How Kylie Jenner Has Mastered Social Media
At the start of Keeping up With the Kardashians in 2007, the world was introduced to the youngest of the Kardashian/Jenner clan Kylie. Over the course of the show, which just marked it’s 10 year anniversary last month, the world has watched Kylie grow and develop into a young adult. Although she has been in the spotlight for some controversial topics such as her plastic surgery, or most recently her alleged pregnancy scandal, the most notable thing we have seen come from Kylie is her brand Kylie Cosmetics. At age 20 (younger than me, which I always love reminding myself) Kylie has created a brand that is projected to become an over a billion dollar company within the next few years. Because of her massive following, Kylie has been able to market her brand for a very low cost, through her use of social media.
Obviously there is an amount of money that Kylie puts towards advertising and marketing, such as paying for influencer partnerships. However, for the large majority Kylie capitalizes on owned media for her PR/Marketing efforts.
First, let’s take a look at her Instagram. With nearly 100 million followers on her profile, Instagram is a perfect spot for Kylie to market her brand. Kylie is an avid poster on Instagram, and weaved throughout her hundreds of photos of herself, are photos and videos related to her brand. She is very active about informing her followers about any Kylie Cosmetic update. Her pictures and videos related to the brand are all very aesthetically pleasing and fun to watch. By connecting her face, style, and overall aesthetic to the brand on her personal page she creates this sort of aura around the products along the lines of “If I buy Kylie Cosmetics I’ll look and feel like Kylie” which obviously isn’t the case but people are attracted to connecting with someone of her level of fame.
Additionally, Kylie Cosmetics has their own Instagram account which is a must-do for all brands. This account is dedicated purely to Kylie’s make-up line. It is where you can find all information about new product launches, sales, color tests etc. On this channel you also see a number of influencer collaborations, where Kylie Cosmetics has teamed up with well known beauty influencers to test and show her products.
In my opinion, Kylie’s most influential channel is Snapchat. I’m ashamed to admit I’ll take the time out of my day to watch her Snapchat stories no matter how long or short they are. Snapchat is an incredible way for audiences to get to follow celebrities’ lives in a more intimate setting, you feel like you’re almost really there with them. When she isn’t taking selfies or showing off her Lambo, Kylie is marketing her products in a quick and easy way. She uses snapchat to document her swatching and testing every single color and new product that she is launching, and will even conduct mini tutorials via snapchat. Snapchat is a quick and personal way to spread the word on her brand.
Most recently, Kylie Cosmetics has entered the YouTube realm. Although she only has a few videos I thought this social media decision was extremely strategic for the brand. YouTube the hub for all things beauty, and a perfect outlet to access her target audience. We definitely should be keeping an eye on where Kylie Cosmetics will go with this channel in the future.