Personnel at the make-up brand are now taking to micro-blogging site Twitter and tweeting under their own handles in order to add a more human touch and invite more interaction with consumers.
Personal touch
According to internet analyst Razorfish, when it comes to following brands 43 percent of consumers follow brands on Twitter for special offers and deals.
Whilst this is initially positive, a brand will find it difficult to continue with this tactic long term, and will not achieve any interaction with the consumer, thus not utilizing the platform to its full potential.
MAC has attempted to combat this with its new engagement strategy, which has seen more than 40 of its employees tweeting from their own handles about industry events and fashion tips, inviting consumers to share with the person and indirectly raise the profile of the brand.
Employee power
According to social media expert WaveMetrix, MAC Cosmetics employees have gathered over 158,000 followers combined, which is more than the brand's official handle.
Adding these followers boosts MAC’s community figures ahead of Estée Lauder’s other brands such as Bobbi Brown and Smashbox. The positive effect this has had on the brand, may see the parent company roll out this idea across its other brands.
“This suggests that some consumers prefer to follow people rather than brands to get relevant content and news,” comments WaveMetrix’s Alexandra Veleva.
Digital focus
Social and digital media play a huge role in the company’s overall strategy, as Estée Lauder continue to roll out social media and ecommerce campaigns for each of its beauty brands and regions.
Dennis McEniry, president of Online at Estée Lauder, has explained how profitable the online business is and will continue to be in the coming years.
“Online has grown tremendously in many ways. Sales have tripled in the last 5 years, with compounded annual growth of over 27 percent,” he said. “Our big brands are winning online and represent more than half of our division sales.”
In 2012, the New York-based firm launched e- and m- commerce sites in six new markets, bringing its total of 15, with plans of an additional 6 more countries added to that.