Post #6: Gotta check social media!

Almost, if not all, cosmetic brands use social media in some form, either by owned media (their own social profiles) or through earned media (press coverage, reviews, influencers). That’s no exception for L’Oréal Paris, whose owned media include social media profiles on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.

On YouTube, L’Oréal Paris post informational videos regarding their product usage or general beauty tips, social advocacy or empowerment videos, product advertisements, and celebrity endorsement videos. Frequency of posting on YouTube isn’t consistent, as this is not their main social media platform, so videos could be separated by 1-2 weeks or perhaps months. Facebook and Twitter are essentially the same in usage and postings, with follower engagement being relatively low in some areas. Frequency on these two platforms are daily with minimum of 4 posts per day, so it could be that their main objective is posting to increase customer loyalty. Instagram looks like to be L’Oréal Paris main social media platform, with posting frequency being daily and engagement is higher here than other platforms. In addition with possibly being the main platform, it seems that L’Oréal Paris also uses Instagram for social media monitoring and social reputation management, as they do interact with comments from their followers and non-followers regarding products and special events. Finally, Pinterest is harder to find the frequency of posting as it is only image sharing and board collections; however, L’Oréal Paris uses the platform to share beauty tips, makeup tips, cosmetic guides, special deals, and various makeup/cosmetic ideas.

Overall, it seems that Instagram and Pinterest are the most used social media platforms owned by L’Oréal Paris, due to the fact that cosmetics are more visual and creative. Facebook and Twitter do show high usage and frequency, but lack in engagement and interactions compared to Instagram and Pinterest (followers). YouTube is the least used social media platform, seeing the time gaps between each video upload unless it is under a specific theme such as hair coloring how-to. Looking for a certain point of view, it makes sense that YouTube would be the least used platform because its main objective is to inform the public about their products and how to use them, not to promote them at a constant rate or reveal makeup looks and tips. With that in mind, L’Oréal Paris would be indirectly promoted or demonstrated through beauty Youtubers’ videos or related, which allows for increase in brand awareness to a much wider audience as well as product demonstration. I believe that the top platforms that need more work are Facebook and Twitter, but in terms of engagement via likes/shares/retweets. As I previously mentioned, their usage frequency is high at posting more than 3 times per day, but their engagements are low, with some not even reacted towards to. Perhaps hosting more Q&As with celebrities they are working with (example, Camilla Cabello), giveaways, or livestreaming with beauty gurus or professionals would create more engagement in these two platforms.

In the end, those are my own opinions based on simple observations. I’m sure that the social media team behind L’Oréal Paris have considered all factors when maintain these platforms and have observed which ones are worth the extra effort to invest in and which ones are only there to promote and inform.

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References:

Larson, J., & Draper, S. (2020). Chapter 8: Analytics. Digital marketing essentials. Rexburg, ID: Edify.

Larson, J., & Draper, S. (2020). Chapter 9: Analytics. Digital marketing essentials. Rexburg, ID: Edify.

Larson, J., & Draper, S. (2020). Chapter 10: Analytics. Digital marketing essentials. Rexburg, ID: Edify.