why the best beauty brands don’t build their communities alone
the strongest beauty communities aren’t created by a brand. they’re created with the people who love it.
for beauty marketing leaders, building a community is no longer as simple as gaining followers and posting consistently. the real opportunity is creating a space where consumers want to participate in the conversation.
beauty has always been a highly social industry. people share product recommendations with friends, post their routines online, create tutorials, and openly discuss what does and does not work for them. today, those conversations can quickly grow into something much bigger.
when consumers become part of the brand
Douglas Holt describes this shift through the idea of crowdculture, where online communities and social groups can influence culture and create powerful conversations around brands.
the beauty industry is a perfect example.
a product can go from relatively unknown to impossible to find because consumers start talking about it. a makeup technique can become a trend overnight. a community can even influence what products a brand creates next.
from my experience in the beauty industry, consumers often trust recommendations from other people because they feel more personal. someone explaining how a product worked for their skin, hair, or makeup routine can sometimes feel more convincing than a polished advertisement.
the conversation around the product can become just as powerful as the product itself.
community cannot be completely controlled
this is where i think some brands make mistakes.
brands can create a hashtag, build a social media campaign, or encourage customers to share content, but they cannot completely control a community. and honestly, they probably shouldn’t want to.
the most valuable communities feel like real conversations rather than marketing campaigns disguised as conversations.
beauty brands should listen to what their communities are already discussing. what problems are customers experiencing? what products are they comparing? what trends are they creating on their own?
those conversations can provide valuable insight while also helping consumers feel heard.
loyalty looks different in a community
brand loyalty is often measured by repeat purchases, but i think community adds another layer.
a loyal customer may continue buying a product. a member of a brand community may recommend it, talk about it, create content around it, and defend it when other people criticize it.
that kind of relationship cannot simply be purchased through advertising.
the strongest beauty brands don’t just ask consumers to follow them. they give consumers something worth being part of.
for beauty marketers, that may be the real value of brand community: when customers stop feeling like an audience and start feeling like they belong.