Indie Beauty Brand Founders Discuss Driving Sales And Engagement Via Social Media

In this edition of Beauty Independent’s ongoing series posing questions to beauty entrepreneurs, we ask 10 founders and executives: What’s a social media tactic that’s driven engagement and sales?

Martyna Plewka Founder, Forest Hive

We rely predominantly on Instagram for growth, posting not only product-related content, but general photos, words and art that reflect the brand. Growth for us is not necessarily increasing the number of followers, but aiming for genuine engagement. We do that on our page, and through researching, commenting and posting on other companies feeds who we respect, whose work and values resonate with us, and whose followers would also be interested in our products.

Lead with authenticity, know yourself, your brand, and who you are serving well, and focus on purpose. I’m a firm believer in trying to lighten up your followers’ days. Keep a friendly, human demeanour. Use a bit of humor. Balance that with providing interesting information. If you can make even one person smile, you nailed it.

We’ve also linked Facebook and Twitter to IG so there’s an integrated strategy and consistency across all channels, but ultimately that is led by IG posts and stories.

Evelyne Nyairo Founder, Ellie Bianca

Instagram Stories provides a space for creativity, expression and positive brand awareness. We recently sat down and thought of a different story theme for each day of the week. Creating a detailed calendar in advance has been so beneficial because we are not rushing around the day of planning content.

There are so many different ways to make each story unique. We love to incorporate different effects such as stop motion, GIFs and polls to enhance user experience and involvement. Our followers really engage and respond well when we incorporate the human element behind the brand.

Michelle Ranavat Founder, Ranavat Botanics

IG takeovers have been a great resource for us. It provides the viewer with new and interesting content from a unique perspective but also adds to our audience as well. I’ve had some friends do takeovers on our account, and I saw a ton of engagement, plus new followers. I initially thought people wouldn’t come over to check out the content, but I was really pleasantly surprised.

Kristen Runvik Founder, Lagom Body Co.

I use Instagram Stories and Instagram Live videos the most. Depending on the topic I'm covering, the content for Stories versus Live videos differs just a bit. For example, on Instagram Stories, I love to share quick behind the scenes of my studio, new product development and production, events, and outdoor adventures with my friends and family. I share these in the moment, depending on what's happening in my world.

For live Instagram videos, I host tea time with Kristen usually every week, where I sit down and talk about specific seasonal wellness rituals, flower- and plant-powered recipes, and any info about upcoming workshops or events. I always post the Live video to my Instagram Stories and save it to my phone, too, so I can share the video with my email list as well as on my blog. I'm all about repurposing content!

I love Instagram Stories and Live videos for a few reasons: 1) It's more engaging than Instagram photos. People can sit back and watch through my stories instead of reading through tons of content. 2) Live video starts conversations with my customers and potential customers and clients. I love getting to know who's in my community. Plus, getting direct feedback means I don't have to guess what my customers want when it comes to creating new products. 3) It influences trust between your brand and your community. We live in a time where consumers want to see the humans behind the companies that they support, so I'm always looking for different ways to use Instagram video to do just that.

Rachel Vicknair Founder and CEO, Leopara

I held a giveaway contest on Instagram that asked followers to tag a friend who would equally love our Leopara Makeup Lighting System. This post garnered more likes and comments than any other post and added many more followers to our profile.

The key is to set clear, simple instructions on how to participate as well as a contest end date and time. I also recommend following that post with valuable content that entices your new followers to stay on board.

Annie Tevelin Founder, SkinOwl

I love engaging with people by way of Instagram's Insta Live feature. It's our way of connecting with people beyond their insta-handle. We host a lot of events in Los Angeles that many of our fans and clients can't attend because they live in other states and countries. By going live during our events, panel discussions and morning rituals and skin regimens, our fans get to participate, ask questions and learn more about a myriad of topics we're discussing.

We also use Insta Stories to promote our team spirit, connectivity, and culture. Our Insta Stories are not all about skincare. They are funny, casual glimpses into our lives, road trips and showcase the building blocks of growing something from the ground up, be it a skincare business or the relationships we have with one another.

We are in the midst of launching a podcast. We've done Insta-lives during our recordings. This has boosted engagement tenfold, allowing fans and followers to ask questions, discuss their skin concerns, and feel comfortable about what they are purchasing or using.

Additionally, our most recent "wearyourworth" sweatshirt campaign has boosted our engagement by way of fans customizing their very own “worth-words” and, then, wearing them. It's been thrilling to witness people rocking their individuality this way.

Julianne Robicheau Founder, Robi Luxury Skin Care

Giveaways are number one for my brand. I only do them occasionally because they don’t really convert into sales. However, they help brand awareness, and they’re fun. It’s nice to partner with an influencer or another like-minded brand for giveaways. Number two is probably when I post something about myself as the brand owner. My customers seem to enjoy the behind-the-brand approach, but I don’t do them nearly enough.

It’s really about offering your followers value, sharing great advice or tips and tricks, anything they can comment on or share with their followers. And most people love sharing their opinions or knowledge on subjects they are interested in, so asking questions - Insta Stories is good for this - is a great way to get engagement.

Danuta Dudek Founder, Cotarde

When we started our retail presence with pop-up stores - we’ve been having a strategic partnership with Athleta stores around the country - we would promote those events on social media locally, and it paid off as people who we thought might be interested in our products turned up to the stores, which led to that personal connection that we always aim for.

James LA Founder, Niucoco

One way of getting some attention on social media is to make it interactive with a call to action. For example, write: Want a chance to win this month’s... subscribe and you can be the lucky winner! Or run quirky surveys, sometimes even ones that aren’t related to your brand.  

Matthew Schirle CEO and Founder, SkinKick

The most important social media tactic for SkinKick is authenticity. We sell a brand that is geared toward millennials and their mothers, and they are very smart and can easily detect if the person creating content is not exactly similar to them.  

We only hire millennials who are exactly our demographic. It is easy for them to communicate to our audience, and our audience can sense that we are authentic. This has helped us grow our social media followers.

If you have a question you’d like Beauty Independent to ask beauty entrepreneurs, please send it to editor@beautyindependent.com.