How do you stand out from your competition, create impact and build a distinctive and iconic image as an emerging beauty brand? Learn from those who have done it. I share 4 proven powerful brand strategies that you can use to build your own successful indie beauty brand to elevate your position and claim your space with style and confidence.
1. Community Over Competiton
Indie beauty brands are all about community. It plays a pivotal role in branding for several reasons.
- Trust and Credibility
- Loyalty and Advocacy
- Feedback and Improvement
- Co-Creation
They know a strong community can vouch for your brand’s authenticity and reliability. When people see that others trust and engage with your brand, people can’t help but want to be a part of the buzz. Smart brands create FOMO by creating a feeling of belonging to a community.
By engaging with their community, they gather insights into their audience’s needs, preferences, and pain points, enabling them to adapt and improve your brand accordingly.
Who does it well…
Rare Beauty , founded by Selena Gomez is one of the highest-grossing independent beauty brands to emerge this decade. The brand is estimated to be £206 billion ($250 billion) global beauty industry by creating simple, moderately priced makeup. Her beauty brand is community-focused and uses her cosmetics and beauty as a platform that’s community community-focused. She knows her audience and they feel like they know her on a deep level which makes for a great brand relationship. She stays vulnerable, honest and true to her brand values and story.
The strategy
First, get clear on who you want to attract. Getting clear on what makes them tick, what their dreams and aspirations are, and how you can make their dreams come true is how you build a memorable and positive brand experience. Building and nurturing a community around your brand is not just about growing a customer base; it’s about creating a vibrant ecosystem of engaging posts, trusted words/testimonials from those who love you, and aligning your values with theirs. This can significantly enhance your brand’s impact, longevity, and success in the marketplace. Leverage platforms like TickTok, Instagram and YouTube to create a buzz around your brand.
2. Change the Narrative
Branding is as much about doing what you know works, as it is about pushing boundaries and redefining your space. Another successful brand strategy used by indie brand owners is not being afraid to zig when everyone else zags!
Rather than feeling the need to go bigger and bolder to cut through the noise or immediately hop on a trend to get more likes, instead, they take a more simple yet significant approach by redefining the space and changing the narrative with a plot twist in their brand story!
Who does it well…
Known for its simplicity and transparency, The Ordinary offers high-quality, single-ingredient skincare products at affordable prices. This brand has changed the landscape for skincare with its no-frills approach to skincare and changed the landscape as we know it.
The strategy
Being distinctive and iconic is about being different, whilst still being relevant and relatable. Remember to go beyond what’s expected to stay top of mind and allow those not represented to feel like they belong. Rather than comparing yourself to your competitors, get motivated to be different and claim your space as the go-to for what you offer. become the unexpected (in a good way), be relatable while being inspiring and change the plot line. Laser focus on who you want to attract, and what you’re most passionate about most in your business and always learn what you can do away with whilst still communicating your message clearly.
3. Create A Visual Escape
Visual escapism involves engaging with visually stimulating content, such as photos, videos, art, or virtual environments, to temporarily put you in an immersive more pleasant, imaginative, or relaxing headspace. Successful brands work hard to make you feel like you’re seen, heard and understood. Using their platforms to create visual escapes, they cleverly leave you dreaming and coming back for more.
Who does it well…
Rowse is a prime example of using visually compelling earthcore imagery to create a visual escape. From the brand and product photography to their minimal recyclable packaging, they expertly transport you to an earthly raw living lifestyle, through the use of warm sunlight cast on organic textures, and Mediterranean backdrops.
The strategy
As a brand you want to communicate what you stand for by combining visuals and language to tell your brand story. Create captivating visually immersive content that allows your audience to escape to a different world, lifestyle, or experience, for just a moment, creating an emotional connection to you as the brand. Tap into your audience’s desires and aspirations, and where can you transport them to. Whether through photography, video, design, or immersive experiences, visual escapism can be a powerful tool for engaging and resonating with the right people for you.
4. Set New Standards – Become The Disruptor
Brands are gaining recognition for being ahead of the curve in terms of innovation, sustainability, inclusivity, and ethical practices. Rather than being known for what they sell their forward-thinking approaches have led them to international exposure and have paved the way for many in their industry.
Who does it well…
3INA is a new makeup and skincare brand that is all about disrupting its space. Born out of a generation that approaches makeup and skin care in a “fresh, fearless and democratic way” 3INA offers affordable, high-quality products. They stand for more than what they sell and offer a platform for playfulness, confidence and self-expression whilst still being kind to people, planet, and animals.
The strategy
Always remember as a modern brand you have a responsibility to do good. You are more than what you sell! The beauty, wellness and lifestyle industries are constantly evolving, and new brands and trends emerge regularly. Keeping ahead of the curve is to know precisely what your audience wants before they know they want it. This might seem like an impossible task but talk to the people you want to attract and find what they like and don’t like with what’s already out there.
BONUS Strategy
REMEMBER: Branding builds loyalty. Marketing drives awareness. Advertising drives sales.
Branding is a long-term strategy whilst marketing and advertising are short-term strategies (as they need to change and adapt). Your brand strategy is designed to stay consistent and unchanged for the long haul to establish roots in your market.
Branding, marketing and advertising all share an end goal of GROWTH and that’s why they need to work holistically together.
Get clear on what your brand stands for, what your brand represents and why it all matters. Find your focus and it makes your marketing and advertising a walk in the park.
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