: Supporting Social Networks

HootSuite: Supports Facebook profiles, Facebook pages, multiple Twitter accounts, LinkedIn profiles, LinkedIn company pages, LinkedIn groups, Google+ pages, FourSquare, WordPress, and Mixi. With HootSuite, you can easily post updates, add images, connect with clients through LinkedIn, schedule tweets, check in with FourSquare, and more.

Buffer: Supports Facebook profiles, Facebook pages, multiple Twitter accounts, LinkedIn profiles, LinkedIn company pages, LinkedIn groups, and App.net users. With Buffer, you can post quickly and easily from any website that interests you.

HootSuite vs. Buffer: Mobile Support

HootSuite: The HootSuite’s mobile app for iPad, Android, and iPhone makes it possible to check in on all of your social networks wherever you are. You can send messages on Twitter, view LinkedIn connections, upload photos, receive notifications, and so much more. HootSuite’s mobile app also allows you to schedule messages to send in the future, or instantly share Twitter updates and Facebook status updates from anywhere.

Buffer: Compatible on both the iPhone and Android, this tool has 48 different types of mobile Apps & Extras that they can help share your articles, photos, and videos from these mobile devices. You can also tell Buffer has a sense of humor because the names of these apps are just ridiculous.

Here are my top 3 for best Buffer app names:

1. Tweriod: When is the best time to Tweet?

2. SocialBro: Browse your Twitter community.

3. Shareaholic: Share and discover the best of the web.

My thoughts on both tools: Even though they are both very different, they do have many similarities. One in particular is that they both help keep our social media organized.

What to take away from this blog post: The key difference.

Buffer shares any articles, pictures, videos you like to your networks.

HootSuite manages all your networks on one dashboard.

– Rachael