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Branding for the Beauty Industry

makeup brushes and powder

The beauty industry is large and continues to grow at a rapid rate, with both local and international brand competing for precious space in our makeup bags.

 

Despite the competition, there are still plenty of opportunities for beauty product businesses to thrive – but in order to stand out, your company will need a memorable and strategic brand.

 

Below are five brand strategy tips that can help your beauty company attract more customers, make more sales, and embody an unforgettable brand identity.

 

I also created this free branding mini-work to help health & wellness businesses simplify and express their brands. Get your copy here:

 

 

Standing out

These days, anyone can buy generic eyeliner, lipstick, or hairspray at the grocery store. Even a niche like “natural beauty” is no longer narrow enough to stand out in the crowded beauty product marketplace.

 

So the question that your brand needs to proactively answer for potential customers is: Why should someone buy your product instead of a similar product from any other brand?

 

This will take a bit of competitive analysis as well as evaluating the positive reviews, compliments, and testimonials you have received from past customers.

 

Have several people sworn that your hand cream is the only thing that stops their skin from cracking in winter? You can use that messaging on your website and social media to set yourself apart as the only possible option for customers struggling with the same issue.

 

makeup and small mirror

 

When Fenty Beauty launched, it immediately stood out and attracted attention by creating foundation colors in 50+ shades for customers. This filled a market need and aligned with the brand’s inclusive “Beauty for All” tagline which positioned Fenty Beauty as different from its competitors in a positive way.

 

One major element of brand strategy is establishing the brand attributes of your beauty business. Brand attributes are the personality traits of your brand, and they shine through in your packaging, messaging, and brand identity.

 

Your target audience matters

Every aspect of your beauty company’s content and visual brand needs to be tailored to one person: your target customer.

 

The preferences of your target will influence your packaging, colors and fonts, content tone, and the marketing efforts you employ to get your brand in front of your target audience.

 

Does your target follow beauty influencers on YouTube? Or could they not name a single influencer if their life depended on it? Do they scroll through Instagram all day, or do they shop at the local farmer’s market on Sundays (or both!)? What would catch their attention and prompt them to try a new product?

 

We go over the full process to find your ideal client and create a content strategy that attracts them in our Ideal Client Blueprint:

 

woman using laptop

 

Many startups begin with an idea of their target customer, but as their business grows they realize their actual target is not who they originally pictured. Even if you have been in business for a while, take a moment to zoom in on the details of your ideal client.

 

Most beauty product brands are business-to-consumer (B2C); however, there are some exceptions. If your primary focus is selling to salons rather than individual consumers, you will want to follow the business-to-business (B2B) exercise outlined in this article.

 

For B2C businesses, think about your target customer as if they were one single person. Consider their demographics (age, gender, location, marital status, income) but also their psychographics (interests, hobbies, places they frequent, beliefs about the world, desires).

 

We go into much more detail about how to find your target and prompt them to buy in the Brand Clarity online course — a self-guided online branding program for health & wellness entrepreneurs!

 

brand clarity online course

 

Visual Identity (Colors, Fonts, Images)

Within the first few seconds of seeing your brand, potential customers will make a subconscious assessment of whether they are attracted to your offering.

 

The colors, shapes, and images included in your visual designs can be the deciding factor on whether your target stops to learn more. Here are the basic visual elements to consider:

 

Colors

Certain colors are used frequently in the beauty industry due to the emotions they invoke, such as white (clean and pure), pink (feminine), purple (bold), and light green (soothing).

 

Every color, as well as the variety of shades within that color, has a different association in color psychology – so it’s important to think about your target and what emotions they want to feel in order to feel connected with your brand.

 

For inspiration on what colors would work best for your brand, download our free color & logo design ebook here:

 

Fonts

The major types of fonts that brands utilize are serif (think of Times New Roman and similar fonts with small strokes at the end of each letter), sans serif (think of Arial and other fonts that don’t have those small strokes), or script (cursive).

 

Take a look at what types of fonts your competitors use, or speak with a brand strategist who can provide ideas on what would work best for your unique brand identity. Note that some fonts, particularly script, can be difficult to read on small packaging and are not ideal if your business creates cosmetics or other small products.

 

Images

When someone visits your website, they will see more than just colors and fonts! The images you choose, both general pictures as well as photos of your products, will help them quickly understand the voice and attributes of your brand.

 

If your hair product brand is going for an edgy rock-and-roll look, light airy photos in nature will probably not make sense for your visual brand – but guitars, tattoos, and metallic textures could connect with your audience in a stronger way.

 

Do you need help establishing the perfect blend of colors, fonts, and brand positioning for your brand? Contact our team at Aventive Studio and let’s chat about how we can help you attract more customers with a strategic and unforgettable visual brand.

 

woman drinking tea

 

Visual Designs for the Beauty Industry

Once the main elements of your beauty brand are established, you can move forward with creating specific visual designs:

 

Logo

The logo is the face of your brand, and the right logo will both stand out and make a strong first impression.

 

In the beauty industry, it’s important to keep the dimensions of your logo in mind depending on what your business sells. Picture how your logo design would appear if it were printed on small products like eyeliner and lip balm labels – would it still be legible and memorable?

 

Simple and timeless logos generate the best results, and many businesses opt to create multiple versions of their logos (horizontal vertical, with typography, without typography, etc.) depending on where each version will be used.

 

Packaging

Packaging is the first thing customers see when deciding whether to try a new beauty product, so it’s important that your product packaging captures attention and stands out from the competition.

 

The haircare brand John Frieda has done an incredible job of creating packaging that is eye-catching, brand-appropriate, and simple to understand. If a shopper has blonde hair, she knows at first glance that this “Sheer Blonde” product line has her interests in mind even if she had never heard of the brand before:

 

 

Website

The website for your beauty brand needs to attract your target, be easy to navigate, and coordinate with the visuals of your packaging, logo, and marketing.

 

While social media posts can only share little snippets of your brand at a time, your website is where your business can dive deeper into your story, your products, and why they are the best possible option for potential customers who find your site – and to prompt those visitors to make a purchase.

 

Social Media & Product Photography

The beauty industry is driven primarily by visuals, so if you are using social media, be sure to use lots of beautiful images of your products that align with your brand attributes.

 

While the core elements and colors of your branding will remain consistent over time, beauty and eyelash brands have the flexibility to adjust their marketing efforts based on launches, product lines, trends, or seasons.

 

Content

If your beauty brand has a social media or website presence, there will be plenty of written captions and content for your team to create. Having a content strategy in place will ensure that you never run out of ideas and that your content coordinates with your visuals to create a consistent overall brand identity

 

Some beauty brands like colorescience create educational content like makeup tutorials and resources on skin health. Other brands use content to showcase the experiences and testimonials of their customers, and some beauty businesses utilize celebrity spokespeople and models to connect with their target. It all depends on your target and your brand goals!

 

No matter what route you choose, your content strategy should focus on the brand positioning of why your products are different from the rest. You can learn more about how to develop a content strategy in my book BrandFix: A Brand Strategy Guide for Busy Entrepreneurs.

 

brandfix branding book

 

Aventive Studio can help your beauty product business create a brand your customers will remember. We are a full-service branding agency that helps health and wellness product brands connect with their customers and scale their businesses through brand strategy and visual design.

 

Whether you need a new website design, rebranding, packaging design, or logo design, we can create a strategy and visual identity that will help your business make a stunning first impression. Contact the Aventive Studio team here to learn more and get started.

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