Co-Marketing between Fashion and Beauty Brands

Dara Busch, 5WPR on March 20, 2023

To succeed in the competitive marketplace, brands need creative marketing strategies. Brand collaborations with complementary brands can be an effective approach. A partnership between a fashion brand and beauty brand can promote both companies simultaneously. 

Overlapping Industries and Benefits

Fashion and beauty industries often intersect, appealing to similar consumers. This synergy presents an opening for brands in both sectors to collaborate to expand reach. A collaboration between fashion and beauty brands can provide several advantages.

A partnership between two brands can lead to tapping into each other’s customer base. For instance, a fashion brand collab with a beauty brand allows both access to the other’s customers resulting in increased sales for both parties.

Brand collaborations can help two companies distinguish themselves in a crowded marketplace. The fashion and beauty industry is very competitive, making it difficult to stand out. However, by teaming up, they can create an exclusive product that sets them apart from others.

A co-marketing effort can help companies create new products that combine their strengths. For example, a fashion brand and a beauty brand could team up to create a makeup line that complements the clothing. This partnership can benefit both companies by leveraging their expertise to make something exciting and innovative.

Successful Co-Marketing Examples

Victoria Beckham and Estée Lauder’s collaboration resulted in a successful limited-edition makeup collection. Inspired by Victoria Beckham’s signature look, the collection was well-received by consumers and beauty influencers alike, earning positive reviews. This is one example of a successful brand collaboration between a fashion and beauty brand.

Skims and Fendi recently collaborated to create a limited-edition collection of clothing inspired by Skims shapewear. The collection featured products that expanded into swimwear and was sold exclusively on the Skims website. Through social media and influencer marketing, the brand collab was successful and sold out.

Developing Successful Co-Marketing Efforts

Fashion and beauty brands often collaborate to create successful brand partnerships. The first step is to find a beauty brand that matches the fashion brand’s aesthetic and values. The two companies should have similar target audiences and brand identities to reach an overlapping audience. Once potential partners are identified, defining the partnership involves determining the scope, goals, and timeline for collaboration.

The fashion and beauty brands could create something new and exciting by leveraging each other’s strengths. The fashion brand can provide inspiration, while the beauty brand can contribute expertise in creating products. Effective promotion is essential once the collaborative effort has started. This includes using social media or influencer marketing, as well as investing in other marketing channels to reach a broader audience.

In conclusion, brand collaborations between fashion and beauty brands can be a successful marketing strategy. These partnerships allow companies to tap into each other’s customer base, create exclusive products, and leverage the strengths of each to make something innovative. By working together, brands can expand their reach and stand out in a crowded marketplace.

How To Integrate Hashtags to Strengthen Your Marketing Campaign

Dara Busch, 5WPR on March 16, 2023

Businesses of all sizes are now leveraging the popular platform TikTok for marketing and taking advantage of the platform’s large user base and easy-to-use features. One effective way to promote a brand on the app is to use hashtag targeting.

Understanding Hashtags

It’s important to understand how to use hashtags, how they work, and what hashtags to use on TikTok or Instagram. When a customer clicks a hashtag, a word or group of words preceded by the “#” symbol, it allows them to explore the content associated with it. Hashtags can help people discover new content, as well as let businesses advertise products or services.

Using Hashtags

Companies posting on TikTok should use relevant hashtags to reach their audience. This includes specific hashtags related to the company, as well as broader hashtags targeted at the audience. For example, beauty product companies can leverage #makeuptutorial and #beautyhacks to reach makeup-lovers.

Trending Hashtags

Companies using hashtags on TikTok should stay aware of current trends including dances and challenges, these trends usually have corresponding hashtags. If there is an opportunity to pair your products with the trend in a way that makes sense, trends are the perfect opportunity to make use of hashtags that help to expand the reach of your audience, ending up on the pages of someone who might not be in your audience right now, but could still be interesting. 

How Many Hashtags Should I Use on Instagram or TikTok?

Number is key when using hashtags. While it’s tempting to add as many hashtags as possible to each post, it’s important to remember that too many can be detrimental. Recommended use is 3-5 per post, as too many can seem spam-like or desperate, reducing visibility.

Using Branded Hashtags

Brands can use hashtags to build user engagement on TikTok. Branded hashtags are unique to a particular brand or product, and allow users to connect with like-minded people who share the same interests. For instance, a skincare brand might create #glowyskin for their customers to share tips and advice about their products. 

Branded hashtags can also be an effective tool in upping brand recognition on TikTok. They serve the dual purpose of creating a sense of exclusivity and stimulating user-generated content. Recognizing that the hashtag links to a particular brand, users are more likely to interact with it. Companies can leverage this by encouraging their users to create content featuring the hashtag. This enhances visibility and grows their fan base of loyal brand supporters.

Timing

When using hashtags on social media, it’s essential to think about timing. TikTok has algorithms and best practices when it comes to posts, suggesting peak usage times in the evening and at weekends. By posting during these times, businesses can expand the reach of their posts and get seen by a bigger audience. In addition to timing, consistency is important as TikTok rewards posting frequently with the use of the hashtags.

Performance

Companies should track hashtag performance continually. This means monitoring the engagement and reach of each hashtag, and making adjustments as needed. If a hashtag isn’t successful, replace it or refine content to boost performance.

Generational Marketing: How to Reach Each Generation on Social Media

Dara Busch, 5WPR on March 5, 2023

Businesses must update their marketing approach to reach consumers in the digital age. A company must know each generation’s values and preferences to create tailored approaches for each. Additionally, it’s important to recognize the different types of content and tactics that yield the best results on various social media platforms. This way, businesses can reach their target market and target demographic better.

Gen Z

Gen Z (1997-2012) are the world’s first digital native generation, and rely heavily on TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat. To engage Gen Z, companies must create authentic content which reflects their values and commitment to social causes. Influencer marketing is a key strategy as Gen Z puts more trust in influencers than traditional advertising. Brands can tap into this by sponsoring sponsored content or influencer-led campaigns.

Millennials

Millennials (born 1981-1996) are the largest generation in the workforce and have considerable buying power. Popular social media platforms amongst them are Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Millennials seek personalized experiences from brands, so companies should engage with them via comments, messages and customer service.  Using social media to highlight a company’s culture, values and employees will also resonate. Finally, a company can make cause-related marketing appeals which align to their beliefs.

Generation X

Generation X (1965-1980) were the first to embrace the personal computer and the internet. On social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, they prefer practical, informative content. Companies should create material to educate Gen X on product features while highlighting its benefits. Discounts and promotions are also of interest – utilizing social media ads and email marketing campaigns to target them.

Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) embraced televisions and have handled digital technology well, using social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. “Boomers” value product quality and customer service. To engage with this generation, companies should create professional, informative content that stresses the quality of the products and services. Content should be emotionally-driven and target Baby Boomer values like nostalgia or family-oriented messaging.

How to Come Up with Current Content Ideas for Your Brand

Dara Busch, 5WPR on February 22, 2023

Creating consistent and relevant content is crucial for any company looking to connect with its audience and build a strong brand presence. But coming up with new and innovative content ideas can be a challenge. That’s especially true as the competition in most industries continues to grow. There are a few different strategies that companies can use to come up with current content ideas that will help them stand out and get noticed.

Trends

Not only is it important for businesses to keep up to date with the latest industry trends and news, it’s also a great way to come up with fresh content ideas. Companies that stay informed on the latest developments and innovations in their industry can create content that is relevant and timely. This type of content also provides value to the target audience, keeping them up to date and entertained.

Engagement

Businesses should be engaging with their target audience on social media. Reading and responding to comments and feedback can provide companies with a lot of valuable insight on their services and products, while also informing companies to what . the audience’s interests are and what topics they would like to see more of. This can help companies come up with new content ideas that are tailored to the audience’s interests and needs.

Data

Data and analytics can provide valuable insights into what type of content resonates with an audience and what topics are driving engagement. Companies should be leveraging data and analytics as much as possible to learn about the audience. Then, they can optimize their content strategy and create content that is both relevant and engaging for the audience.

Collaboration

Another way that companies can come up with fresh and relevant content ideas is to collaborate  with other brands or with influencers. Collaborating can be a great way to come up with fresh content ideas by pooling everyone’s resources and expertise  to create content that’s unique and provides value to the audience.

Competitors

When it comes to competitive markets, companies should always keep track of what their competitors are doing. The same is true with content. Companies can analyze the content that their competitors are producing to get a better idea of what topics are resonating with the audience and how others in your industry are interpreting trends. By analyzing the content of a competitor, companies can come up with new and innovative content ideas. They can figure out if there are any topic or content gaps in the market, create content for them, and set themselves apart from their competitors.

Formats

Companies can try experimenting with different content formats. Depending on what the audience prefers, companies can create different types of content such as videos or podcasts. They can also create infographics and blogs, and even come up with new Youtube content ideas that customers would enjoy. They might even work on some content ideas for Instagram. By exploring different content formats, companies can find what works best for their brands and what resonates with their audience.

How to Encourage UGC from your Brand Followers

Dara Busch, 5WPR on February 7, 2023

These days, user-generated content is a powerful source of marketing material used by many brands. One of the main reasons behind it is the fact that this type of content allows companies to generate more engagement and awareness while connecting with their audiences on a personal level. Companies that want to take advantage of user-generated content will first have to put in place the right strategies. Those strategies should motivate their consumers to start creating and sharing their own user-generated content. Then, the company can then start incorporating it into its marketing strategies.

Audit

Auditing is the first step businesses will have to take to start incorporating user-generated content in their marketing strategies to identify the existing content that their consumers have shared in the past. To do that, businesses will have to head to some of the most popular social media platforms their consumers enjoy using, including Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Then, the company can begin their audit by looking up its name, any branded hashtags the company has created, and its physical location where possible. Companies have to remember not all consumers will end up tagging the brand on the content they’re sharing across social media platforms or even using branded hashtags. That means companies should think outside the box when conducting this type of audit.

Trends

The next step for companies to take is to look through all the content consumers have already shared about the company and its products, and identify trends among them. Some of the things that companies should take into consideration when analyzing past user-generated content include the people most likely to share content about the company and its solutions, the products or things they’re sharing the content about, and the location of the content when they shared it. Brands will need to identify the reason why the users decided to tag the company or use a branded hashtag.Identifying these details can help companies develop a more data-driven user-generated content strategy. This strategy will inform all user-generated content campaigns in the future for the business.

Incentive

Once the company has conducted an audit and analyzed the content that previous customers have shared in terms of user-generated content, it’s time to think about incentives that will motivate other potential customers to start sharing their own content. Call to actions should encourage users to create content that doesn’t focus on the brand, but rather content that focuses on the customers and their experience with the brand. This type of content succeeds because it showcases the way the customers are using and enjoying products while connecting with the brand. Companies can use the data they’ve gathered to figure out the best strategies to get more people to share their own content about the company and its solutions.

What Beauty Brands Can Learn From Morphe

Dara Busch, 5WPR on January 31, 2023

Anyone even tangentially familiar with the beauty and makeup industry has heard of Morphe before. The brand was founded back in 2008, by siblings Linda and Chris Tawil, as a brand that was created for the creators, and quickly became a well-known brand with consumers all over the globe. In the beginning, the company was mostly known for its amazing makeup brushes that came with very affordable prices for the consumers, however, the brand developed into a full-on makeup brand creating eyeshadow palettes and other beauty and makeup products for consumers in just a few short years. Morphe achieved all of that by utilizing the right marketing choices, with one of the most important ones being partnering with social media influencers and relevant YouTubers on marketing campaigns that helped reach the company’s target audience. Today, however, Morphe is a subject of controversy after suddenly closing all of its brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. without adequately warning its employees. 

Beginnings

Back when Morphe was first established, the beauty and makeup industry wasn’t as big as it is today. In fact, according to research, the industry was worth nearly $600 billion in 2019 alone, and dozens of new makeup and beauty brands are emerging each day. However, Morphe’s operational strategy is largely responsible for the industry’s rapid growth.One of the biggest reasons for the brand’s massive success was its understanding of the power that social media and influencers have on the public’s purchasing decisions; even though the strategy wasn’t as popular at the time, Morphe had the foresight to invest in influencer marketing.That was a time when most people didn’t know that social media platforms had so much power, and were even less aware that they could effectively commercialize that power in a way that generates positive results.

New Move and Backlash

Morphe managed to quickly realize the power that influencers and social media platforms have over purchasing decisions with many different consumers, which is how the company managed to grow to be worth over $2 billion. The way that Morphe managed to set itself apart from its competitors, and reach so many consumers, is by investing in partnerships and collaborations with beauty influencers, YouTubers, and bloggers. However, the popular makeup brand confirmed earlier this year that it would be shutting down all of the stores it has across the US, and did so through a tweet. This new move from the brand ended up shocking both customers and employees. Back in December, some of the employees took to TikTok and began speculating about this as they noted a lack of new inventory being delivered to stores. The decision was faced with backlash after the brand had been facing public criticism for a longer period of time, as consumers all over the world started reassessing some of its strategies and top collaborators.

Controversy and Lessons Learned

Beginning in late December, Morphe began quietly closing its retail doors after suspiciously high discounts were offered to customers. By January 5th, Morphe officially announced its decision to close all U.S. locations on Twitter – a statement that was met with the popular hashtag, #justiceformorpheretailemployees, after several Morphe employees reported having as little as one day of notice prior to termination. Morphe’s fall from grace has been a shock to the industry and is a striking example of how a crisis should not be handled. If a brand can learn anything from Morphe, it would be to embrace transparency. Being transparent with both your audience and your staff will protect your brand’s integrity, and will help avoid potential backlash. Furthermore, aside from its initial statement confirming the closures, Morphe has been silent on the swirling employment controversy; by not acknowledging the problem at hand, Morphe further aggravates the public outrage and adds additional damage to its image and integrity. When a problem does arise, brands need to take responsibility for their missteps and make it right.

Strategies for Health and Wellness Marketing

Dara Busch, 5WPR on January 10, 2023

The health and wellness industry is experiencing a boom with people being more aware of their health and wellness than ever before. With people spending a lot of time at home, spending in the areas of health and wellness has also surged. Customers are giving more importance to nutrition, physical fitness, and mindfulness. Below are ways health and wellness brands can stand out from the crowd.

Use Fact-Based, Compelling Content

Anyone can write on health and wellness. If people do not really know what they are talking about, the article they write can cause confusion and actual harm to people. The information used in the content should be reliable, verifiable, and trustworthy. Scientific information is not enough, the content should have valuable insight that the audience is looking for. Medical jargon should be avoided and the content should ease the concerns of the target audience.

Seek the Help of Micro Influencers

Micro influencers can be relatable and credible and can result in serious engagement from the target audience. They can sell products and services on different social media platforms and can influence the purchase decisions of customers. If a brand wants to attract more customers while maintaining its base of loyal customers, then micro influencers are a great choice as they are passionate about the space they are in.

Email Marketing

For increased conversions, an email marketing strategy would be very effective for the health and wellness industry. The subject line of the email should be compelling so that the reader is compelled to take a closer look. A successful marketing email offers readers something that they are looking for and they cannot get elsewhere. For instance, for a fitness studio, it could be the limited availability of a free assessment. Text links should also be included so that a reader can take the next step. The emails should also be optimized for mobile as most mails are read on mobile devices these days.

Organize Wellness Events

To organize wellness events in which a community can participate, a brand can use creative ideas. There can be a variety of talks and wellness experts can answer questions from participants. Prizes can be given as incentives to members so that they can sign up for the event. Customers are always looking for useful information on wellness. There can also be collaborations with other brands and exciting giveaways.

Instagram Reels Marketing

Dara Busch, 5WPR on January 6, 2023

According to research, Reels on Instagram generate over 40% more engagement with users compared to regular Instagram videos and other types of in-feed posts. That means if a company is looking to promote itself on the platform, it’s time to start investing in Reels. Here, we explore a few considerations when planning your Instagram Reels marketing.

Scheduling

Like all content, factoring in the timing of the post is a crucial element of a company’s content strategy. Current best practices indicate that, in general, Monday through Thursday morning to noon, Saturday mornings and Sunday evenings are good times to post. However, these timings tend to be different for different audiences, which means companies should keep a keen eye on their own data to figure out when their followers are most active on the platform, scheduling the content to be distributed during those times.

Consistency and efficiency in content creation

Content ideas for Instagram Reels can happen at any time of day, however, that doesn’t mean the content needs to be created and published immediately. In fact, a more effective practice is to map out all their creative content ideas, and then take a day to create all their videos, essentially creating the content in batches, and scheduling it out to be published for the next few days or weeks. This is a great way for companies to be efficient in their content creation, while consistent with distribution. 

Aligning Reels content with business plans

As companies map out their sales strategy, product launches, key events and brand moments, they should align their Reels schedule to further support the broader business objectives, and create Reels in advance whenever possible. By creating content ahead of time and scheduling it to be published at a later date companies ensure consistency of content posting, and create efficiencies within their creative teams by filming content in batches throughout the year, rather than ad hoc. Consistency is important on most social media platforms as the algorithm favors accounts with consistent strong reach and engagement, meaning the more consistent your posting strategy is, the more the platform will continue to promote your content organically.

Marketing a Brand With Purpose 

Dara Busch, 5WPR on December 29, 2022

The global pandemic highlighted the rise in inequalities and directly impacted the way that customers do business and their purchasing habits. Not only that, but the ongoing climate change threats have also greatly shifted expectations from markets and investors, making businesses realize that they have to take action as soon as possible. Everything that’s been happening has shown companies that people are increasingly looking for purpose and value, both in the workplace and with the companies that they choose to do business with. It goes without saying that providing real value to customers is no longer enough for most businesses to survive, and many have started to look for different ways that they can provide value to their communities, general society, and the planet. More and more companies have started implementing their purpose into their business operations, as well as their marketing efforts. However, it’s important for companies to know that their purpose shouldn’t just be used as a simple buzzword to attract more customers because a lot of consumers these days are easily able to see through whether a company is authentic with its purpose or not. After all, if a company doesn’t stand by its purpose and support it through actionable steps, then the consumers are going to see that disconnect and stop supporting the company. Fortunately, there are a few different ways for companies with a purpose to market themselves to their consumers in a way that’s truly effective.

Influence

The purpose of a company shouldn’t exist in a vacuum, because one of the reasons why companies need a purpose is not just to create more value for their customers, but to be responsible and provide value to a larger ecosystem, which can include customers, local communities, and more. As companies are struggling to meet various regulatory demands, they have to balance those demands with the responsibility that they have regarding their purpose. Consumers are eager for more authenticity and transparency in what companies are doing, and businesses that are able to clearly show the way that they take action in support of their purpose are the ones that will gain a competitive advantage. There is a long way to go before any company is truly able to figure out the best possible way to go about supporting a purpose through every business decision, however, companies can decide to take the lead through their authenticity, and continue to make a positive impact.

Employees

Aside from showcasing the purpose, and supporting it through action, companies should make sure that their purpose is ingrained inside the business as well as the business operations. After all, two-thirds of all employees feel like their purpose has been defined by the work, and companies that have a strong purpose can directly impact their productivity and sense of worth. After all, when a person is looking to get more meaning from their work, they are looking to work for a company that’s able to make an impact on the world in a positive way.

Leveraging Podcasts for Brand Marketing

Dara Busch, 5WPR on December 15, 2022

More people than ever are listening to podcasts because they are a very convenient way to consume content on a variety of subjects, while being able to enjoy other things as well, or complete their daily tasks like walks, drives, household chores and more. For companies, that means knowing how to take advantage of all of the strategic opportunities that they can get from promoting themselves through podcasts, and choosing the right podcasts and hosts that will allow them to reach their target audience in a meaningful way.

Hosting

One of the ways companies can promote themselves through podcasts is by simply creating their own podcast. Though it can be fairly simple from a production standpoint, creating a podcast requires a significant amount of work, from brainstorming podcast topics to creating discussion ideas or bulleted lists about what the host is going to be discussing throughout the podcast, recording, and editing the content, and then getting it published to the right platforms. Not every company is able to invest all of the time or effort that it takes for it to create their own podcast, however, those who are able to do so can get a lot of benefits and advantages from it.

Sponsorships

Another great way for companies to promote themselves, and their solutions to the target audiences via podcasts is by investing in podcast advertising campaigns. With the variety of podcasts in the market that are hosted by influencers, news outlets, thought leaders and more, podcasts have loyal followings who tune in each week. In creating paid promotion on podcasts whose audiences align with the target audience of the brand, companies can target their audience through ad flights – and even go so far as to track conversions through unique URLs for promotions that are specific to that show, allowing them to measure which podcasts are performing the best for their marketing.  

Guest appearances

Finally, companies can promote themselves and their solutions to the target audiences, as well as position themselves as industry leaders by appearing as guests on relevant podcasts for segments that relate to their business and its offering. In these appearances, the company can discuss various topics of importance in its market or industry in a way that will interest the listeners while indirectly promoting the business.