The U.S. cosmetics and skincare industries have grown considerably over the past few years. Recent reports value the U.S. cosmetic industry at $17.2 billion in 2021 and the skincare industry at $18.7 billion. More growth brings more brands to the industries, all competing to become staples in consumers’ daily routines. While you’ve invested heavily in sourcing the best ingredients, partnering with the best manufacturers, and developing a brand around your products, you might still struggle to stand out in such a highly competitive space.
In modern marketing, how well you execute a digital strategy can make all the difference. It’s vital to differentiate your brand in the marketplace and drive revenue growth using informed digital strategies. Partnering with an experienced cosmetic and skincare digital marketing agency is a key step in the process, and here are a few ways to work with them to create a successful digital marketing strategy.
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Know Your Customers and Target Your Niche
Because the cosmetics and skincare industries are so competitive, countless submarkets have emerged over the years, allowing brands to carve out a distinct niche for themselves. From vegan makeup to organic skincare, from luxury products to affordable ones, there’s a market for every type of need, preference, or lifestyle. Do you know your niche?
Without understanding who your customers are, why they prefer certain products, and how they prefer to shop, engaging and targeting them can be a shot in the dark. Through analytics, e-commerce data, and social media, you can get a better picture of who your ideal customer is and target them more effectively wherever they spend their time online.
Make Your Brand Identity Purposeful
When differentiating your cosmetic or skincare brand, you must brand your products with a purpose. From your name to your logos, packaging art, and social media strategy, you need to give shoppers a reason to choose your brand over a competitor. People like shopping with brands they can personally identify with through shared values or stance on societal issues. Now more than ever, shoppers, especially millennials, are looking for brands they agree with or relate to personally. If your brand isn’t purpose-driven, you could be missing out on your chance to engage with significant consumer segments.
One study found that 79% of Americans say they feel a deeper personal connection to brands with similar values to their own. Loyalty is a critical factor in the cosmetics and skincare industries, so if you can connect with customers on a personal level, you might potentially earn their business for life. Consider what your ideal customers value most, their interests, and how you can connect your brand.
Partnering with an experienced cosmetics and skincare digital marketing agency can help take the mystery out of your branding efforts. Using customer data in addition to industry trends, they can help you gain better insight into what your customers want and how you can express that convincingly and concisely in the digital environment.
Develop a User-Centric Content Strategy
What does your content strategy look like? Is your blog dedicated to infrequent announcements, or is it a trusted source of information about your products, brand, industry news, and general tips and advice? Many brands have become major players in cosmetics and skincare based not only on their products but also on the valuable content they provide to online shoppers and enthusiasts.
People have a natural desire to learn more, asking questions about which cleansing oil is right for them or what their skincare routine should look like in summer compared to spring, for example. This leaves a valuable opportunity for your brand to get in front of them, answering their questions and putting your products in the spotlight. If you’re just using your blog solely for promotions and announcements, you’re missing these opportunities. A content strategy that provides an informational service and answers questions can capture a user’s interest early in their purchasing journey.
An effective content marketing strategy can provide valuable data and user interactions, such as leads and remarketing opportunities. Your content can entice shoppers to sign up for your newsletter, providing an email list for your targeted campaigns. You can also target users who have read your content before with remarketing ads. All of these can culminate into a conversion and maybe even earn a loyal repeat customer, underscoring the benefits of investing in user-centric content.
Additionally, content is the backbone of any successful SEO strategy. High-quality content can generate high-authority backlinks and provide a boost in your search rankings over time. When users navigate from your content onto other pages on your website, this also generates positive SEO signals. No matter your customers, your niche, or your brand, content is always a worthy investment and could be key to helping you stand out from the competition.
Content will continue to be a major factor in every successful digital marketing strategy. The right cosmetics digital marketing agency can help you develop a content strategy for your website as well as write and syndicate content externally.
Use Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising to Target Shoppers Ready to Buy
Running paid search campaigns can put your brand in front of prospective buyers when they’re searching for your products or products similar to yours. In addition to user-centric content that answers questions and helps sell your brand, PPC campaigns provide a targeted approach that can help you reach people aware of your brand or shoppers searching for similar products.
The primary benefit of PPC campaigns is targetability, as you can run ads for specific search terms and locations. In a branded campaign, you can run ads for phrases that include your brand name and product, targeting people already looking for your products. Non-branded campaigns allow you to reach people who have maybe never heard of you but are shopping for the types of products you offer. In addition, PPC campaigns can target your audience wherever they prefer to shop, with ads directly in SERPs, social media, or display ads. PPC campaigns typically offer quick, measurable results, and you can further optimize your PPC campaign to deliver a better return on ad spend (ROAS) over time.
Invest in Long-Term Growth Through SEO
PPC campaigns can deliver quick, revenue-driven results, and the right management team can optimize your campaign for strong ROAS. However, paid advertising is limited by your monthly budget, and doesn’t help you appear in organic results. By investing in your website’s organic rankings, you can stand out among your competitors, ideally in the top five search results for a targeted search term or phrase.
Ranking in the first position in SERPs is crucial to driving traffic and conversions. Ranking higher in organic listings is no easy feat, nor does it happen overnight, but it is worth it once you’ve achieved it. You need a significant investment to get your website near the top of Google’s results and keep it there, but you don’t pay per click with organic results. Although SEO might not seem as flashy as redesigning your packaging or partnering with micro-influencers, if you want to stand out and compete in today’s digital market, it’s a critical investment for cosmetic and skincare brands of all sizes.
These are just a few of the ways cosmetic and skincare brands can stand out from the competition. Digital marketing trends come and go, and the best skincare and cosmetics digital marketing agency will be up to date on the latest industry news, best practices, and emerging trends. Consider partnering with a dedicated agency to help you navigate the changing digital landscape so your brand can grow and achieve its goals.
