Turning Content into Conversion - How Beauty Brands Can Win on TikTok
As one of the largest categories on TikTok, the beauty community is comprised of many unique, niche communities with their own set of creators, videos, sounds and hashtags. Under the umbrella of beauty, there are many sub-categories that make up this rich community: hair, skincare, fragrance, nails, makeup and more. The video views for beauty + personal care has grown 186% from 2020 to 2021 mirroring the rapid growth seen in the industry which is expected to rocket to $784.6 billion by 2027 (up from $420 billion in 2018). In 2021 alone, #HairTok, one of Tiktok’s hair communities, saw a 20,000% increase in vid views and a 3000% boost in videos created. TikTok boasts 80 million monthly users in North America—90% of which use the app every day. It’s currently the most engaging app with average user sessions around 10.85 minutes, 2x as long as the second most engaging app (Pinterest). The beauty community on TikTok values honesty + authenticity above all else. No gatekeeping here! This community is about “putting you on” a.k.a sharing of information: whether it’s their favorite products, techniques, where they got the products and more.
With such a large community and the potential to reach so many users, how can TikTok be leveraged to solve real business challenges in the beauty industry?
It all starts with content. Your content is going to help establish authenticity and trust with consumers. This is about building a community of brand advocates. You do this by having content that is relevant and native to the platform. Next, you further that trust by partnering with established creators who are able to share their honest opinion of the brand or product, in their own way, and reach their own unique audiences. Then round out the consumer journey by connecting and integrating TikTok’s E-commerce capabilities to see real conversion from the content and community you’ve built.
1. Establishing Authenticity + Trust
In an industry that for so long has sort of upheld an illusion of nothing less than perfection, celebrity + unattainable goals—its really nice to see on TikTok that brands can sort of pivot and peel back the curtain on all of the elements that actually go into making a brand and/or product. TikTok users are also active on other apps, so it’s imperative to create native + relevant content. The vibe on TikTok is “come as you are” allowing people the freedom to truly be their most authentic self. Successful content on TikTok is genuine, entertaining and often educational. It doesn’t need to be highly produced, filtered, photoshopped, etc. In fact video content by nature is much harder to do these types of effects. The content is real: the good, the bad + the ugly. There's a lot of power behind consumers wielding the ability to provide tough, honest feedback to companies on such a wide scale. Whether that’s #GrossGirlTok, product education + reviews, giving behind-the-scenes looks at upcoming products or photoshoots or opening up about tough conversations like transparency + sustainability, diversity + inclusion, TikTok, over any other platform, is a place where this type of conversation can organically take place.
2. Partner with Creators
Creators live and breathe TikTok, which means they have a full grasp on TikTok trends, audio, transition and techniques for creating content that's authentic to TikTok. They know the right music to use, the right format, and type of content their audience resonates with. Let them keep up with TikTok’s ever changing trends, while championing your brand. Secondly, their cultural expertise paired with a unique voice and style have likely led to an existing follower-base that's already loyal, engaged, and trusting. The majority of users say they trust others to be their real selves on TikTok.
The beauty of TikTok is that it gives everyone a space to express themselves and be discovered. By democratizing creativity, they've created an authentic and genuine atmosphere where brands can form meaningful and trusting relationships with their consumers. In the EU, partnering with Creators on TikTok boosts view-through rates for In-Feed Ads by 193%, and branded content coming from Creator collabs shows a 27% higher ad recall.
3. Connecting Content to Commerce
Consumer spending on TikTok increased by 77% in 2021. Setting your brand up for success through enabling E-commerce solutions on TikTok is super important. TikTok currently offers a suite of E-commerce tools that turn videos and LIVE into shoppable entertainment. These solutions will make it easy for brands and creators to harness the power of community commerce—TikTok’s entertaining, user-driven word of mouth marketing as seen with #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt. These tools help build native shopping experiences, market their products and run their E-commerce business directly on TikTok. TikTok has the capability for direct/partner integration, experimental Live shopping and different ad types that can showcase brands in a native way.
The recipe for success: using TikTok in a smart and strategic way – they’ve built a community of loyal followers based on their authentic content, tapped into key Creators who can spread the word, and have an integrated, seamless shopping experience that’s best in class.