There has been a shift in the way people do business. As millennials conquer and divide new trends are constantly developing and changing the way of the business world. One trend that has changed the face of today’s marketing industry started when entrepreneurs asked the simple question, how could they share their product with the rest of the world while staying true to budget? The answer was simple, in fact it was free; Instagram, Twitter and many other social media platforms have become the most valuable tools to both new and established businesses to curate brand recognition. Emily Weiss, founder and CEO of Glossier, one of the world’s most popular and in-demand beauty companies, is a prime example of how one can utilize social media to put your brand on top. Weiss went above and beyond, using Instagram to not only display and market her aesthetic products, but as a platform to connect with customers and find out what they wanted. Her company was able to use Instagram to build mini focus groups and quickly create products based on findings (Giacobbe, 2017). Glossier has created a cult-like following with 745 thousand followers, new posts pop up every day of girls using the products and tagging Glossier, essentially doing the companies advertising for them.
Glossier is not the only company utilizing social media to drive sales, every single industry that has to do with lifestyle, in other words fashion, food, beauty, home furnishings, cars etc., have recognized the extent to which social media touches the customer. In this day and age customers live on social media, they see people use and love products and are instantly sold, we get our inspiration to buy from our feeds.
In addition to directly marketing to customers social media has created a platform where customers can openly and honestly share their opinions about products. Companies now have the power to monitor these comments and learn about what the customer wants, how they can improve, and respond appropriately to better serve customers. Meltwater is a social media monitoring company that does just that. They provide a software that allows you to track your brand and your competition on blogs, social media conversations, and editorials to get insights needed to understand and drive brand perception for your company. Social media is a powerful tool that allows companies to listen to everyone, appreciate the value in what they are saying, and harness that information to better the company. All this information causes me to ask the question, “how many times has social media tricked me into buying something?”
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Source:
Giacobbe, A. (2017, August 15). How Glossier Hacked Social Media to Build A Cult-Like Following. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/298014