Technology

IMPORTANCE ONLINE PLATFORMS LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA TO INTERACT & LEARN ABOUT BEAUTY

A MINE OF INFORMATION FOR CONSUMERS


Perfume Bottles (Source: Wikipedia)
Woman wearing several forms of cosmetics
(Source: Wiki - lipstick, eye liner, eye shadow, hair dye)
USPA NEWS - One of the most striking messages is how much consumers use online platforms to interact and learn about beauty. One of the big changes as a result of social media is access to what has always been a trigger to buy, word-of-mouth recommendation by other consumers...
One of the most striking messages is how much consumers use online platforms to interact and learn about beauty. One of the big changes as a result of social media is access to what has always been a trigger to buy, word-of-mouth recommendation by other consumers.



Word-of-mouth recommendation are trusted and treated as superior to claims made in brand marketing or paid for adds. Consumers rely a lot on feedback and oher user-generated content to help them male purchasing decisions. In the beauty business, consumers are reading a lot of content before they buy, so a lot if it comes down to what other consumers say about the products.
Product reviews on a brand's website can provide constantly fresh content on its home page, which can boost search trafic. Brands are also using consumer feedback to shape many aspects of their business, from new services and product development to new marketing strategies. You have a very engage audience that is telling you what you need and research and development money can be saved because audience is telling how to change it.
Beauty is a very hight-touch category, and it is one where people are incredibly savvy and also very opinionated. The growing importance of feedback has changed the rules of marketing, and in some respects reversed the role of brands and consumers. The consumers are co-creating the brand with companies. One of downside, user generated content can still be seen as unreliable or untrustworthy. There are also the risks that users will litter online content with nuisance comments.
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