#SSWellnessWatch: Role of content in selling beauty brands & products

We ask beauty and wellness brands to explain the role of social media content in their overall marketing strategy, RoI and lead conversions.

Beauty, grooming and wellness brands are an indulgence as well as a part of the routines people lead. Irrespective of which gender they identify with, there is something for almost everyone. Sometimes, the options are just too many, even if one were to filter them through price ranges and skin types. To truly stand out, beauty brands need to offer not just products but an experience, often via content, people feel compelled to buy into.

We asked a few such beauty and wellness brands to give us a glimpse into their approach towards social media content from an RoI point of view.

Educating the Community

For clean beauty products curator Sublime Life, social media is a tool to create a community that shares the same values and beliefs as the brand. Their content strategy revolves around educating their community about skincare and sustainability whilst talking about their offerings. In regards to measuring RoI on content, the brand looks at the sales generated from Instagram.

"We bust common skincare myths, break down ingredients and do regular reviews to encourage people to not just buy our products, but understand why they are buying them," says Sama Patkar, Head of Marketing, Sublime Life, explaining the brand's content strategy.

Irrespective of whether this educational content is in graphical or video format, Instagram works best for the brand. "In terms of our look and feel, we keep our aesthetic minimal and clean, yet appealing to the eye," adds Patkar.

The brand often works with influencers and bloggers to create content around the various brands they partner with. Patkar explains, "We strongly believe in quality over quantity, which is why we have forged relationships with select microbloggers who share our ethical values or have their niche carved in skincare/beauty. We run an affiliate program that definitely helps in boosting our overall social media presence."

Part of the Whole

For The Man Company, a men's grooming products brand, content on social media is all about creating a community. The key ingredients for it being consistency, unique voice, visual appeal and a good understanding of each platform's ability.

Instagram helps the brand build a community of evangelists. Here, they stay high on static visuals and short videos.

• On Facebook, they run contests/giveaways and leverage presence to drive traffic.
• Twitter is where they try to build a unique voice by staying topical.
• LinkedIn is used to build a network and share updates as a brand.

"Each platform is being looked at as a piece of the larger puzzle and when each of them is used for its competency is when the whole brand picture becomes clearer and stronger," explains Rumi Ambastha, Brand Director, The Man Company.

Grooming and lifestyle influencers help the brand get more visibility via positive word of mouth and (entertaining and informational) content that directs traffic and leads to purchases.

"The RoI depends on the engagement that the influencer enjoys on social media. It can range from 2X to even 10X depending on the quality of the influencer and their content. The coupon-code mechanism definitely works so the ROI in those scenarios gets catapulted," she tells us.

Further, Ambastha talks about the role played by Ayushmann Khurrana in the branding efforts at The Man Company. "Only when the customer is able to make an organic connection between the endorser and the brand without any external stimuli is when you know you have hit the bulls-eye. In our case, Ayushmann is literally the living embodiment of the true modern progressive gentleman that we as a brand talk about," she says, adding that Khurrana has helped them with brand awareness.

Also Read: How Payal Singhal leveraged influencers to make masks fashionable

Taste of Luxury

Kérastase India is a professional luxury haircare brand from Paris that offers tailor-made indulgent solutions to customers as per their specific hair, scalp and lifestyle needs. They regularly work with salons in the country. On social media, they try to bring this brand image alive with the help of content that's educational in regards to hair care regimes, ingredients and technology. Elixir Ultime Oil is one of their star products and campaigns around it work well for the brand on social media.

Visuals form the backbone of their social media content with product shots, influencer content, how-tos and tips by hair care experts and editorial shots being used to give the viewers a glimpse into what the brand has got to offer. Facebook, Instagram and YouTube work well for the brand.

"The objective is to showcase our focus on personalisation, a superlative in-salon and home care experience and hair stylists as the experts so that we can reach out to more luxury customers and invite them to experience the brand," says Rachit Mathur, General Manager, Kérastase India.

Given the niche experience-driven luxury segment that the brand belongs to, influencers are an important part of the Kérastase branding efforts. This includes the creation of Kérastase Club to bring together advocates of the brand.

"A couple of times a year, we curate content with them across product usage, in-salon experiences and new launches," Mathur tells us, adding that Lisa Haydon is a part of this club.

In regards to RoI, it's about focussing on campaigns that drive consumers from the online space to the salon. Creating awareness is their primary objective. Recently, with the COVID-19 situation, #KerastaseAtHome has come up as an opportunity for the brand to reach out to their new and existing consumers, delivering luxury haircare at their doorsteps.

Amplifying Purpose

Avon India uses social media platforms to further their objective of 'Beauty with a purpose' and build an engaging community that, apart from just a business advantage, can come together to support various causes the brand takes up. In regards to the kind of content that gets the most traction, Swati Jain, Marketing Director, Avon India tells us about the importance of visuals for Avon and how Instagram and Facebook work well because of it.

"Value-based content especially video sees good traction as it helps our consumers better their lifestyle, get the best out of our products, and discover new ones. Our live sessions do well in participation and engagement," she explains. Brand's app and website help them close the loop and create a digital ecosystem for consumers.

Two categories of influencers are important for Avon. First, Avon Reps who work as leaders of their communities. Second, external influencers that the brand works with for select sub-brands.

"For campaigns, we are never fully dependent on just influencers, we have used technology, content, media and influencers in harmony," Jain tells us.

In regards to ROI, the brand follows a full-funnel approach. Jain explains, "We are a B2B2C company and digital media owned and earner mediums assist demand generations."

Connecting with Gen Z

Oriflame believes in enduring their audiences, including brand partners as well as customers at large, have all the important brand and product knowledge with them. The brand observes that it is only through relatable and relevant content that they can get more engagement on their content, which can directly benefit recognition, loyalty, and ultimately sales.

"Through our digital platform, we put forth our product launches, business plans, new add-ons and celebrate the success stories of our Brand Partners. It also helps to build our community of people who are passionate about beauty & wellbeing," Naveen Anand, Senior Director, Regional Marketing, Oriflame South Asia explains.

Among the relevant audiences the brand aims to reach with social media, the most important one is Gen Z who has a lesser understanding of the brand and their products. Anand tells us, "We always work ahead to inspire them to choose an environmentally responsible brand, takes the goodness of nature and power it by the brilliance of science."

Social media content and e-commerce (especially with lockdown) are important for beauty and wellness brands to reach out to people and drive sales. From product packaging and alluring visuals to content and influencer marketing, everything is important for beauty brands.