Social media has become more complex and has developed faster than ever before. It impacts millions of lives every day and changes our way of consuming stories about people, organizations and brands. It is important to know what has been done, and what could inspire you as a marketer in order to be one step ahead. In this way, you can stand out from the overly-crowded social media world and create recognizable content for your audience. This is the motivation behind our Social Media Quarterly Insights Report. We hope by sharing the social media trends of multiple industries, we can help you re-think the way you introduce your brand, drive interaction and develop sales through social media. In this quarter, we focus on social media insights of the beauty industry in 5 Asian locations: Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan.
Methodology
We tracked and analyzed the social media accounts from renowned beauty brands across Asia with the help of Meltwater’s social influencer solution. Our main goal was to understand the top trends in terms of content, the product focuses, functions leveraged, etc. We primarily analyzed content from the brands’ Instagram account in Asia. But we have also extended our research to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, articles, blogs and online media to gather multiple insights.
*Our analysis was done on the quarterly period of June, July and August 2019. Please note that all data in this report are accurate from the date of its creation and are subject to change from the date of publication.
Overall Social Media Beauty Insights:
Common Instagram marketing practice carried out by brands in Asia:
All local accounts use the original language of the account’s location. Global accounts always use English and some with bilingual content. For example, Laneige Korea’s account has both English and Korean languages.
All accounts have Stories Highlights and they categorize Highlights by product type. However, some accounts also add Highlights that are not related to beauty products. For example, Shiseido shows highlights on “backstage” and art.
Some brands collaborate with local influencers to promote their products. We also found some global content on local accounts.
Common social media insights of the beauty industry across Asia:
Milk tea color:
This new color has multiple layers with a glossy and light brunette wash. The color started trending in Japan and Singapore, initially appearing under the hashtag #milkteahair.
Colored eyeshadows:
Peachy hue is used to achieve a natural, healthy and smooth look. The trend started in Korea and later spread across Asia.
Flushed cheeks:
This Korean makeup trend gives a healthy-looking glow to the skin by using liquid blushers in pink or peach colors.
Male beauty KOLs:
Male grooming and makeup products are growing in Asia. There are more male beauty influencers raising awareness among audiences from both genders.
Source: Laka
Location-specific social media insights of the beauty industry in Asia:
Hong Kong:
While Facebook still remains one of the main communication platforms, some beauty brands in Hong Kong start to shift their social media activities to Instagram only. Beauty brands are also actively engaging their employees as brand ambassadors, such as promoting makeup styles with the latest products on the brand’s official Instagram account.
Taiwan:
Skincare is important to Taiwanese, especially sheet masks for the face. Reviewing skincare products is a frequent topic for Taiwan beauty influencers. Apart from skincare products, it is also common to see content about Korean beauty style, such as tutorials about Point makeup.
Singapore:
While Western makeup style is the majority in Singapore, there are still beauty bloggers that are inspired by K-beauty. In addition, Singaporean brands put emphasis on positioning themselves as natural, vegan-friendly, organic, etc.
South Korea:
Brands start to offer more gender-neutral makeup products. This is due to K-pop boy bands and their makeup routine that redefined men’s perception and attitude towards beauty.
There are also cross-industry collaborations among beauty influencers and the non-beauty industry, e.g. banking.
Japan:
Living coral is the “IT” color in Japan in Q3. We see the color widely applied to makeup, hair colors, accessories, clothes, etc. Bold eye makeup, such as contrasting colored eyeliners and mascara, is also the main point of the Japanese beauty trend in this quarter.
Contact us If you are interested to have your brand analyzed, or if you would like to know more about social media marketing in Asia.
