In just the past ten years, the digital age has completely revolutionized the way we find new bestselling beauty products. Fashion and beauty magazines used to dominate the industry. They acted as the definitive way for determining if a beauty product was a success or not. Well, this is no longer the case.
Now, these best selling products are no longer in the hands of top magazine editors and high-fashion models. Today, the focus is on the everyday consumer. Social media has changed the way people interact with big brands, and now more attention is put towards marketing that appeals directly to the consumer. Here’s how beauty products become bestsellers in the digital age.
The history of beauty product marketing
Today, beauty is a $330 billion dollar global industry. It wasn’t always this influential! In the past 100 years, the beauty industry has undergone many major changes that have affected the way the average consumer interacts with brands and products. Beauty products aren’t new! Historians can trace the first beauty products back to the Egyptians in 4000 BC who used black kohl to line their eyes with dramatic patterns.
The beauty industry in the United States was slow and steady, mainly focusing on natural products for scrubs, pastes, and exfoliants. It didn’t begin to really take off until the roaring 20s when Elizabeth Arden opened her salon. With the rise of Hollywood films and the modeling industry, people began to look towards these famous ladies they saw on the big screen for fashion and beauty inspiration.
Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, the beauty industry followed the lead of figures like Twiggy and Madonna. Women everywhere wanted to replicate the looks they saw in their favorite magazines and on the TV. By the 90’s, Vogue was seen as the height of fashion and beauty. These beauty editors in these big magazines had all of the power, and they were the ones who decided what was or wasn’t a bestseller. That is, until social media took the world by force in the early 2000’s.
Beauty bestsellers in the digital age
The world of beauty and fashion was turned upside down with the rise of digital technology. While people used to look to the big-name beauty magazines for the best products and trends, this became less common as things like Instagram and Youtube introduced a new side to the beauty industry.
With social media, everyone has the power to broadcast their thoughts and ideas to others. People no longer needed to look to beauty editors who they struggled to relate to in the first place. Now, they can see how girls and women around the globe like to do their makeup just with a few clicks of their mouse on the screen. Thus, influencer marketing was born.
The beauty industry today is dominated by these social media influencers and the everyday consumer. Trends are determined not by top beauty editors in luxury New York City offices, but by the everyday women who use these products and decide for themselves. Whether someone is looking for the best at-home gel nail kits or the best eyeshadow palette, they’re more likely to look to these beauty gurus and bloggers for their recommendations.
The reasoning is simple: these bloggers are more relatable. They don’t speak through an expensive magazine, but in their own words. They don’t always look like stick-thin models seen in the glossy pages of magazines, they look like real people. These influencers are trustworthy in a way magazines can’t be.
In the digital age of social media, beauty bestsellers are determined by the consumers not the high-level magazine editors. Today, everyday people are able to speak directly with their favorite brands and companies. And demand more products that suit their needs. While beauty products used to focus mainly on enhancing one’s beauty, today they also encourage environmental sustainability, inclusivity, and health.
It will be interesting to see how beauty bestsellers continue to become bestsellers as the digital age becomes more and more advanced. Social media changes everyday, and beauty marketers need to adapt to these new changes as they come along. While influencers and beauty gurus reign supreme in the beauty industry now, they might not in the future. Either way, the beauty industry looks bright!
What are your thoughts on this? Who or what influences your beauty purchases?
*Collaborative post.
