The beauty industry has long been quick to embrace new ways of connecting with its novelty-seeking and trend-loving consumers. Now the marketplace changes brought on by the pandemic have accelerated the already warp-speed pace of innovation that characterizes the beauty business landscape particularly with respect to how today’s beauty brands are connecting with consumers on social media platforms. Optimizing paid social media strategies, applying AR technologies to content, and recognizing the need to align influencers with today’s consumer mindset are all shifts that brands can apply now and evolve into the future.
 
Paid content during this time should consist of the business needs while prioritizing goodwill and helpfulness if they seek to reach out to a new audience. The number of consumers making purchases after seeing ads on social is growing. In fact, 24% more consumers made a purchase after seeing a paid social ad in the past year than they did in the previous year. However, placing paid content willy nilly, without any context of the current environment will likely backfire. 
 
Beauty brands are increasingly turning to influencers on social channels to keep their paid content churning, while also staying relevant to recent stay-at-home realities. Take Hourglass Cosmetics, a cruelty-free luxury beauty brand, for example. They just partnered with Kate Bock, Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, to become their newest ambassador. Throughout the quarantine, Kate has been posting, live streaming, doing Q&As about her daily beauty and skincare routines. Hourglass’ embrace of strategic influencers that have loyal followings are paying dividends. 
 
Holistically, beauty brands need to prioritize the paid promotion of content that is: focused on community relief efforts, informative and inspiring, or that spotlights strategies for wellbeing. This type of paid content will resonate with your audience in their current mindset and position brands as relevant thought leaders.
 
On the organic content side, beauty brands must continue targeting existing consumers, but with a messaging change that emphasizes a nurturing, empathetic tone. A brand's social media post can help validate brands in the eyes of consumers. Nowadays, 58% of consumers visit a brand’s social pages before visiting their website,  an 81% increase from last year. 
 
LVMH’s Instagram feed does this well, tailoring its messaging around themes of social distancing and light-hearted activities individuals can do at home, while still interacting with the brand. This Bingo Beauty board was posted on March 30th. It served to entertain and, just for a moment, remove the pandemic and stay-at-home orders from its followers' consciousness. LVMH has followed up the bingo board with multiple, light-hearted posts, ranging from, This or That WFH beauty game, a message of support, or their first-ever Youtube live stream event. 
 

Here is what all of their posts have in common: they’re genuine. They stay true to their beauty roots, not shying away from, but embracing the new at-home beauty culture. They stay engaged, not just from post to post, but connecting all of these events through their Instagram story or now their first-ever live stream event. They don’t overtly sell, they seek to entertain and comfort.
 
As online and social media marketing expands, and at a far greater rate due to the pandemic, beauty brands need to embrace a new, empathetic approach that connects with their existing and potential customers. 
 
It may be a new frontier for social media messaging, but changing your brand’s voice, whether with paid or organic, will ensure you don’t get lost along the way.


About the Author
Lisa Hurst is executive vice president, account management, Upshot Agency. She brings strategic insight, business savvy and creative panache to everything she does. She’s a champion of building a brand all along the path to purchase, no matter what the consumer’s path. Hurst oversees the client management team, ensuring Upshotters exceed client needs with insight-driven strategies and solutions.