The best social media strategy to market your ecommerce beauty brand!

The beauty industry thrives on visual appeal, trends, and community engagement—making social media the ultimate playground for ecommerce beauty brands. Mix this with the fact that close to 64% of the world’s population is active on social media and 68% of users follow brands, it’s a necessary place for ecommerce companies to be. 

But with so many platforms, trends, and content formats, how do you craft a social media strategy that actually drives brand awareness, customer acquisition, and retention?

When used strategically, social media can help beauty brands build credibility, foster genuine connections, and drive long-term growth. In fact, just in 2024, social sites ranked as the fourth most popular online channel to get inspiration for purchasing beauty products. So the power of social media is apparent. 

In this guide, we’ll discuss five impactful social media strategies and discuss real-world beauty brands that are flawlessly executing them.

Let’s get into it: 

1. Leverage short-form video for engagement

Video content has taken over social media, with platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts leading the charge. And did you know that with video, 95% of a message is retained versus only 10% when read in text?

Luckily, short-form videos are perfect for showcasing beauty products in action, sharing tutorials, and authentically engaging with audiences.

How to use video in your social media strategy:

• Tutorials: Create quick makeup or skincare tutorials that highlight the benefits of your ecommerce beauty products.
• UGC sharing: Share user-generated content (UGC) featuring real customers using your beauty brand’s products.
• Trends: Nowadays, there are so many viral social media sounds or trends that brands can jump on to boost organic reach.

Brand example: Huda Beauty

Huda Beauty boasts 10.5 million followers on TikTok and has mastered the art of short-form video. Their videos feature customers using the product, makeup hacks or tips, and trending content. All are contributing to making their brand feel accessible and relatable. 

2. Build a community with interactive content

Customers want to feel connected to the brands they love. 

And that’s where interactive content comes in. Beauty brands can create a sense of community that boosts loyalty through social media features like polls, Q&A sessions, and live streams. It makes audiences and consumers feel more connected to the brand when they can give their opinions or talk to a representative. 

How to use interactive content in your social media strategy:

• Stories: Use Instagram Stories’ poll, quiz, and question stickers to engage followers. This can also help to gain customer feedback for existing or future products. 
• Q&As: Host live Q&A sessions with beauty experts, founders, or team members to either give general beauty tips and advice or speak directly to your product lineup.
• Giveaways: Humans love winning things. Encourage audience participation with challenges and giveaways. This can also be used to gain followers or benefit other CTAs. 

Brand example: Supergoop

Supergoop frequently uses interactive Instagram Stories, asking customers for their opinions on product shades and collecting feedback. This keeps their audience invested in the brand. Even recently, they posted a story asking customers to guess what their latest product launch is (spoiler, it’s a new SPF). 

3. Collaborate with beauty influencers & creators

Partnering with influencers is a proven way for beauty brands to expand reach and connect with audiences. Matter Communications found that 69% of consumers trust the recommendations of influencers over information from a brand.  

So partnering with creators who speak to your target audience while aligning with your brand’s values and aesthetics can drive sales, trust, and credibility. 

How to use influencers in your social media strategy:

• Micro-influencers: Not only are they sometimes a bit more affordable for smaller ecommerce brands, but partnering with micro-influencers (10K–100K followers) can bring more authentic content and trust from a niche audience.
• PR: Offer PR packages to content creators and encourage them to share their experiences across platforms. This can get a tad risky since you’re asking for their honest review and they may not like your products. 
• Collaborative content: Use influencer collaborations to launch new products or exclusive collections. This helps to build excitement and awareness at a more rapid rate. 

Brand example: Rare Beauty 

Rare Beauty will often partner with influencers of all sizes to showcase its inclusive shade ranges along with their mission as a company and focus on mental health. By collaborating with diverse content creators, they’ve built an engaged and loyal customer base. For example, some of the influencers they work with include Whitney Simmons, Lisa Joy, and Vidya Gopalan. 

4. Create “surprise & delight” moments for customers

Customers love feeling valued, and social media is a great tool for delivering unexpected perks. 

Whether it’s through exclusive giveaways, personalized shoutouts, or unexpected gifts, these small gestures enhance customer loyalty and leverage “surprise & delight” marketing.

How to use delight moments in your social media strategy:

• Customer features: Highlight customers who tag your brand in their posts with re-shares or personalized comments.
• Ambassador programs: Offer exclusive discounts to your most engaged followers, one avenue is even building an ambassador program for them to join.
• Giveaways: Surprise select customers with free gifts and encourage them to share their reactions online.

Brand example: Summer Fridays

Summer Fridays frequently surprises its followers with giveaways and exclusive product sneak peeks, making customers feel valued and excited. For example, here’s a recent lip oil giveaway the beauty brand did on TikTok: 

5. Use user-generated content (UGC) to build social proof

Nothing builds trust like seeing real people use and love a brand’s products. A study by EnTribe found that 90% of surveyed participants stated that they would prefer to see brands share content from actual customers. 

UGC provides authentic content for your brand to use while strengthening credibility and encouraging more customers to share their experiences.

How to use UGC in your social media strategy:

• Hashtags: Create a branded hashtag and encourage customers to use it when posting.
• Customer reviews: Feature customer reviews and before-and-after transformations.
• Brand feed: Share UGC in your Instagram feed, Stories, TikTok, and website product pages. This not only makes customers feel seen but also builds trust with audiences. 

Brand example: Glossier

Glossier has built a strong community by featuring real customers and how they use the brand’s products. They highlight before-and-after images on their social media, reinforcing their products’ effectiveness. 

@glossier We are sooo red-dy for all of the looks you'll be creating with the new Black Cherry collection 😍 @angelaypark shows us her makeup of the day with Cloud Paint, Lip Line, Balm Dotcom, and No. 1 Pencil in Black Cherry ❣️ #glossier #blackcherry #balmdotcom #cloudpaint #makeuptutorial ♬ original sound - Glossier

Social media strategies for ecommerce brands

Social media isn’t just about posting visually appealing content—it’s about building a brand that people connect with, trust, and want to be a part of. 

By leveraging short-form video, interactive content, influencer collaborations, surprise & delight moments, and user-generated content, your beauty brand can thrive in the competitive ecommerce space.

Now it’s time to put these strategies into action. 

Need help scaling your ecommerce beauty brand? Try Blanka today!

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