07 Aug Who’s Got the Best Face(book page)? 5 Cosmetic Brands Reviewed
With attention spans getting seemingly shorter by the second, it takes a lot to catch the eye (or in this case, the eyeliner) of a Facebook user these days. To find out who was the most alluring, I compared five cosmetic brands on facebook with more than 100,000 likes, and analyzed what’s working and what’s not on their pages.
MAC Cosmetics on Facebook
Make-up Art Cosmetics, known widely as MAC, was founded in Toronto in 1994. Since then, the brand has created a rebellious, fashion-forward sense that is ever-changing. The brand features recycling programs, large charity work, and prohibits animal testing.
WHAT’S WORKING:
Frankly, no Facebook page does charity better than MAC. By clicking the MAC Aids Fund tab, you’re able to get a first-hand look at the company’s charity work, and how a makeup purchase fuels HIV/AIDS prevention across the world. Inside the tab, you’re able to go through another set of tabs, and see photos, a timeline, and updates about how MAC has given back to the world since its inception. You could easily spend an hour on the MAC Facebook page tooling around with all their features and not get bored.
MAC also responds to many user posts, even in foreign languages. Responses in Portuguese are common place, as Sao Paolo, Brazil, is the page’s most popular city.
WHAT’S NOT:
One of the tabs features Artist Faves Live Chat which shows the script from a live chat with MAC makeup artist Gina Betelli. It’s a clever idea, but since the live chat has ended, it’s basically a dead page. It doesn’t say when the next live chat is and the transcript is so long that few likely read it.
NARS Cosmetics on Facebook
NARS Cosmetics carries itself like the edgy fashion girl who keeps people on the edge of their seats. Famous for their Orgasm makeup line, “badass” is the best way to describe the product. Founded by makeup artist and photographer Francois Nars, the brand got its start at Barney’s New York and is owned by Shiseido.
WHAT’S WORKING:
NARS updates with visual quotes and product photos daily, and typically garners hundreds of likes on each post. Serious makeup lovers can flock to the NARS “Photos” tab to see photos uploaded by fans wearing NARS makeup. Like a more condensed Pinterest page, the photo tab demonstrates the brand’s global fan base.
It’s important to note that a big challenge for cosmetics pages is spammers. On many pages, accusations of animal testing plague the walls as users post negative comments and explicit photos. These posts can ruin not only the user’s experience on the page but also the brand’s reputation. That said, NARS had limited spam posts, which could mean one of two things: either the brand has a good fan base or it does a good job of monitoring the page, or both.
WHAT’S NOT:
Fan-gating, the technique used to reel in fans by offering exclusives that are only available when the user “Likes” the page, can be successful in moderation. NARS takes this to a whole other level when it makes nearly every tab unavailable unless the user likes it. While I understand the desire to get more likes for a page, it’s pretty annoying when you’re forced to like a page in order to read some of the tabs.
Lancôme US on Facebook
Lancôme US features pages for various countries, with the US and France pages being the most popular. The most common age group is 18-24, with New York City as its most popular city. The classy fashionista’s brand, Lancôme’s Facebook presence is beautiful and engaging, garnering thousands of likes on each post.
WHAT’S WORKING:
The brand is utilizing Instagram more than any other beauty page I observed. The “Photos” tab features candid backstage shots, as well as celebrity sightings. The brand also featured an Instagram contest, “Rouge in Love,” where users were encouraged to tag their photos with hashtags named after lipstick collections.
The page also doesn’t bombard you with updates, updating only once a day and always with a photo.
WHAT’S NOT:
I won’t lie. It was hard to find something wrong with Lancôme’s Facebook page. However, I think it would be smart to change up the cover photo more often. The photo has only been changed once since March 29th. By changing up the cover photo more often, users stay engaged and are encouraged to come back to the page on a regular basis.
Origins on Facebook
Origins is most known for its natural-based makeup and skincare line. The brand became popular about a decade ago, when it was featured among Oprah’s Favorite Things. Founded by Leonard Lauder, Estee Lauder’s son, the brand was one of the original Estee Lauder brands. Interestingly, the most popular city on the Origins page is Bangkok, Thailand.
WHAT’S WORKING:
Have a beauty question or need a gift idea? Try the Origins Live Chat. I used the Live Chat to ask if they offered a bright red lipstick. The chat offered a conversation with a real, live person who scoured the website for me. After tailoring to my question, Beth gave me a recommendation for a lip color. However, she didn’t link me to the product, which meant I had to go to the website or an Origins counter to search for it myself.
The Origins response team is on point – responding to many Facebook comments with kind words and links. Even for mundane posts, the Origins team finds a polite, interesting way to respond.
Several generic tab names make the Origins features easy to overlook, but some prove to be worth clicking. The What’s New! tab features the Mega-Bright Skin tone correcting serum and a store locator, both of which direct back to the Origins website. It also features links to the Origins Twitter and YouTube pages.
WHAT’S NOT:
The Notes tab serves mainly as a blog, which hasn’t been updated since April 15, 2011. Their Events and YouTube tabs are easy to overlook due to generic names, and are a bit outdated – the YouTube page still features holiday videos. I would suggest Origin update both more or remove the tabs entirely.
With so many page likes, there should be a bigger crowd of users eager to like the posts. However, the amount is typically less than 100 likes per post. This could be due to the fact that posts are often related directly to products, and engagement posts lack creativity and uniqueness.
Essie Nail Polish on Facebook
Started by Essie Weingarten in 1981, Essie Nail Polish was a cult hit among beauty insiders. It was sold to L’Oreal in 2010 and can now be purchased at both small boutiques and large retailers like Target and Ulta.
The brand’s most popular age group on Facebook is 25-34, which makes sense, considering their typically pricey bottles, retailing upwards of 8 dollars. For Essie Nail Polish, each week is more popular than the last. So how does a brand that sells only one cosmetic product gain so much attention?
WHAT’S WORKING:
The page features a comfortable amount of tabs, featuring their newest nail polish shades and videos of chic models donning the polish at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
The Essie Girl tab is great for a polish addict looking for inspiration and products. On this page, users are able to click on polish “favorites” and be redirected to the Essie website where they can order it.
WHAT’S NOT:
Currently, the brand is featuring the Essie Summer Giveaway promotion, where individuals can enter to win the brand’s latest polish collection and matching TKEES sandals. However, the giveaway asks first for the user’s email, and then loads another screen asking for more details. It’s a bit tedious and would be much improved if it required you to enter all of your information at once.
When clicking through the polishes on the Exclusively Essie tab, I was able to rate the color as well as share it on Facebook and Twitter. However, I couldn’t buy it straight from Facebook or even be redirected to the Essie website.
Key Takeaways
Cosmetic pages should evolve as quickly as their makeup lines. Overall, successful pages feature frequently updated content, and interact with their fans on a daily basis. The brands should also strive to be just as colorful and unique as the products they put out. That’s why photos are especially important for a cosmetics page. They allow consumers to see different makeup styles, without having to buy products. Whether it’s a photo album or an Instagram feed, users love to engage with visual content, and they also love to upload it themselves. Cosmetic brands should also try to avoid excessive fan-gating and poorly maintained tabs that end making the user experience uninteresting and ultimately drive Facebook fans away.
As far as health and beauty brands go on Facebook, who do you think is looking great and who do you think needs a makeover? Share in comments below.
