It’s the end of the month. Payday! And this month you got a promotion. So, what do you do with your paycheck? Of course, you will put most of it in savings, but you also deserve a treat. And there is a new makeup pallet that you have had your eye on for a while now. Ever since that Instagram influencer posted a picture of them with it on their page, you have seen it everywhere. So, what do you do? You put on your most comfortable pair of sweatpants, curl into bed, and you buy that pallet. And your new makeup will arrive at your doorstep in the next 3 to 4 business days. New eyeshadow, no sweat needed. With the advent of the internet, computers, and mobile devices, a new way to market emerged. Gone are the days where your best option was word of mouth. Suddenly retailers could reach millions of potential customers with a click of a button. E-shops such as Amazon, iTunes, eBay, etc., are multi-billion-dollar enterprises. And this has completely changed the way people do marketing.
In 1915 an ad was placed in a newspaper advertising the “Lash-Brow-Ine,” a product that promised to give its users lushes lashes and beautifully defined eyebrows. The “Lash-Brow-Ine” would come to be known as Mascara, and the company that advertised it would grow to become Maybelline, one of the largest makeup brands in the world. For over 100 years, Maybelline has successfully promoted its products to young women using traditional marketing tactics. They advertised in newspapers, on billboards, on the radio, and in television commercials. They hoped that potential customers would read, hear, or see them, buy their products, and tell their friends about them. But with the advent of the internet, the channels available to market products have expanded exponentially and have allowed for much more successful marketing campaigns. Maybelline and other makeup brands now utilize the influence of “makeup gurus,” online influencers specializing in makeup artistry, to curry interest in their products. Makeup gurus provide a better avenue for advertisement than commercials and magazine ads. After all, a makeup guru can demonstrate how the product works in a video to their fans and give them genuine insight because they constantly connect with the influence. In addition, makeup gurus can engage their audience much more intimately than a commercial because the nature of social media allows users to connect to their favorite influencers easily.
Social media allows advertisers to become more familiar with their potential customers because social media users post what they like on their page. As a result, companies can create more targeted and effective advertising utilizing the data they acquire about people through social media. This means a higher likelihood that those receiving advertisements will purchase the products, increasing a company’s overall sales.