The beauty industry is highly competitive, with over 15,300 businesses vying for consumer attention. To stand out, brands must find new ways to increase exposure, reach their audience, and drive sales.
Here, we’ve listed 13 beauty marketing ideas to create a successful strategy.
13 beauty marketing strategies
1. Offer unique brand characteristics
Differentiate your brand by occupying a niche in the industry. Highlight any unique product features, such as catering to specific hair or skin types.
For example, Flora Curl sells haircare specifically for textured hair, while 47 only offers skincare for acne and breakouts.
By serving distinct market segments, these two brands increase their appeal to ideal customers and foster loyalty.
2. Use product recommendation quizzes
Help users find the best products with personalized recommendation quizzes. These move browsers further down the funnel and help convert ready-to-buy customers by suggesting tailored routines.
For example, Function of Beauty’s Custom Bodycare Quiz recommends products based on skin type and goals in just one minute.
Product recommendation quizzes are an easy, low-commitment way for users to interact with your website and brand. They also encourage users to share their email addresses in exchange for results, allowing you to nurture them in your email marketing.
3. Create persuasive product descriptions
When brainstorming beauty marketing ideas, prioritize persuasive product descriptions. Highlight product benefits, not just features.
For example, explain how each ingredient benefits the user. Use sensory details like texture and scent to engage customers.
Include ingredients, usage instructions, FAQs, and — like Hismile — include before and after visuals to demonstrate the product’s impact.
4. Use social proof
Use social proof throughout your campaigns to build trust and credibility. This can ease customer doubts by showcasing positive product experiences.
Transformation images and videos can serve as social proof, demonstrating the results your products deliver. Testimonials, reviews, star ratings, beauty awards, and clean beauty certifications are all forms of social proof, too. Consider obtaining endorsements from dermatologists or other trusted experts.
5. Offer personalization and customization
Personalization and customization are essential beauty marketing trends. Offering personalized beauty products based on skin tone, hair type, skincare concerns, or product preferences creates a unique customer experience and encourages repeat purchases.
Function of Beauty has a fully-customized skin, body, and haircare range. It quizzes customers on their needs and preferences before creating a beauty product formula unique to each customer.
6. Incorporate UGC on your site and socials
User-generated content (UGC) is another great beauty marketing idea. 86% of consumers are more likely to trust a brand that shares UGC.
Beyond reviews and testimonials, encourage UGC by launching branded hashtags and rewarding participants with giveaways or features.
Brands like Glossier mix UGC with their own content, sharing real customer experiences.
Publishing UGC on your website and social channels is a cost-effective way to scale content and build authenticity that resonates with customers.
7. Offer sampling and subscriptions
Samples and subscriptions are powerful tools for driving sales and loyalty. Offer free samples through your website so users can try before they buy.
Mario Badescu offers free samples of all recommended skincare products at the end of their skin analysis quiz.
Or, create subscription beauty boxes so customers can try products at a lower cost. Function of Beauty’s Function with Benefits package gives customers 20% off their first order when they subscribe.
You could also offer subscribers exclusive rewards, limited edition products, and free shipping. Or use a subscription calculator to recommend the ideal delivery frequency to new customers.
8. Create bundles
Use product bundles or regimens to increase average order value (AOV). For example, create a skincare routine that combines cleanser, toner, and moisturizer. Alternatively, build an “essentials” makeup set, including primer, foundation, mascara, and lipstick.
Milk Makeup offers a variety of beauty sets designed to tackle a particular beauty requirement or provide multiple colorways. Skincare brand Upcircle offers deeper discounts the bigger the bundle, with 30% off 8 items.
Start customers on their beauty set journey with a product recommendation quiz that suggests their ideal bundle. Facetheory, for example, recommend a full product line up based on user responses in their skin quiz.
9. Leverage email marketing
Email marketing is an important part of any beauty marketing strategy.
Collect user email addresses on your website, getting their consent to receive marketing materials. Then, send tailored emails with special offers, product recommendations, and exclusive content. Next, give loyal customers early access to new products and exclusive sales.
Function of Beauty uses a product recommendation quiz to capture emails, asking users to input their addresses to receive their quiz results.
10. Build loyalty programs
Loyal customers drive repeat purchases and improve lifetime value. Build loyalty programs that reward customers for repeat purchases, referrals, or social sharing and offer members-only access to new products, sales, or events.
E.l.f’s loyalty program, Beauty Squad, allows customers to join by creating an account or downloading the app. Members earn points for shopping, completing activities, and playing games. They are separated into three tiers based on the number of points earned, with each tier unlocking new perks and discounts.
11. Launch unexpected collaborations
Surprise audiences and spark conversation with unexpected collaborations with unrelated brands. These partnerships extend your brand’s reach, connect you to new audiences, and showcase your creativity.
Recent beauty industry collaborations include e.l.f. x Tinder’s limited-edition beauty products designed to reduce first-date jitters, and Glossier x WNBA, a campaign that challenged the perception that sports and beauty don’t mix.
12. Offer limited editions
The final idea on our list of beauty marketing strategies is to offer limited-edition products because scarcity and exclusivity drive demand.
Both legacy brands like Chanel and newcomers like Beauty Pie use this tactic when marketing beauty products. It encourages shoppers to buy something extra special for themselves or as a gift for a loved one.
13. Publish quality content and collaborate with influencers
The biggest beauty brands publish high-quality content like blogs, social posts, how-to tutorials, and videos.
Charlotte Tilbury’s blog, “Charlotte’s Beauty Secrets,” gives users beauty and wellbeing advice, establishing the founder as a thought leader and respected industry expert. The brand’s YouTube channel provides makeup tutorials using Charlotte Tilbury products and features Charlotte herself with other models and celebrities.
Influencer marketing is another top beauty marketing trend, effectively broadening your brand's reach and leveraging social proof.
Partner with beauty influencers, makeup artists, and celebrities to promote products through authentic reviews, tutorials, and endorsements on social media. Choose influencers who align with your brand and its mission.
For example, Florence by Mills uses its founder, Millie Bobby Brown, to create relatable content that speaks directly to their core market. However, micro-influencers with 1,000 to 100,000 followers can also be valuable. They often have loyal fans and create niche content that resonates deeply with their audience.
Find the right influencer for your brand using tools like Tagger by Sprout Social or Upfluence’s influencer search.
Enhance your beauty marketing with Visual Quiz Builder
Product recommendation quizzes effectively market beauty products. They recommend products, subscriptions, and bundles, helping reinforce your branding and customer experience. They also gamify the shopping experience to engage customers and allow beauty brands to collect and segment customer email addresses and retarget them in email marketing.
With Visual Quiz Builder, creating beauty quizzes for your Shopify website is easy. Start a free trial or book a demo to find out more.
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