The revolution will be socialized: The new marketing playbook

Our socialized culture is evolving the relationship between consumer and brand, opening a door of opportunity for smaller players to compete on an even playing field. This door leads to an ambitious, always-on consolidation of marketing efforts, spanning influencer collaboration, community management, performance measurement and attribution. You already know this—social media is disrupting and redefining the consumer journey. But what you may not know is that a social-first movement is emerging within the ad space, leveling the playing field once dominated by big-budget brands. It’s hard to believe that the Gen Alpha population—those born in the early 2010s and since—is reaching 2.2 billion people this year, so the clock is ticking to embrace a resilient, consolidated and adaptable social-first marketing strategy as we welcome the first digitally native generation of consumers. But what does it mean to be a social-first brand? We’ll explore this question and how a traditional beauty brand is carving away market share using this approach. From social, too, to social-first Many brands still view social as an afterthought or another box to tick. That’s a mistake. The problem with leaving social last is that campaigns often become fractured without clear measurement and attribution. But for a group of revolutionary marketers, social comes first. Social-first brands think differently. They understand that platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are essential for engaging with Gen Z and millennials, and pretty soon for the youth of Gen A. These marketers are turning the traditional approach on its head by making social media the channel that informs their brands’ broader marketing decisions, becoming the launching pad for existing campaigns. Their marketing playbook puts social at the core, ensuring all other marketing efforts align with the insights, trends and engagement patterns observed across relevant social platforms. More importantly, social-first marketing not only maximizes relevance and engagement but also ensures that brands remain agile and responsive to the fast-changing social-media landscape. These and other benefits are why so many forward-thinking marketers are moving away from a “social, too” framework of fragmented ad hoc tactics to a comprehensive, data-driven social-first approach that leverages marketing channels, content strategies and the power of influencers. The logic is simple: If your target audience is overwhelmingly social-first, why isn’t your marketing strategy? Authenticity is the shoe that fits for a Cinderella brand E.l.f. Cosmetics has emerged as a modern Cinderella story, transforming from an upstart, online cosmetics brand into a category leader in the beauty industry, largely thanks to its strategic embrace of social-first marketing. We at influencer marketing agency Viral Nation have been privileged to help e.l.f. along its way toward making the brand authentically and irresistibly engaging on social media. For years, e.l.f. Cosmetics toiled away as a long-standing drugstore brand. Finding its glass slipper, the brand e.l.f. Cosmetics tapped into the “rawthentic” content of beauty influencers sharing advice, hacks and product reviews. These partnerships were not just about leveraging influencers' reach but about engaging with the genuine conversations they had with their millennial and Gen Z audiences. And while authenticity is a term that has been beaten into every marketer, the real magic to their success is humanization. E.l.f. Cosmetics invited these beloved influencers to see their product technology and formulas, transforming them into credible and relatable brand ambassadors. The impact of this pivot to a social-first humanized approach is not just anecdotal but measurable in substantial ROI and the brand's value and growth. E.l.f. Cosmetics’ investment in genuine relationships and a social-first marketing strategy has led to category-leading growth, with a projected YOY net sales increase of 69% to 71% this year, marking a 14% rise from earlier projections. “Relationships are an important part of how we live our values and fuel our brand,” explained Patrick O’Keefe, VP of integrated marketing communications at e.l.f. Beauty. “Our e.l.f. family extends to our partners, influencers, creators and, of course, our wider community. We want a two-way conversation, listening, learning and leaning in. It’s that trust that allows us to create authentic content that resonates deeply with our audience.” The new marketing playbook The marketing game is changing and not every brand will embrace the social-first approach and find their glass slipper. For brands willing to take the leap, social media offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to disrupt the traditional media and marketing ecosystem, and outperform their paid media-led rivals with bigger ideas and smaller budgets. “Today, it’s simply not enough to develop and deliver a good product,” said Joe Gagliese, co-founder and co-CEO of Viral Nation. “The key to success in a social-first culture is to understand how your brand can influence every consumer touchpoint that is used to validate—or not validate—purchase decisions.” About Viral Nation Viral Nation is the leader in social-first transformation and commerce, uniting the social ecosystem through our full-service creative agency, a 360° creator representation agency and social-first suite of technology. Named as one of the fastest-growing technology companies in North America for 2023 by Deloitte, Viral Nation is active in eight countries and home to the largest influencer roster. Our multidisciplinary teams are as diverse as our portfolio, proud to fuel growth for global brands including Anheuser-Busch, Baidu, Campbell’s, The Coca-Cola Company, Disney, eOne, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Tencent, TJX, Uber and Warner Bros. For more information, please visit www.viralnation.com.

The revolution will be socialized: The new marketing playbook

Featured Stories