This semester I focused on the future of the beauty industry, with research blog posts published on my blog but also through observational and participatory research on TikTok. TikTok is in the top 3 social media platforms for marketers to watch in 2022 (Bump, 2021) and has been on the rise since 2020. Being that I enjoy content creation and also study marketing, I understand the importance this platform has to the future of the beauty industry.
Since my pitch, I changed my direction and therefore so did the outcome and the results. I must admit, I always get ahead of myself with my DA timeline. Due to my lifestyle, completing weekly research and filming weekly content for my TikTok alongside lectures, tutorials and other assessments, I decided to reduce the number of blog posts but try my best to continue to maintain weekly content posted to my TikTok account. Although I made the change in the way I completed my DA, the research collection didn’t necessarily change.
With this new direction in mind for the majority of this semester, I was able to focus on producing content for my TikTok account at a consistent level. During this DA process, I wanted to record the progress I was making as this DA is not only about the future of the beauty industry, but also MY future in the beauty industry and trying to find where I fit in within the niche.
I began my DA with the intention to research different areas that would impact the beauty industry and create TikTok videos to embed into the blog posts that discussed a topic in the blog post, which is what I did for my first blog post; What’s Trending within the Cosmetics Industry?
In this blog post, I decided to talk about the trends we should see introduced that will impact the future of the industry. Essentially my blog post looked at the predictions that were being named as the new trends to come or look out for. These trends to summarise the blog post include the discussion on the new makeup trend, the “IT girl” makeup, consisting of natural, dewy and fresh-looking makeup.
To go along with this blog post, I filmed a 4 part “No Makeup Makeup Look” video series showing TikTok my take on the “IT girl” makeup look. In these videos, I also tested some of the popular products that have been commonly found within this beauty trend to test how well they work.
I observed my niche and how viewers interacted with my content and discovered that one of the four videos had a significantly larger amount of interaction than any other video from the mini-series. My assumption is because the first video in the series focused on my base routine for the makeup look whilst using some TikTok favourite products. Complexion products are currently the most popular types of products.
The second predicted trend was the identification of skincare or skincare ingredients and benefits to be introduced into our cosmetic products. This trend is something I have not only loved to research but have found to personally impact my purchasing choices already in 2022. This is certainly a predicted trend that is coming to fruition due to the demand from consumers.
It was after this blog post I decided that I would reduce the number of blog posts and change the focus to TikTok as this is inevitably where the future of most industries will be found for industries to reach their audiences.
Having been part of this industry since 2014, having seen the youtube era grow and fall and grow again, I have noticed youtube take a significant hit and lose its viewers. This is because of the introduction to shorter form videos such as those found on TikTok which show us how the attention economy has truly begun to take over where it is evident the attention of users using the platform is the product. Attention has become the wanted commodity (Bhargava & Velasquez 2020) by the beauty brands and therefore these brands are ensuring that ads are in direct contact with potential customers.
This realisation led to the second blog post; Who is Changing the Game in the Beauty Industry? My interest peaked as to who has my attention when it comes to the beauty industry? This post delved into the companies who own our beloved beauty brands, social media influencers and social media. To summarise, influencers and social media have grabbed our trust and therefore our attention, ultimately influencing our purchasing decisions. This second blog post had a 2-part TikTok video consisting of the beauty products that influencers influenced me to purchase over the years because I trusted their opinions and reviews and hadn’t been let down.
In my third and final post of this series of blog posts, I wanted to mention my future within the industry. For me, my involvement in the beauty and cosmetics industry is inevitable. Working in some form whether that is in content creation, marketing for a beauty brand, product development, or even just as simple as supporting my favourite beauty brands through my purchases, I will always be involved and will continue to be an active part of the beauty industry.
This blog post saw me show my growth results since beginning my DA and staying more consistent on my profile. Where do I fit in the beauty industry? Will I be a part of it in the future? was my most personal post of the set of 3 posts for this DA. All my DAs have a personal element and for me, this specific post felt the most personal. I felt free enough to open up and speak my truth about what I have always felt was my calling, that is content creation. For me, I hope my future can see me grow in the beauty content creation world.
Through this DA I wanted to be open and honest and be myself. I didn’t want to care about other people and low key in my heart, I knew I wanted to grow my confidence through creating content. Being able to see those who view my profile is nerve-racking but interesting. It showed who supported me through my DA but also made me realise those who simply do not believe that the future is in their hands and through social media. It was during the time that my account had significant growth, that I realised the power I could have with consistency.
Power is always in your hands and the future can change or remain on its course through the power you give to it. For me, this DA was helpful to give me the opportunity to not only observe the future of the industry but also observe the interactions occurring. It is safe to say that although youtube consumption has seen a decrease in the beauty industry, it has certainly seen a large increase over on TikTok.
My DA has helped me this past semester realise that most of the future of this industry is based on predictions that trends and consumer demands either become permanent changes or are a short term trend that comes and goes as quickly as they began. The beauty industry is thorough and planned out. Beauty brands know when and what they will launch to consumers and influencers months if not years in advance and with the continuation of technological improvements in this industry, it is likely that what we know as the “beauty standards” of today as the ideal, will inevitably change as brands grow and so too their audience.
The lecture content this semester had a few key areas that had a connection or a connection could be made to the weekly topic. The trajectory of the industry is evidently focused on new innovations and the continued use of social media for brand awareness through the observations I made as an active member of TikTok.
All beauty brands have a unique calendar for their product launches, something only a futurist would be able to assist in its planning. Predictions and assumptions are made in a way that almost every brand in the industry will launch a similar style of product around the same time. I cover this in my second blog post. The future of the beauty industry will also see and has been predicted since 2020, the more common use of AI technology, colour matching foundations to our faces or simply applying lipstick without having to physically apply the lipstick. This is seeing significant growth since the beginning of the pandemic as consumers were unable to go to their local stores to test the products.
Although our futures don’t always go as we plan them, one thing I know for sure is my involvement in the beauty industry. Some way or another, I hope to find myself in a position where I am able to do what I love each and every day within this industry. The future of beauty is one to certainly watch out for.
References:
Bump, P 2021, 7 New Social Media Platforms Marketers Should Watch in 2022, Hubspot.com, HubSpot, viewed 22 May 2022, <https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/new-social-media>.
Bhargava, VR & Velasquez, M 2020, ‘Ethics of the Attention Economy: The Problem of Social Media Addiction’, Business Ethics Quarterly, pp. 1–39, viewed 23 May 2022, <https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-ethics-quarterly/article/ethics-of-the-attention-economy-the-problem-of-social-mediaaddiction/1CC67609A12E9A912BB8A291FDFFE799>
Olivia Lopez 