Bblunt Social Media Strategy: Understanding content that works

Social Samosa takes a look at the Bblunt Social Media Strategy to unravel how the brand uses digital to push products to unique TG, standing out amidst a clutter of beauty oriented brands.

With product packaging that makes you stop and look, Bblunt is sure a brand worth checking out at the store. However, is it enough to turn an intrigued person into a buyer? Turns out, it takes a lot of influencing and advocacy to help bridge the gap. We take a look at the Bblunt Social Media Strategy to find how it has evolved after the marketing spurt featuring Kareena Kapoor Khan, with the help of Anirban Banerjee, Head of Global Innovation & BBLUNT, Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL).

Back in 2014-2016, brands used to conceptualise strategies keeping traditional media in mind, against the backdrop of celebrity stylists and endorsements. Bblunt too had a similar journey.

In 2016, they went big with brand ambassador Kareena Kapoor Khan becoming the face of Salon Secret. It as a kickstart moment for the brand and things have evolved since then, with the brand growing over time and expanding its product portfolio.

In the last one year, the brand has become very online driven. Apart from traditional media, influencers and bloggers have become a big part of the promotions, Anirban tells us. Bblunt's blog is also a glamorous treasure trove when it comes to styling tips in regards to the products they have on offer.

"Starting last year, we have become very aggressive in the digital medium. There has been a shift towards a micro-targeting approach in key cities with a reasonable amount of focus towards both Nykaa and Amazon," he adds.

Social Media Strategy

Bblunt leverages the different social media platforms in unique ways. While selective images and creative go live on Instagram, Facebook has them more in number. The tone of communication is pretty much the same on both. On Twitter, the brand mostly pushes out blog articles.

There are three major parts to the social media communication put forth by the team — product display, community and information about salon openings. These aspects are interlinked, sewn together with brand connect. The push is almost always towards sending people to the salon and building that experience as an attractive option for people to choose.

Among the hashtags used by the brand and the influencers posting about it, #ShineWithBBLUNT is a prominent one. #BBLUNT, #BBLUNTSalons, and #BBLUNTIndia are used in all posts. Other than these, depending on the product or hairstyle, relevant tags are used to increase content reach.

On the engagement front, the team often runs contests rewarding fans in an attempt to build the community. Before and after images are often featured on Bblunt's social media pages. Celebrity and influencer testimonials too are a major part of the content being put across. BBlunt has collaborated with various films and this reflects in the content put forth by them.

Also Read: Dineout Marketing Strategy over the years

This has been coupled with beauty advisor-based activations on-ground at the point of sale and key modern outlets that specialise in beauty and wellness products. Anirban tells us how the shift has been strategic.

The idea is to strengthen the salon association and bring forth the idea that Bblunt products are rich in terms of composition and formula. "We want to build a whole Bblunt experience," says Anirban.

The brand extensively works with micro-bloggers and micro-influencers that can help them get meaningful engagement. Anirban tells us how the brand's TG consists of people who are serious buyers. They read reviews and follow advisors.

"Even though they may remember the product due to various reasons, they may not buy it unless there is a reasonable amoung of influencing and advocacy that has happened," Anirban explains the positioning of Bblunt as a premium niche brand.

Explaining the content strategy, Anirban tells us how they go for a lengthy video for styling videos and out on as many mediums as possible when the core objective is awareness ⁠— like in the case of a new product launch. For regular content, Instagram works best for the brand.

Bblunt products have interesting packaging that comes in bright colours. This often reflects in their social media presence. The products are placed in ways where the shape and the colours can be leveraged in the narrative.

The product packaging in this brand's case is one of their biggest assets when it comes to driving communication visually. Another is, of course, the content they create with influencers — faces help build a favourable persona. Given the scope of haircare, BBlunt has a plethora of content to push on social media. And, they have been using it to push consumers to try the salon experience, not just buy the products.