The beauty video marketing landscape is dynamic and diverse, spanning popular platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. A quick recon reveals how brand sponsors and influencers drive as much as 74% of beauty sales among Gen Z audiences alone. That’s certainly something to explore.
Demographics aside, any beauty video marketing strategy must be flexible and innovative to build brand awareness and drive sales. This article explores creating a winning system using the most up-to-date tech advancements at your fingertips across the leading platforms.
We’ll explore how to create engaging, relevant, and authentic video content for your audience—including brand videos for storytelling, positioning and performance video ads. Let’s get to it, shall we?
Harnessing the Visual Power of Beauty Content in Videos
A robust and comprehensive beauty marketing strategy balances brand storytelling and performance-driven content to build a strong brand presence and achieve your business objectives. Below are four popular ways to harness the visual power of beauty content for your brand:
Before vs. After Videos
Before-and-after transformation videos significantly engage audiences, build trust, and drive interest and engagement with beauty products and services. This content can dramatically impact brand perception and consumer behavior in the beauty industry when executed authentically.
Before-and-after videos are compelling within the beauty industry because they:
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- Demonstrate product effectiveness.
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- Provide tangible evidence.
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- Build trust and credibility.
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- Inspire confidence.
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- Tell a visual story.
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- Showcase expertise.
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- Encourage engagement.
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- Address consumer pain points.
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- Add versatility in marketing.
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- Encourage user-generated content.
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- Provide educational value.
Here are some examples of compelling before-and-after videos:
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- Showing how using a gua sha (skin scraper) daily can create a more sculpted jawline in a few weeks.
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- Exhibiting how certain supplements can significantly reduce bloating or water retention.
Instant Transformation Videos
Instant transformation videos offer compelling visual content, showcasing rapid product efficacy or hacks while using before-and-after comparisons. They provide an educational value, demonstrating application techniques and building consumer trust.
Instant transformations also provide storytelling opportunities, allowing brands to convey a narrative about their products. Additionally, this shareable content enhances engagement, encouraging user-generated transformations for social proof.
Instant transformation videos are highly adaptable for various platforms, which helps significantly towards brand awareness, product promotion, and overall market strategy in the beauty industry.
Examples of this marketing strategy include:
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- Demonstrating how the correct choice and application of eyeshadow can dramatically “open up the eyes,” creating a more awake or alert look.
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- Applying concealer correctly to hide dark spots and cover redness to create a more even skin tone instantly.
How-To Beauty Videos
How-to videos are integral to a successful beauty marketing strategy, offering step-by-step guidance on product application and beauty techniques. These videos provide valuable educational content, addressing consumer needs and pain points while fostering a sense of expertise.
By demonstrating how to use specific products, brands can showcase their features and benefits, which helps to build trust and credibility and encourage viewers to try these methods themselves. Additionally, users can share the videos, helping to increase brand visibility and customer loyalty.
Two examples of how-to videos include:
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- Smokey eye makeup tutorial.
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- Skincare regime for glowing skin.
Videos Incorporating Reviews, Ratings, and Testimonials
Incorporating ratings, reviews, and testimonials into beauty marketing videos adds authenticity and builds consumer trust. By featuring real-life experiences and opinions, these videos provide insights into the product’s effectiveness, helping potential customers make an informed purchasing decision.
Positive reviews, high ratings, and testimonials are potent endorsements that boost brand credibility, e.g., viewers are likelier to buy a product if they see a relatable person talking about why they love it. They also create a brand-audience connection, fostering a sense of community.
Such video content reinforces product quality while addressing concerns and objections. This ultimately enhances the overall impact of the beauty marketing strategy, all while leveraging the persuasive influence of customer feedback.
Examples include the following:
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- A customer testimonial video.
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- A rating and review compilation video.
Optimizing Beauty Videos for TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube
With a few ideas of what a beauty video could entail, how do you apply it to the different popular platforms? An effective beauty video marketing strategy includes tailoring these ideas to fit the most favored formats for popular sites like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
What’s Working on TikTok for Beauty Brands?
TikTok’s demographics include Gen Z, Millennials, teens and young adults, and, of course, content creators and influencers. To create compelling TikTok videos, content creators should research what’s trending for beauty videos.
You can find demographic information and metrics on the TikTok business insights page and apply it to a brand’s beauty video marketing strategy. However, here are some pointers for successful beauty brand marketing on TikTok:
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- Keep the beauty videos short.
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- Ensure authenticity and relatability by targeting your niche market.
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- Include educational content as this adds value.
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- Consider partnering with influencers for added reach.
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- Launch branded challenges and hashtag campaigns.
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- Showcase transformations.
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- Use trending sounds and effects.
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- Leverage TikTok’s interactive features, like polls, quizzes, and duets.
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- Offer behind-the-scenes content.
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- Use TikTok to announce and promote limited-time offers, discounts, and exclusive promotions.
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- Cross-promote with other platforms.
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- Engage with your TikTok community by responding to comments, participating in trends, and acknowledging any user-generated content related to your brand.
What’s Working on Instagram for Beauty Brands?
Instagram has been an excellent platform for beauty videos because of its reach, demographics, and focus on inclusivity. For beauty brands to maximize their return on investment (ROI) on this platform in a video marketing strategy, staying updated on the trends and benchmarks is best.
In this case, a social listening tool like Dash Hudson can give greater insight into what audiences seek. Here are some ideas of what works for beauty video marketing strategies on Instagram:
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- High-quality visuals and aesthetics.
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- Influencer collaborations, e.g., for authentic reviews, tutorials, and testimonials.
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- Video content, including short-form videos, reels, and IGTV.
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- User-generated content (UGC).
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- Leveraging Instagram Shopping features.
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- Storytelling through Instagram Stories.
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- Educational content to position your brand as an authority in beauty.
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- Instagram reels, as they often appear on the Explore page.
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- Interactive features, like polls, quizzes, and questions in your Instagram Stories.
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- Limited-time offers and promotions.
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- Behind-the-scenes content to humanize your brand.
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- Instagram Live for real-time engagement with your audience, e.g., hosting a Q&A session.
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- Collaborations with other brands.
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- Maintaining a consistent posting schedule.
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- Use Instagram insights and analytics to understand your content’s performance.
What’s Working on YouTube for Beauty Brands?
Because of its extended reach and extremely diverse demographics, YouTube remains one of the most popular platforms for carrying out a beauty video marketing strategy. The site is famous for its more in-depth, longer videos, and, recently, YouTube shorts.
YouTube’s best practices for ads offer insight into how to create beauty videos that suit this platform best. However, here are some other tips that work for beauty brands that advertise on YouTube:
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- In-depth tutorials and how-to videos.
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- Product reviews and hauls.
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- Collaborations with influencers.
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- General and specific educational content.
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- Behind-the-scenes and day-in-the-life videos.
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- Q&A sessions.
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- Brand story and mission videos.
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- Use keywords and SEO optimization in titles, thumbnails, descriptions, and tags.
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- Consistent upload schedule.
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- Use interactive elements like screens, info cards, and polls.
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- Incorporate trends and challenges.
Reaching Your Niche Audience with Nuanced Beauty Content
When deciding on a marketing strategy, you must understand your audience and the nuanced content they seek. Learning more about your audience requires researching and understanding what they want and on which platforms they spend most of their time.
For example, you can ask yourself questions along these lines:
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- Does your target audience want quick tips and tricks or prefer a full-length how-to series?
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- What pain points can you address?
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- Who is your target demographic?
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- Which platform do they engage with the most?
Additionally, when planning your marketing strategy, it is essential to select models and influencers your target audience identifies with. For example, using a 22-year-old to promote eye cream for a target market 50+ will most likely not work as the 22-year-old’s review won’t be relatable.
Driving Higher Engagement with Niche Beauty Content
Defining your niche in the beauty market and connecting directly with your target market is crucial for driving engagement with your beauty videos. TikTok is an excellent platform as it allows marketers to create and connect with niche audiences.
Back in the mid-2010s, some niche YouTube videos were quite lengthy. For example, influencers would present hour-long videos on makeup tutorials that covered topics like creating a winged liner or baking your face.
Nowadays, the content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram is far more engaging than ordinary content. There’s much room for yet-to-be-explored niche interests as a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer necessary.
Examples of niche beauty content include the following:
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- Applying makeup to maturing skin.
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- Applying eyeshadow to hooded eyes.
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- How to cure and cover up female cystic acne.
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- Postpartum hair care tips.
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- Best practices for dealing with PCOS.
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- Clean girl makeup.
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- Basic girl personal care routines.
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- No-makeup makeup looks.
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- Skincare-first routines.
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- Lucky girl skincare.
Here are some tips to help you identify and carve out your niche so you can establish a strong connection with your audience:
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- Identify your passion and expertise: Focus on what you love and have expertise in.
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- Understand your unique selling position (USP): Determine what makes your approach to beauty unique, e.g., a skill, perspective, or philosophy that helps you stand out in the beauty content landscape.
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- Define your target audience: Understanding your target audience’s demographics, interests, and preferences allows you to tailor your content to their needs and preferences.
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- Research popular trends in beauty: Staying current helps you to align your content with what your target audience actively seeks.
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- Narrow down your focus: Avoid being too broad in your content; instead, focus on a specific niche.
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- Create consistent branding: Consistent branding helps to create a memorable and recognizable presence.
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- Engage in market research: Use polls and surveys to gauge your target audience’s pain points and needs.
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- Connect with your audience emotionally: Share personal experiences and use storytelling to connect with your audience on an emotional level.
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- Be authentic and transparent: Authenticity is key in the beauty industry, so be transparent about your experiences, product recommendations, and reviews.
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- Collaborate with video influencers who align with your brand’s niche: Doing this can broaden your audience and drive engagement.
Beauty Videos: Performance Video Marketing vs. Brand Content
Performance video marketing and branded content serve distinct purposes in a comprehensive beauty video marketing strategy. Understanding their differences and recognizing their importance can help you leverage both effectively to achieve your overall business goals.
Performance Video Marketing
Performance video marketing focuses on specific actions like clicks, conversions, or sales. It’s designed to captivate the viewer in the first 3-5 seconds by promising an answer or solution to a pain point and often using user-generated content.
Performance video marketing involves targeted advertising, which is ideal for niche markets. The primary goal of this type of marketing is to generate a positive ROI, usually measured in terms of the revenue generated against the advertising costs.
Additionally, performance videos are strategically positioned within the sales funnel to move viewers from awareness to consideration and conversion.
Performance video marketing differs from brand content marketing in the following ways:
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- It focuses on immediate actions and measurable outcomes.
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- It emphasizes metrics like click-through rates, conversion rates, and return on ad spend.
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- It’s designed to drive conversions.
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- The timing of the videos is often associated with specific campaigns and promotions.
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- It’s direct and action-oriented.
Branded Content
Branded content is crucial for establishing and reinforcing a brand’s identity. It aims to evoke emotions and build relationships with the audience, creating loyalty and a lasting impression. Branded content contributes to long-term brand equity, helping it stand out.
While not necessarily punting a call-to-action, branded content aims for higher engagement and shareability to extend the brand’s reach. It involves creating valuable, relevant, consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience.
Branded content differs from performance video marketing in the following ways:
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- It aims to build brand awareness, identity, and long-term relationships with the audience.
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- It looks at the metrics related to brand sentiment, engagement, and shareability.
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- It often sits at the top of the sales funnel as it fosters awareness and consideration.
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- It’s part of an ongoing, long-term brand-building strategy.
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- It employs an emotionally driven storytelling approach.
Build and Strengthen Your Beauty Brand with Video Marketing
Unless it’s another passion of yours aside from beauty, producing video content for three or more channels daily can be (and is) overwhelming. However, outsourcing a team of professional video and UGC creators makes this arduous task more manageable.
Using an outsourced team to manage a beauty video marketing strategy empowers a brand to maintain a routine posting schedule, stay up to date with trends, act swiftly in the dynamic digital world, test different marketing messages, and continuously improve.
Agencies like Dillie are an excellent resource for beauty brands as they:
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- Maintain creative control.
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- Scale your content.
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- Keep your brand current with trending video content.
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- Optimize your video ad content.
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- Organically grow your reach.
Conclusion
As a brand manager, you have many channels that require your attention. As such, you must discern which channels drive the most engagement and offer the greatest ROI for your beauty video marketing strategy.
As a beauty brand, partnering with the right agency—especially one that excels in the beauty industry—is the best way to continuously update and improve your beauty video marketing strategy in today’s ever-changing social and digital marketing landscape.
References
Note: https://dilliecreative.com/spotlight-malingoetz/s redirects to a sample page, so I didn’t use it.