Ever since the dawn of time, women have always found ways to beautify themselves. Be it through unusual make up techniques or bizarre skin care regimes, it is a lifestyle that women have mastered in their daily routines. Although, a regular dilemma faced by women is that of what product to use, which is why they will ask around until they receive a satisfactory response.
The beauty industry itself has been built highly on product recommendations through word of mouth. If a woman wants flawless skin, plump red lips or long, luscious lashes, she always consults someone before taking a step and making a purchase. Nowadays, women are seen visiting various social media pages of beauty brands with regards to their make-up and skin care needs; they are seeking answers on-line.
Being the community manager of a beauty brand, one can benefit from this practice. You can be the beauty expert she is looking for. When a woman arrives on your page and posts her beauty related concerns, listen to her and understand her needs. She is looking to you for suggestions now and there is a wide open area for you to jump in and make her use your product at least once. Act like a brand advocate and recommend products of your brand that will work for her. Leaving her query unanswered would just widen the gap between her and your brand, which can easily be filled by some other brand.
If your brand currently does not have a product that would provide the desired solution, then be honest about it, instead of recommending just any product to generate sales. This will only backfire as she might come back later on the page and make a huge issue about how your products do not work and are a waste of money. Create a trusting relationship with the customer as that would allow the customer to feel comfortable to come back later for further product recommendations. This in turn would increase the number of returning visitors to your page, which is what should be the main focus of every community manager.
Social Media is no longer about having more likes, followers or tweets, but rather providing exceptional customer experience and engagement. Women are continuously looking for more ways to further enhance their beauty (not necessarily for others, but mostly for themselves) and are always curious to know about the latest products available in the market and how or if it will benefit them. Community managers can use this to their advantage by being the best friend women can confide in with their beauty related troubles. You of course don’t want to become such a close friend that you go around recommending her products of some other brand; you could ruin the brand credibility and probably lose your job.
So to sum it all up, to be an effective beauty brand community manager, one must be the perfect combination of being a woman’s best friend and of course a responsible brand advocate.
Written by Misbah Aziz
Photo Credit: http://bit.ly/1RJi0c4
