How Glossier Has Killed the Social Media Game

Glossier has killed the social media game and continues to stand as the one of the leading beauty brands in regard to user engagement on Instagram.

For some background, Glossier didn’t just build a large cult on social media from the get-go. Instead the company’s founder, Emily Weiss, was far more strategic. Originally an editorial assistant at Vogue, Weiss saw a gap in the market for beauty brands fostering two-way communication with their consumers. In an attempt to fulfill this gap in the market, Weiss launched her blog in 2010 titled Into the Gloss. This blog was developed to foster real conversations with real women. Instead of promoting a singular product, women shared their personal beauty regimens and the general products they loved. After four years of market research behind her belt, Weiss used her blog as a launchpad into building her own beauty brand — Glossier.

Glossier has now transformed into a 1.2 billion dollar company with an Instagram following of 2.6 million. Along with their presence on Instagram, the brand also has a large following on Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok, and Pinterest. Glossier’s target audience is females between the ages of 16–25 who have a lower budget but want high-quality products, and they cater to this audience quite well over social media.

Although Glossier’s products are only a little more expensive than drug store beauty products, their feed says otherwise. Through maintaining a visually-pleasing feed and keeping up with the newest trends, Glossier shows its followers that high-quality, fashionable products don’t always need to be associated with a high price tag.

Glossier adds to their feed everyday on Instagram at varying times to keep followers engaged. Through Instagram polls and user-generated content, Glossier shows consumers that their feedback is a priority and staple to their company’s mission. Although consumer feedback has become a staple in a variety of beauty companies over the years, Glossier spearheaded this initiative back in 2014, which contributed to their quick follower gain on Instagram when the brand first launched. To keep followers engaged, the brand also hosts contests which usually poses opportunities for followers to win new products if they post/tag with existing products.

Although Glossier generally posts engaging, fun content they have also failed to meet this standard at times. It’s clear the photo below was posted to match their neutral/light pink feed, however it’s no where near thumb-stopping content.

Despite this boring post, Glossier kills it in regard to keeping up with trends — especially when they can slide in a product or two that doesn’t ruin the ecstatic of the photo. The different glass shapes and marble background sets this photo apart from Glossier’s other content but still provides the same color tones for it to blend seamlessly into the existing feed.

Glossier’s core mission is to provide beauty products that enhance/compliment the real beauty of its consumers and this message is relayed effectively across all of its social media platforms. For the new beauty brands emerging into this space, take notes on Glossier.