Technology has taken over and Internet users have been increasing dramatically. Before I purchase a product, I would always do some research to check for product reviews. Michelle Phan, one of the most popular YouTube makeup artists, shares her experience by releasing beauty tutorials. Her home-made “How-to” videos demonstrate her unique and artistic makeup application methods, while incorporating her voice for instructions.
In 2010, Lancôme, a luxury beauty brand, hired Michelle Phan to be its spokesperson and use their products in her tutorials. By using technology as their new marketing strategy, Lancôme can reach Internet users world wide and develop their brand’s global popularity. Michelle Phan is a great role model for young people, coming up with original ideas, teaching her skills online, associating her product with famous people and using social marketing to tap into her target market.
Due to the great competition in the beauty industry, Lancôme was losing their youth market to other competitors such as MAC and Clinique. With the help of YouTube makeup gurus, Lancôme is able to convey their new innovative products by redefining their brand to be trendy, fresh and modern to take on the youth demographic. Michelle’s success on YouTube has produced attention from the media and people internationally.
Not only is Michelle providing numerous product reviews, her YouTube channel also includes holiday and celebrity inspired looks. For instance, her Lady Gaga makeup videos hit the 20 to 30 million views. Crazy! This just shows how popular her videos are. The beauty trend that Michelle portrays influences her viewer’s spending. She has become an opinion leader for beauty products as many viewers are purchasing products that she is using or recommends – a successful influence to the consumer decision process.