The D2C beauty industry is oversaturated. Fact. So, how do you break into it?

There are a lot of lessons we can learn from Glossier, one of the most successful D2C beauty brands in the world. 

So, who are Glossier, and most importantly, how did they do it?!

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A Brief History of Glossier

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Glossier wasn’t always Glossier… introducing ‘Into the Gloss’. 

Founded by Emily Weiss in 2010, ‘Into the Gloss’ was borne as Weiss noticed there was a need to spark conversation with women about what they were looking for when it came to beauty products. As an editorial assistant for Vogue, she noticed women were being sold to, and it was a one-way conversation. So, she opened up the conversation, and Into the Gloss was founded.

As one of the first beauty blogs on Instagram, it became hugely popular, and it was the ‘go-to’ account for the top beauty trends, dilemmas, and tips. 

Then, with the target audience captured and engaged, Weiss used the platform to launch her beauty brand… Glossier

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Glossier Marketing Strategy in 3 steps: 

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Since it arrived in the beauty industry, Glossier has created the blueprint for D2C beauty brands. So, let’s dive into some key lessons we can learn from this beauty brand…

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1. Understand your audience, and listen to them 

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Product Launches 

It’s a simple case of supply and demand. Find out what your audience wants, and give it to them…

For example, the Milky Jelly Cleanser was formulated after the brand asked its followers to describe their dream face wash 

The brand understood the assignment, and tackled their audience’s pain point - that it is impossible to find “the perfect, holy grail cleanser”.  Over 400 comments were collected and analysed, then the Glossier milky jelly cleanser was released after lots of testing, product design, and an iconic campaign - of course. 

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As a result, it is possible that their audience feels like they have more autonomy, as they are involved in the product development process, and a connection is likely to be made. Their audience may be more likely to look to Glossier as a ‘solution’ after their voices are shown to be heard. 

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TikTok Trends

As well as listening to direct feedback, Glossier is also in tune with recent beauty trends, such as the “clean girl aesthetic” TikTok trend. 

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This trend highlights the importance of minimalist make-up routines and prioritising skincare - creating a glowy, natural look. Glossier directly feeds into this trend, through its products as well as its branding, which is a simple light pink, and is now trademarked. 

“Clean girl aesthetic” has now become synonymous with “glossier girls” - earning the brand a huge amount of views  on social media, and making their brand ambassadors unified and recognisable through this joint aesthetic. 

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Content Pillars 

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Glossier understands the importance of aiming to appear as a trustworthy best friend, rather than a hard-faced business. They utilise a range of content pillars within their content, to ensure their audience is entertained, and they stay connected to them, as well as driving sales and subscribers. 

Naturally, campaigns and new product launches are a big deal to the brand. However, Glossier keeps the language playful and light, even when the key objective is to drive sales. 

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As a result, Glossier builds a connection with its audience, resulting in trust and sales. Key lesson = the ‘hard sell’ approach is not always the way. Keep it simple and authentic, build social proof into your strategy, and let the products do the talking. 

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2. Keep it Authentic: Utilise Micro-influencers and UGC 

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Micro-influencers

Glossier recruits micro-influencers to represent their brand, and post about them regularly…

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This content is also recycled within their paid media strategy, ensuring that they keep it authentic with their ads, and capture attention using the same fundamental attention-grabbing content that performs well organically. Remember: it is important to make TikToks, not ads. Here are some hooks that Glossier is currently using within its paid media strategy: 

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• GRWM ft. Storytime e.g. “Get ready with me whilst I tell you about X”
• Product wishlist e.g. “Glossier’s biggest sale of the year is back, here is everything I will be buying…” 
• Rating their best reviews (greenscreen) e.g. “Dramatic boy brow review ratings…” 
• Try ons e.g. “Which Glossier ultra lip should I wear today?”

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These hooks are great for not only grabbing attention but also for building social proof and encouraging viewers to buy. 

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UGC

Another way Glossier builds social proof is through UGC… and Glossier has created the ultimate cheat code for collecting great content. 

Their products are so aesthetically pleasing, and their store is so Instagrammable, that people want to post about them. Then, Glossier will repost UGC onto their Instagram account. 

Glossier understands the importance of engaging the whole of their community, and not just favouritising those with a larger platform. As a result, their audience sees themselves as part of the brand, and the brand remains relatable, with ordinary, everyday people achieving the “glossier girl” look. 

For a deeper insight into UGC check out our Ultimate Guide to UGC for more.

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3. Optimise Your Site

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While branding, influencers, UGC, organic, and paid media are all vastly important, they all have the same underlying objective - to build brand awareness, and ultimately, drive people to buy. 

And, to complete the user journey, your website and any subsequent landing pages, must be seamlessly integrated into your marketing strategy and fully optimised. Here are three lessons we can learn from Glossier’s site…

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Quizzes 

One barrier to sales, particularly for beauty products (often non-returnable once opened), is shade-matching. To tackle this, Glossier has produced a very informative quiz, with images, so that customers can easily find their perfect shade online. 

However, Glossier could also be using this quiz funnel within their paid media strategy, as well as providing other skincare questionnaires which would allow users to discover products that are suitable for their skincare needs as well as products that would allow users to achieve their desired makeup look. 

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Customer Service

In addition to the quiz element, the Glossier team is also on hand to help, should customers still need clarification on their shade or have any questions surrounding products. The availability of the Glossier team also demonstrates the proactiveness of the brand, which consequently builds trust knowing that there is a team readily available to answer questions and assist with any order issues - once again breaking down a barrier to sales. 

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Social Proof

The Glossier site is fully loaded with tonnes of social proof - including thousands of reviews, sorted by newness, that all boast about the fantastic product benefits. Glossier also includes examples of authentic UGC content on site, which reinforces the product benefits as well as builds trust within the product, as it is shown on a relatable person - demonstrating to the user that they can also achieve similar results. 

So, if you’re not fully convinced by the aesthetic imagery, detailed description of product ingredients and benefits, and clinical study data - these social proof elements may just move the needle. 

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To sum up 

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Glossier uses a plethora of marketing strategies, which all resonate with their community-led brand. The result is growing consumer confidence, brand loyalty, and recognition. 

If you run an e-commerce brand and are looking for a digital marketing partner to take your business to the next level, book a call in with one of our team.

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Written by Jody Lynch - Content Marketing Executive

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