Amid debate in Washington over a possible ban on TikTok if its Chinese owner doesn’t sell it, one group is watching with particular interest: the growing number of brands — particularly beauty, skin care, fashion, health and wellness — that are using the video app to boost their sales. have used
Youthforia, a makeup brand with over 185,000 followers on TikTok, is looking to move more marketing to other platforms like YouTube and Instagram. Underlinings, which makes the popular Nailboo brand, had planned to use TikTok to launch a product with a major retailer in August and is now considering whether it will have to change strategy. And Beautystat, which sells skin care products on TikTok Shop, can’t imagine the platform going away.
Yasso Murray, BeautyState’s chief marketing officer, said TikTok is “too big to go away, especially in the beauty industry and certain sectors.”
Companies and creators have known for years that TikTok could be at risk. However, those fears seem more real now that the House of Representatives has passed a bill that would ban TikTok in the United States unless its owner, ByteDance, sells it. (Since that vote last week, progress on the bill in the Senate has slowed.)
Some Washington lawmakers believe that TikTok is a platform used by the Chinese government for espionage. Parents are angry because they think it is rotting their children’s brains. Still, many businesses — big and small — credit TikTok and its group of influencers for getting their products in front of potential customers, especially young people.
Retailers, whether Sephora, Walmart, Target or Amazon, have also been big beneficiaries of TikTok, said Razvan Romanescu, CEO and co-founder of Underlinings and 10PM Curfew, which connects content creators with brands.
“If something goes viral on TikTok, they’re out of production,” Romanescu said. “I think the whole ecosystem is driven by the discovery that TikTok offers.”
TikTok is important for your brands
For some brands, TikTok has become a fundamental part of their marketing and sales growth strategy. This is partly because short videos are easily digested by consumers and partly because marketing on the platform is relatively inexpensive for smaller brands. TikTok Shop, a feature that was launched last year and Allows buyers to purchase products directly within the appIt has gained particular popularity among beauty and fashion brands.
“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the beauty category was very stable, growing two percentage points a year,” said Anna Mayo, vice president of beauty and personal care at NIQ, a research firm. However, during the pandemic, when consumers had more free time and Zoom calls became more popular, TikTok beauty and skincare videos exploded.
“Since then, the beauty industry has only grown and not slowed down,” Mayo said. “TikTok is a big driver of growth.”
Unlike movie stars or models, viewers feel closer to individuals who can make new products or clothes visible. Quick tutorials can show you the best way to style sweaters and jeans for spring, or the order in which toning lotions, serums, moisturizers, and sunscreens should be applied in a morning skincare routine. According to some people, they turn to TikTok before Google to make purchases.
Beauty influencers on TikTok
“The first video was a makeup tutorial that shows you how to perfectly cover acne with three products,” says Mikayla Nogueira, a 25-year-old influencer who started making TikTok videos four years ago. “In just 60 seconds, you’ve learned a new skill.”
At the time, Nogueira had free time after her university suspended classes and Utah Beauty, where she worked, closed its stores due to the pandemic. Nogueira currently has 15.5 million followers on TikTok and frequently collaborates with beauty and skincare brands.
While large companies may spend money on marketing in different places, TikTok offers a more affordable advertising channel Owner of Instagram, than platforms like Google and Meta.
“For a direct-to-consumer business like ours, the platform is very special,” said Nadya Okamoto, who began posting TikTok videos about her company’s organic menstrual products in August in the summer of 2021.
First, TikTok’s “For You” section consistently puts August’s videos in front of new customers, not those who have decided to follow the brand on other social media platforms like Instagram. Second, the platform allows Okamoto to be the company’s primary content creator.
“Other brands spend thousands of dollars a month on advertising and we spend almost nothing,” he said.
While some companies are working on contingency plans for new products, others are watching and hoping lawmakers don’t ban the platform.
On Beautystat, Murray commented that she’s “trying not to get too alarmed by what’s going on, because I think a lot of brands are going to suddenly take a big hit in their sales.” And he added: “It would be very damaging.”
c.2024 The New York Times Company
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