Marketing your makeup line

Competing for attention in the beauty space is challenging for emerging brands, while the industry is saturated with large brands that have even larger ad spends. If you took my advice from the beginning of this guide, you’ve likely nestled into a particular segment of beauty with less competition.

Your niche audience may be smaller, but maybe you’ve identified them as underrepresented and looking for your product. Find out where they “hang out,” speak their language, and be strategic with your partnerships.

Social proof

We’ve told you before about the power of reviews and social proof: over 70% of Americans say they look at product reviews before making a purchase. There are few industries that exemplify the impact better than the beauty industry.

Word of mouth from your average customer can be powerful, and it can take the form of traditional reviews or customer-generated social buzz. Incentivize referrals and reviews by offering discounts on future purchases, or send product samples to encourage sharing.

Brand partnerships and beauty influencers

Thousands of independent creators boast millions of views and many make their living promoting other brands or launching their own. This James Charles upload alone has been viewed 43 million times. Another YouTuber, Eshani Patel launched Rani Cosmetics after her success with beauty unboxings on her popular channel.

Because of the nature of the product, beauty customers are turning to their favourite online creators on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram before purchasing. By demoing products on real people in myriad skins tones, honest influencer reviews cut through the promises and claims made by the beauty industry.

If you choose to partner with an influencer, there are many lesser-known creators with smaller but engaged audiences who may be more affordable to work with if you’re just starting out.

Kate partnered with a complementary blog and beauty box business with a massive audience of her own target customers. “My sales doubled when I worked with the company How To Be a Redhead,” she says. “I just gave them mascara to include in their box and had free advertising for that whole month.”

Content and UGC

It’s difficult to tell if I’m going to like a lipstick if I can only judge by a written description and a photo of the product itself. Invest in creating your own content like lifestyle photos or videos featuring a variety of models to add to product pages or feature in social posts and marketing campaigns. You may actually help reduce returns, too. 

Megan of Amalie Beauty took this idea one step further, cashing in on the appeal of beauty reviews and unboxings by doing them herself. The traffic she drove to her blog helped drive sales for her store.

Instagram showcases the experience of shopping at my store from the POV of the customer.

India Daykin, India Rose Cosmeticary

For India, UGC (user-generated content) has proved to be an effective tool to help find new customers. “Instagram showcases the experience of shopping at my store from the POV of the customer,” she says of the photos shared by people who tag her brand—something she actively encourages customers to do. “The marketing campaigns that have proven to be the most successful are ones centered around engagement and connection.”