Posted by Melissa Thompson

One of the most competitive industries in the world is surely the beauty industry. It’s still as competitive as ever but the landscape has changed completely. 

Social media has been a major factor in how the beauty industry has changed. Besides just how products are marketed, brands have changed how they approach their business model.

Social media has brought with it a lot of opportunities for brands, but also a lot of challenges, too.

In this article, we will look at some ways the beauty industry has been changed by the rise of social media.

New ways of marketing

The most obvious change has been in marketing. This is no different in other industries, but most beauty brands have seen a sea change in the way to advertise and market their products.

Not long ago, brands would woo celebrities to be the face of their product. Each brand would try to find the biggest face to associate with their products which would almost become a bidding war.

Then, influencers in the beauty niche took over, like the ones in this list by Streamline Marketing. People trusted regular people like them for recommendations over a celebrity. The thinking is, “Well, I will never look like Scarlett Johannson, but I can look like this girl on Instagram.”

Now, brands are reaching out to women with a huge and engaged Instagram following and paying for sponsored posts. It costs far less to market this way and is far more effective.

We see many of the same benefits from social media in the health and wellness niche.

Better connections

Thanks to the social media model, brands and customers have much more of a connection. People follow their favorite brands on social media now and not just the influencers that they like. 

This gives brands an opportunity to create a loyalty like never before. By tapping into what the community on their social media pages thinks is important, they can craft products accordingly.

Consumers also have the chance to ask questions directly to the brand and get very fast responses. When brands have a personable approach with their consumers, then it creates more trust and can also increase their reach as people are more likely to share with their friends.

Brands have to be socially conscious

Where corporations previously felt little need to be good members of the community, they now get instant pressure to respond to topics they would normally stay far away from.

Social media has been instrumental in driving change through awareness of societal and cultural problems and followers expect brands to follow suit. As more people are becoming increasingly engaged in sustainability issues, they want to make sure their preferred brand is also on board. 

If their brand has not entered the conversation then consumers may feel the need to switch. Brands have responded by making more eco-friendly products and donating proceeds to environmental projects and groups. 

Creativity

Lastly, brands are free to be more creative with their messaging now. It can be more long form than it ever was on TV and radio.

And people are responding to this in a very positive way.

Posted by Melissa Thompson

Businesses need to utilize all of the digital tools within their arsenal if they hope to reach their target audience. Thanks to the presence of social media, there are now more possibilities than ever before to build a solid customer base and to actively engage with prospective clients. When we consider the fact that an estimated 3.1 billion users are expected to access social media by 2021, it is clear to see that the sheer scope of this sector cannot be denied. What are three ways in which this virtual environment can take your current operations to the next level?

The Use of Social Influencers

Social influencers are considered to be authoritative and well-known online personalities who are followed by a massive number of users. Thus, they can promote products and services to a vast audience. They can also help to positively reinforce the perception of your online venture. It is estimated that up to 93 percent of successful marketers leverage the power of social media influencers. If you are hoping to imbue your products with more digital clout, this method can work wonders. 

Embracing the Organic Edge

One of the issues which countless online businesses face is the ability to find a means to embrace a personalized approach to their sales and marketing campaigns. After all, the Internet can sometimes represent a somewhat anonymous environment. Social media can effectively bridge this gap by fostering a more robust level of interpersonal communication between the buyer and the seller. Here are some examples:

• Immediately replying to feedback about a product or service.
• Rewarding loyal followers with discounts and similar promotions.
• Keeping your audience regularly updated.
• Embedding flash media content into your news feeds.

These are all considered to be organic approaches, as they are intended to resonate with human visitors as opposed to the algorithms found within search engines. It also needs to be mentioned that adopting a more proactive stance will enable your content to be updated frequently. This is viewed positively by firms such as Google and Bing. So, you will likewise be able to improve your rankings within a search engine results page (SERP) over time. 

The Ability to Proactively Appreciate an Ongoing Marketing Campaign

It is always better to ask, “How are we doing?” as opposed to, “How did we do?”. Unfortunately, this can be difficult when using more traditional techniques such as automated email marketing. Another advantage of social media is that you will be able to appreciate the “big picture” at any given time. In other words, slight adjustments can be made to an existing strategy if you do not appear to be reaching your target margins. This is also a great way to understand if your ongoing efforts have resulted in increased incremental sales. 

Let’s also mention that the online sales community tends to be defined by trends. If you can obtain real-time feedback, you can stay one step ahead of the curve. This will help to increase your overall ROI and, perhaps more importantly, illustrates to your clients that you appreciate how their needs may be changing. 

Some experts have even argued that social media will entirely outstrip traditional forms of online advertising in the not-so-distant future. While the verdict is still out in regards to this observation, it is an undeniable fact that this digital domain continues to grow and shape the opinions of buyers. It therefore makes sense that you take advantage of such a lucrative opportunity. 

Posted by Melissa Thompson

If you have a cell phone – and the numbers show that over 5 billion people own at least one – there is a chance that you have seen the dumb things that students have taken part in. With the prevalence of social media, it is almost impossible to go anywhere or do anything without seeing the impact that bored kids with cell phones can have.

But it is important to remember that a lot of those bored kids are students that are trying to better themselves with a proper education. And those cell phones can be an essential tool when it comes to aiding in their education.

Before we get further into the benefits of cell phones for students, it is important to know that those cell phones are now more affordably attained than ever before. Thanks to alternative carriers like Hello mobile or Mint Mobile, students can have more affordable access to the latest and greatest technology has to offer.

So, how can cell phones positively impact students? Here are just a few ways.

Managing Time

Let’s face facts: students are not the most responsible when it comes to managing their time. We have all heard the same story about projects or papers being due in just a few short hours as stressed out students attempt to get everything done in short order.

Thanks to cell phones, those same harrowed students can manage their time much better. Using clock, alarm, and calendar features on their phones allows them to set important reminders – like when a major project is due.

Find Instant Solutions

Being able to find information at a moment’s notice is an eternally helpful thing. Cell phones put information at our fingertips each and every time that we use it. For students, that can mean familiarizing themselves with a new area, especially if they are away from home for college.

Understanding where local gatherings are, where to find restaurants and hangouts, or how to get from place to place is incredibly valuable in new locations. Having a cell phone allows students to find the solutions to their problems sooner rather than later.

That can mean a world of difference when acclimating to a new school in a new place or simply finding out pieces of information that probably can’t and shouldn’t wait. Putting information at their fingertips allows students to be comfortable and confident even in areas that they have no level of familiarity with.

Posted by Melissa Thompson

Short answer: Yes. 

The longer answer is the point of this article. Of course, it is possible to make money with Youtube, but it isn’t so simple. For every person who has replaced their full time income with Youtube, there are thousands more who have their hopes dashed.

As with most things, the best time to have started a Youtube channel was five years ago. The second best time is right now. To get an idea of what kind of money you can make with this youtube money calculator.

There is still a lot of money to be made, but you’ll really need to stand out from the crowd and that isn’t easy. 

Here are the things you need to be doing to make money on Youtube.

Find your niche

This could be the trickiest part of the equation and will make or break your Youtube channel.

To find the right niche, or topic, to explore, you need it to satisfy two criteria. It needs to be something people are searching for enough to get views. And it also needs to have low enough competition to stand out from the crowd.

If you want to do a parenting vlog, then that is going to be very difficult. The competition is fierce. 

By niching down to focus on a subset within that niche, you can increase your chances of getting views and grow your channel.

An example of this would be a worldschooling channel where you travel to give your kids an education compared to a general, overly broad parenting channel.

Don’t rely on ads

Ads pay out less and less every year. The way ads on Youtube work is they pay out a certain amount based on the topic per thousand views. This is called the CPM or Cost Per Mille.

With so much competition out there, it gets harder and harder to get the views to make money and the amount paid is always going down.

If you have other ways to make money on your channel then you will make more money. 

You can do affiliate marketing and link to products on Amazon and get a commission when people buy. Or, better yet, have your own product to link to if you sell on Amazon or Ebay yourself.

Even digital products can be sold. If you decide to do a cooking channel, then have an ebook with recipes that you can sell.

Start an email list

When you link to a landing page for people to leave their email, then you can collect the true fans. People willing to give you their email are asking you to market to them. 

Don’t abuse it and send them offers too often, however. Use the list to help people by sending them short messages with some helpful information. If your blog was about cooking, then send them cooking tips once per week or so. Then a couple of times per month, send them a promotion or link to your product that you are selling.

Posted by Melissa Thompson

When thinking about the progression of phones over the years, it can be pretty mind-boggling. For the younger generation, they have not experienced a time where cell phones were not only less prevalent but didn’t exist at all.

The older generation knows it all too well. Times when phones were stationary items in a home or office. Having to deal with local calling areas, the costs of long-distance phone calls, and connection fees are all things out of the Stone Age.

Now, you can have a phone in your pocket that allows you to communicate with literally anyone, anywhere in the blink of an eye at a rate that is probably more affordable than those old archaic phones were.

That is the beauty of cell phones. And even that has evolved exponentially. As technology has advanced, more affordable carriers have emerged, like Mint Mobile. Best of all, the Mint Mobile network relies on T-Mobile’s towers, meaning that the question “is Mint Mobile good?” is answered with a resounding “yes!”

Relatively Low Costs

Having a cell phone has never been this affordable. Not only do you get access to the device itself, you can get things like unlimited text, data, and voice minutes for just $40 depending on the carrier. Given the price of these things when they initially debuted, that’s a massive price drop.

In the past, you would have had to pay for long-distance and connection fees over a landline in addition to the other fees incurred through landline. Now, with cell phones, you can get everything in a neat, tidy package that covers all of your needs.

Instilling Responsibility

The statistics out there support the fact that we need to be promoting more responsible cell phone use. This is because younger and younger kids are gaining access to them. Instead of fighting that trend, making them responsible is the best way to go.

Using a cell phone for tracking purposes and in emergency situations is great for kids to use. Make sure there is no internet access on the phone as that can have some very serious implications if your impressionable kids are allowed to use the internet unfettered.

Giving your child the ability to text and call lets them experience the responsibility of a smartphone without giving them the access that they may not be ready for. This will help them understand how important the device is, how to take care of it, when to use it, etc. 

If you need any more information on MintMobile, check out the mint mobile reviews to get more information.