Social Media Monitoring Project: Part One

Introduction - Lush is a cosmetic company that sells various hair, face, and body care products. The company is known for their sustainable policies and practices like: using ethically sourced fresh ingredients, fighting animal testing, reducing plastic use in packaging and making 100% vegetarian and homemade products. A big component of Lush's marketing strategy involves advertising their company as a company committed to ethics sustainability but before we get into that, let's take a look at the company's roots.

Lush was founded by Mark Constantine, a trichologist (an expert in the science of the hair and scalp) and Liz Weir, a beauty therapist after attempting to start up several other cosmetic ventures. Lush was finally the business that stuck and was officially founded in 1995. Back then, the company's philosophy was simple: make fresh cosmetics with the best ingredients and avoid testing their products on animals. Fast forward to today and Lush has not only maintained these standards; it has expanded them into a larger policy that centers around environmental and global issues. Who then is the company's target audience and what does this audience think of when they think of Lush? 

One niche market that Lush fits nicely into is the growing market of commodified selfcare. 

Pintrest.com

Pupperish.com

Here is a post from Lush's Twitter where they retweet a happy customer's post using their Brazened Honey face mask with the Hashtag "MaskMonday." They feature one customer with a face mask on every #MaskMonday. This is also a great example of Lush's technique of recycling user generated content into their own content as well as a great example of their marketing strategy of commodified self care. 

Okurr 😍 we see you. Celebrating this week's edition of #MaskMonday in glowing terms 🍯https://t.co/3RKyBaoMq9
📷 @katlii_xo pic.twitter.com/eHHKxXlhX3

— Lush North America (@lushcosmetics) October 7, 2019

Although Lush fits nicely into the selfcare market, much of its marketing focuses on the social and environmental issues the company stands behind to center ethical consciousness in their brand identity. 

This is leadership. @lushcosmetics are shutting down their headquarters, manufacturing, e-commerce & stores in the US, 20 September, & Canada, 27 September, to support the #GlobalWeekForFuture, 20-27 September:https://t.co/JeYCL33fhY#FridaysForFuture https://t.co/LIOEqQiSwh

— Extinction Rebellion ⌛️ (@ExtinctionR) September 12, 2019

Here are some of the comments from Lush fans on the above post.

Lush aligns itself with more than just environmental causes in order to market themselves as a socially conscious brand. Lush has run ads for many different causes like LGBTQ rights and body positivity. Last year, they even ran an ad campaign that criticized past abuse by London's undercover police force on women and questioned if abuse was still happening. A lot of these ads seem like they are ads for the social causes rather than ads for the company at all. By running these particular ads, Lush engages in the "don't let your marketing show" marketing strategy. Here's one example:

Now that we have a better picture of how Lush wants their primary audiences to relate to their brand, products and ad content let's do a deep dive into their different social media platforms and online presence. This will help us figure out what they are doing well and what they can improve.

Social Media Presence -

Let's take a look at their website first.

Currently when you go to the Lush USA website, they are featuring their halloween product line. Lush incorporated witchy words like "summon," "herbal potions," and "conjure," overlaid on a rish image that evokes a witches lair complete with amethyst crystals and a brewing cauldron. Their halloween inspired products are the center of this scene and the white space that reads "conjure cosmic complexions" is a button that takes you to their special Halloween page. Notice at the top of the page, right after the "Halloween" tab and underlined in purple is their "Christmas" tab. So their website features two upcominging popular holidays.


Another important thing to note about their website is that at the bottom of every page, their company's ideals and values are depicted through images and words on a tool bar. You can click on the different pictures and it will take you to a specific page where you can learn more about that particular value.

Now let's take a look at the company's Facebook.

Here is one recent post from Lush Cosmetics North America. Here Lush presents theirs Halloween line in of a Classic Halloween movie. Notice how the image looks as though it was take from inside a bathtub. It sets the scene of self care again and calls on it as a marketing strategy in an aesthetic way.

Here is their current cover photo. Notice how the pointy, long black nails and black body scrub make it kinda spooky! The company isn't directly telling us to go check out their Halloween product line with their cover photo but they are subtly hinting at it by reminding us it is Halloween and they have spooky halloween products.

Now that lets head over to Lush's YouTube! Here's the video they are currently featuring on their page.

The spooky theme is continued in this video making it Lush's third platform to highlight their Halloween line. In addition to being Halloween-y, this video is more provocative than anything on the other media platforms. The music and the visuals combined elevate the ad to another level the other posts don't reach. This video also focuses on showing off the rich details of the product in a visually stimulating, almost mesmerizing way. By focusing on the details of product, the model, and the video's aesthetics, Lush is hiding its advertising creativly. The video feels more like an art piece than an advertisement. 

Recently Lush seems to be heavily focusing their advertising on their holiday or seasonal lines. Right now it's everything spooky for Halloween but prior it was everything warm and comforting for fall and soon it looks like there will be holiday sales. Lush is big on letting the product speak for itself through vivid and images and videos but when they do make a statement, its often to align themselves with another worthy cause. This political technique seems to generate both negative and positive feedback but it certainly grabs an audience's attention.

Data and Patterns -

Let's take a look at some of the company's trending analytics to see if we can identify any patterns or explanations behind the numbers.

Social Bakers:

On Facebook -

These are the two most engaged with posts on Facebook over the past month. The most engaged with post evokes magic and witches which fits into the holiday halloween promotion. It also fits into the market of self care as it offers the audience relaxation and sleep. The second most engaged with post is one that teases the first drop of Lush's Christmas line.

On YouTube -

Interestingly enough, Lush's most popular YouTube video received less interactions and likes than their most popular posts on Facebook did. Still the video received more interactions per 1k subscribers than the Facebook posts did per 1k fans. It is also important to note that interactions are not views and the video ad did receive 28,098 views. 

When it comes to overall growth of fans and subscribers, Lush's YouTube beats out it's Facebook. 

Google Trends:

Interestingly enough, Google Trends shows us that in the last month, Lush reached its highest trending numbers on September 28, the same day their featured Halloween inspired YouTube video dropped. This makes sense to me considering how interesting the video was and because it was a part of their holiday line and subsequently their holiday promotion.

Past 30 days

Past year

Google Trends also shows that Lush's highest numbers over the course of a year occur from late October through through the holiday season and peak their highest around mid November. I was not surprised to see this given general market trends and the amount of advertising that goes in to promotinging seasonal or holiday products as well as the generally positive responses the company gets with these posts. It is disappointing to see the lulls that occur through the majority of the year from the months of February through September.

Tapping The Groundswell With Twitter: Politician Edition

Why do most of the candidates running in the 2020 election have a twitter account? Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff explain it well in their book Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies when they hypothesize that Twitter users are among the most influential people you will come by. Take a look at this chart from Li and Bernoff's book below that outlines the average demographics of Twitter users. You can see why politicians might want to tap into Twitter and it's groundswell.

Groundswell, 2008

Donald Trump's tweeting habits have been the subject of many a conversation these past few years. His posts on the site have led the general public and many critics to take note of and question his online presence, motives and ethics. There is no doubt that Trump uses the platform for his political and personal agendas. Here are two posts from Trump's Twitter during the 2016 election.

These tweets were from three years ago when Hillary and Trump were running against each other. Now take a look at some of Trump's recent tweets and retweets from earlier this month. 

Ahhhh good times. Happy third anniversary to one of the great comebacks of all time. pic.twitter.com/KbSos1UApS

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 9, 2019

Why would Donald Trump want to post about Hillary's email scandal again, three years later, especially considering she is not even running against him in this upcoming election. You could speculate that he's trying to draw attention away from his own recent scandals or possibly his aim is to encourage his supporters to distrust other democratic candidates simply because they are in the same part as Hillary. Whatever his intent, Donald Trump is effectively utilizing Twitter to energize the groundswell in his favor. And he is certainly not the only candidate to do so.

Pick your favorite 2020 Presidential candidate and go on their Twitter. Does the frequency at which they are tweeting surprise you? 

Since Li and Bernoff published Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, Twitter, like other social media platforms, has only become more relevant. Proof of this is in recent complaints from candidates running for Congress 2020 who can't get verified on Twitter. These new and lesser-known candidates will have to wait until after they win their state's primary to get the blue verification mark from Twitter. This could actually affect their chances of winning in the first place, a catch-22! 

Twitter continues to be an important resource for all advertisers including politicians. But for the public, this can mean more discretion is needed when sourcing and consuming news. Political news or content you see on social media should always be fact checked or at least taken with a grain of salt. The video below is CNN's take on Twitter, Russian bots and the 2016 election. 

The report highlights Twitter as a tool in a propaganda campaign during the 2016 election. Does this concern you? Do you think Twitter should figure out a way to curb propaganda or are users solely responsible for fact-checking content? Do you think this video itself is a credible or bias source?

Tinder Wants You to Celebrate Being Single... by Using Tinder

Maybe you've downloaded a dating app yourself or maybe you've just watched friends swipe through potential matches on a Friday night immediate-gratification binge. Unless you've been living (and dating) under a rock, you've probably heard about Tinder. Tinder, which launched in 2012, is one of the most popular and widely used digital dating services of this decade. An estimated 50 million people worldwide use Tinder and users go on one million dates a week collectively.

Source: TheAtlantic

Tinder, along with other popular apps offering similar services, has earned the reputation as a "hook-up app," and besides Tinder, there are a plethora of apps to choose from! Bumble, Happn, Feeld, Grindr and others, all offer unique ways of connecting and branching out socially, romantically or sexually. In order to capture the attention of targeted demographics, these apps have had to brand themselves to not only appeal to the groundswell, but also to stand out from their competitors as well. A year ago in October 2018, Tinder launched its first-ever brand campaign "Single Not Sorry," Tinder has embraced their image as a "hook-up app" and honed in on one demographic in particular: single, empowered, young people. Here is one of their video ads for the campaign.

In addition to releasing this video for Tinder France, Tinder rolled out several more similar ads for other countries like Germany, Japan, Sweden, Korea and the UK. With spirited and liberated twenty-something-year-olds in their video ads and a bold tag-line to back them up, this campaign is hard not to notice and was ultimately a smart move for the company. But the hook-up app didn't stop there. As part of their "Single Not Sorry Campaign" Tinder teamed up with London based activist and artist Florence Given.

Florence's Instagram, she poses in-front of a billboard Tinder Ad featuring herself 

Florence Given, or Floss as her 263k Instagram followers know her better by, is what some might call an "influencer." Not only did Tinder UK use Florence as one of their happy, free twenty-something-year-olds dancing around in the video ad, but they also used Florence's influencer status and platform to help share and expand the campaign. A lot of Florence's art that her followers love her for already centers around being a young woman or being single and not letting your relationships limit you. So she was a perfect match for Tinder's "Single Not Sorry" campaign.

Florence's Art from Instagram

 By using someone that the groundswell already likes and identifies with, like a popular, feminist Instagram influencer, the company not only increases the odds that their campaign will be successful but they multiply their direct reach as well to Florence's followers and her follower's followers as well. Instagram's tagging and @ing features were practically made for this type of person to person marketing. Floss wins, Tinder wins, and the groundswell wins too because they get to see their favorite Instagram artist in a Tinder video ad or on a billboard on the Subway.

Do you think when the "Single Not Sorry" campaign was pitched to higher up Tinder executives, they were hesitant? Do you think partnering with an outspoken and unapologetic influencer was at all a risk for the company? Any thoughts you'd like to share on influencers and this type of marketing?

A New Age of Marketing: How to Talk With the Groundswell

The rules have changed in the world of marketing and communications and companies can no longer rely on any traditional models of communication and advertising to customers. As the authors of Groundswell: A World Transformed By Social Technologies note, gone are the days of shouting out at consumers and potential buyers. Traditional models of communication, like The Marketing Funnel seen below, are no longer relevant thanks to the groundswell. 

Groundswell: Bernoff, Li, 2008

It can be a confusing time for companies unsure of how to get their messages across. The audience is no longer an obedient child but is instead a rebellious teenager ready to talk back, share its opinion, and be heard. Notice how The Marketing Funnel depicted above appears linear. If you were to draw up a new model for marketing in the age of the groundswell, what shape would it take? Perhaps it would be 3D or take the form of a web like the image below depicts.

YoungUpStarts.com

In Groundswell: A World Transformed By Social Technologies, Li and Bernoff outline different techniques for talking with the groundswell. The first of these describes posting a video online and letting people share it! The second is to engage with social media and user-generated content sites. Kylie Jenner's business, Kylie Cosmetics is a good example of how to use these models of marketing well. One of Kylie's main methods of marketing is her presence on Instagram and within that she heavily uses Instagram Stories to announce, launch, and gain feedback on her cosmetic products. Check out the video below to see how she engages with the groundswell.

Notice how this video compilation of her Instagram Stories made its way to YouTube and is published by someone other than Kylie. This is the groundswell at work. When you give your audience content to engage with they share it with others in their own circles. As Li and Bernoff note, People learn from each other. If you follow someone who really likes and uses Kylie's line, it is likely you'll see them post when she is releasing new products that they are interested in. Maybe some of these products might interest you too. This is effective marketing.

Another tip that the authors of Groundswell recommend is to create a community where you can engage with your audience. There are multiple ways to do this and Kylie implements a few of them over the span of her social media platforms. Her website has a "Kylie's favorites" section and a "Best Sellers" section where consumers can see products that other consumers like best as well as products that Kylie prefers. This not only creates a sense of community among fans but allows them to feel "In" on what the celebrity likes. 

Kylie's Instagram Story

Kylie's Instagram

Back on her Instagram, Kylie fosters a community by posting intimate pictures and stories of her friends and family alongside posts of products. She'll even occasionally feature a fan's post with her products in it on her story which adds to the feeling of connection and excitement consumers might feel with her and her products on social media. 

Why do you think that featuring fan made content is a good way of marketing using the groundswell? How does this idea of celebrity fit into the marketing model when the celebrity owns there own brand? How is marketing different for celebrity owned companies? Let me know in the comments!