Social Media in the Beauty Landscape
The article that I read this week discussed the power that Instagram has in the beauty market. Consumers refer to Instagram to see how products and applied and to read reviews of the products. This has caused brands to not only use the app, but also to promote themselves on it. Instagram has become so powerful that there are “insta-famous” brands; brands that were created on Instagram or, in other words, online brands. A small, new brand posts on Instagram, gets discovered, gains a following and turns into a million dollar brand in a matter of months. The article sites brands such as Sigma Beauty, ColourPop and Dose of Colors, all of which were thrown into the beauty world through the power of Instagram. It also states that Instagram plays an important role in the decision making of young cosmetic shoppers. It was found that the more time that is spent viewing the brand’s Instagram page, the more time is spent on the company’s selling website. This has direct correlation with sales because obviously the more time that is spent viewing the site equals more products view which leads to more items being purchased. This has lead to more online marketing campaigns rather than print ads, which has positive environmental impacts due to the decline of print.
Instagram has also allowed for the creation of trends throughout the beauty community. One of the more recent and popular is that of facial masks. Specifically, the explosion of the brand named GlamGlow. Their peal off tightening mask has taken Instagram by storm and caused for a slew of other peal off masks (which are pretty cool if you ever have the chance to try one). Skin care was once something that only wrinkly old ladies participated in, but thanks to Instagram, it’s everywhere. Brands are incorporating their skin care into Instagram demo videos as part of the makeup application process. For example, in stead of starting a tutorial at the application of makeup, they start at the bare-faced skin preping stage. The person giving the tutorial applies any serums and moisturizers before applying primers and then goes in with their color application. It’s all about the visual. If people see the products being used, they’re going to buy them. If everyone is using it, it has to be good, right?