If 2024 is the year of the brand, then authenticity is the driving factor that separates the companies that will struggle from those that will succeed.
After years of brands driving reliable revenue through performance marketing across digital media, a laundry list of factors has inspired company leaders to rethink their marketing strategies. This includes rising customer acquisition costs, a contracting publisher landscape, rapidly shifting social media algorithms and the death of the cookie.
Investing in brand marketing in the hopes of driving organic growth and sales, and maybe even going viral, has become a top priority for brands. But how can a company stand out in a saturated market without paying for views? What roles must they fill internally to sustain organic growth? If authenticity is the goal, what is the best practice for approaching social media’s increasingly polarizing topics? And do all brands really need to be on TikTok?
Today’s Confessions subject has big opinions about all of these topics which she’s honed over a career working with digital-native brands. Currently, she is an in-demand brand marketing consultant who has worked with companies funded by top strategics in the color cosmetics, skin care and wellness supplements spaces. Previously, she held marketing roles at one of the top global beauty retailers and an indie clean beauty brand. And she began her career in creative and editorial roles at a top media outlet and a membership-focused e-commerce platform.
While the exact details of her career have been removed to protect her privacy, she speaks candidly on the merits of strong copy, the way to develop a brand identity, the financial trap of merch and the cues for when to speak up — or stay silent — on social media, ahead.
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You’ve worked with many well-positioned, successful beauty and wellness brands. What do you wish more people in these industries understood about successful brand marketing?
“There’s a level of risk you have to be willing to take to be different enough to stand out. That means different in your messaging, visuals, photography, art, product, formulation — everything. The stronger your brand voice is, and the more willing you are to take a stand on something, the faster you will gain a loyal following.
One of the biggest [issues I come up against in my work] is brands not understanding how important it is to own what it is they do and who they are, then to really lean into that. When brands grow, there can be this hesitancy that waters down the real brand mission and message. I have watched brands that could be really radical and interesting, and kind of own a space, dilute the messaging until it’s like everybody else.”
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How have you helped brands to figure out their brand voice and identity? Where does that come from?
“The soul has to come from the brand story — the reason for existing. The soul of a brand can’t come externally and it can’t come from a mood board. Too often brands are very scared to take a stand on [their brand voice] because they think it could alienate their consumer or alienate them from the industry, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. A great example everyone is always talking about is Liquid Death. It’s just water, right? But they take a defined approach to their messaging [that makes the brand stand out and appeal to consumers in new ways].
The brands that are really doing it well know who they are. They have a defined brand voice and tone and a really strong visual identity that can flex into different campaigns. You know [what brand] you’re looking at [as soon as you see its content].
If you have that right out of the gate, you can start with two followers on Instagram and you will gain a loyal following faster than a brand that is just constantly trying to compete with everyone else.”
Where do you think brand leaders have the hardest time when it comes to nailing their brand identity? What are they missing when building their teams?
“I’ve worked at a lot of companies and almost none of them give copy and content the focus and time that they need. The brand story comes from your copywriters, which comes from your brand strategist.
Far too often, I’ll talk to brands that have a social media manager, creative director, art director and graphic designer, but no copywriter. Your brand needs good copy in order to survive, because you cannot have a successful brand if that voice isn’t there. You can have gorgeous visuals, but if you’re saying something that everyone else in the world is saying, or something that was obviously written by ChatGPT or someone who doesn’t love writing, it’ll be obvious to the consumer and it’ll dilute your message.”
How do you advise brands tospeak on social media about topics outside their brand and products, like holidays, cultural events, or environmental and political issues?
“If you’re a brand that has a mission, stand by that mission and be really proud of it. Really lean into it. And if there are cultural issues that you as a company really feel strongly about, lean into that, too. Don’t be afraid of alienating people because, when you lean in, your loyal following will only grow to be more loyal and they are going to attract other like-minded people. If you water it down, people can sense that you’re afraid and they don’t want to spend their money at places that don’t have that integrity.”
It must be tough for brands to figure out what to comment on, especially on the fly when news dominates social media. What advice do you have?
“Let’s say your mission is to make effective, science-formulated hair care for people who are struggling to find affordable options. It probably isn’t gonna make a lot of sense for you to be talking about environmental issues like oil drilling [on Instagram], but it could make a lot of sense for you to be talking about hard water and why hard water is affecting the health of your scalp or hair.
Brands have a really difficult time knowing what it is they should be standing up for because, ultimately, you’re a company; you are not a single person. [I suggest that brands] build a content and creative calendar around their brand identity [that includes holidays and cultural moments]. Finding that balance is difficult, but as long as you have your reason for being and your reason for existing in the market, [commenting on] social causes [your brand aligns with] will come organically.”
What should a brand do when something huge is happening in the news that they don’t want to post about?
“Just go dark on social media. Patience is everything, and you just have to be willing to ride it out. If it’s something you really don’t want to talk about and you feel like everyone else is talking about it, just pause. It’s OK to pause. It’s OK to not post. It’s OK to not have an opinion on everything. In fact, if you do have an opinion on everything, it dilutes the message. But when there is a cultural or news moment where you feel like your mission overlaps, and you should share, then you should.”
What is your POV on marketing a brand’s charitable giving or corporate responsibility programs?
“Understanding your brand mission is first and foremost. Using the last example, maybe you partner with a shower filter company and eventually make a charitable donation to a clean water organization. As long as you’re focusing it around something that ties back to your original reason for being, it can be really salient [in marketing].”
We’ve talked a lot about creating and nurturing a new brand’s developing identity, but how do you approach a rebrand of an older brand?
“If you’re a legacy brand that’s been around for decades, it’s important to look back at that reason for being and build from that. Knowing the kind of equity that you have in your products, formulations and brand visuals, including your original logo, is crucial.”
What do you think about merch? Should all brands jump on making promotional goods outside of their usual wares?
“If the goal is to make money, then no, it’s not worth it. If your goal is to bring about more brand awareness, then it has to make sense with your product, your brand and your goal. Merch is expensive and tough to get right. Vacation Sunscreen is one brand doing it right with fun, nostalgic products.”
I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you your thoughts on TikTok. How do you feel it’s best utilized in 2024 by beauty and wellness brands?
“I think TikTok is really incredible, but not every brand has to be on TikTok. You have to know your audience and your consumer and whether or not they are on it. Hiring a TikTok agency can be very beneficial for a lot of brands, but the content is going to end up looking the same [as other brands in your category].
I think of TikTok as a platform for smart and funny brand and product discovery, and [a place] to have fun while learning. People use TikTok as a place for learning and discovery because the algorithm promotes this type of content. By taking that for what it is — while knowing that the less perfect something looks, the better it will perform because it’s about authenticity and trust — beauty brands can kill it on TikTok. It is not about creating a gorgeous ad. It is about bringing something to the surface that others have questions about or others are also talking about. If you can do that as a brand, you’ll have success on TikTok.”
That’s great advice, but I know some brands struggle with how to handle in-house content creation for platforms like TikTok. How can a brand avoid hiring a full-time TikTok creator?
“Once I had a copywriter role open, so I hired a copywriter who was also a content creator. Later, I needed a freelance video editor so I did the same thing and hired a video editor who was also a content creator. If you keep doing this, suddenly you’ve got five people who are all filming and creating content [and you don’t have to fill the full-time creator role]. As long as all of them have a basic level of understanding of how to write a script and edit video, [they can be utilized for content creation]. I’m a firm believer that people can do lots of different things and that good copy and visuals can come from all over.”
Editor’s Note: For our Confessions series, we provide anonymity to fashion and beauty industry insiders to allow them to openly share their perspectives and give readers genuine insight. The author of a Confessions story is aware of the identity of the speaker and has validated their title and position.
