A marketer’s guide
Ready to make your (beauty) mark?
TikTok is revolutionising the beauty industry, sparking new and innovative trends that set the standard in the space – top hashtags like #BlackGirlMakeUp, #GlassSkin and #LipStain have hundreds of thousands of posts between them – and facilitating bottom-up influence with numerous inclusive communities, such as #AgelessBeauty, #NaturalBeauty
Discovery
1.9x
Beauty product discovery occurs 1.9x more frequently on TikTok than other platforms
and #MaleBeauty. With expert skill and experimental creative expression blending seamlessly, it’s no surprise that 74% of users credit TikTok with transforming their beauty game 1. This means brands have ample access to an open-minded audience they can guide easily through the funnel, all the way from discovery to conversion.
Consideration Purchase
2.3x
TikTok users are 2.3x more likely to take action when they discover a beauty product on TikTok
54% of TikTok users have purchased a new beauty product in the last 6 months (1.9x more than non-users) 2
But how brands show up and – more importantly – stand out is key. In this playbook, we’ll outline three core strategies you can implement to successfully reach beauty buyers, both in person and online, to meet (and exceed!) your commercial goals.
Your brand’s TikTok makeover starts here.
Your holistic commerce strategy starts here
Whether you want your products to fly off the shelves in shops, sell out online or get snapped up on TikTok itself, there’s a solution for every purchase journey. The campaign strategies we discuss in this playbook aim to expertly align marketing efforts with specific objectives while encouraging you to continuously test and refine for success. This will allow your brand to not only reach your target audience effectively, but also to uncover new, high-impact opportunities for engagement and conversion.
First things first, to ensure a successful campaign on TikTok, the following three elements are key:
1. Mindset
Test, learn and iterate.
2. Data connections
The bedrock of a successful campaign on TikTok is providing our system with all the data it needs to help you achieve your objectives. We recommend implementing TikTok Pixel and Events API with advanced matching.
3. Bundling
Leverage multiple solutions to make them more effective. We’ve found that bundling In-Feed Ads with 2x high-impact format* solutions leads to
Strategy 1:
Generating new product buzz and excitement
As a proven driver of new product launch success – beauty brands see 1.2x higher ROAS on TikTok vs total media 4 – TikTok is an ideal partner when launching new products.
With TikTok nurturing beauty audiences through the funnel, bundling the right solutions at the right time builds maximum brand excitement. While the primary goal of a product launch is to drive awareness, it’s crucial to prime audiences prior to launch and then retarget engaged audiences to sustain momentum post-launch.
Here’s how we suggest structuring a new product launch campaign.
Key Pre-seed
Build curiosity and start to gain share of mind
Launch
Drive awareness and maximise key-day reach
Phasing
Post
Sustain momentum and drive purchase intent
30% of Budget (Upper-Funnel)
50% of Budget (Upper & Mid-Funnel)
20% of Budget (Upper 10%; Mid/Low-Funnel 10%)
Budget allocations Solutions
50% of Budget (Upper 15%; Mid/Low-Funnel 35%) Without data connections
20% of Budget (Upper-Funnel)
30% of Budget (Upper & Mid-Funnel)
Tried & True Tactics
R&F Standard Feed, using Target Frequency Auction, Reach TopView
Auction, 6s/15s Focused View TopView
Auction, Reach (w/ Carousel format)
Web Traffic - LPV
Experimental Boosts
Pulse
Auction, 6s/15s Focused View
Auction, Reach Web Traffic - LPV
TikTok Shop Ads
Smart+ Web Catalog Ads Campaign
Branded Mission
Branded Mission Smart+ Web - Search Ads
Web Traffic - Search Ads Campaign
Measurement
Nielsen Catalina Solutions (Circana) Sales Lift Study
Brand Lift Study measuring Awareness KPI
Find the format
Try these formats to boost your campaign strategy:
Carousel Ads
Upload static images that are easily swipeable to showcase new lines and collections.
Brand spotlight
Interactive add-ons
Announce a new product launch and see stronger engagement, CTRs and video watch times.
Sephora’s full-funnel strategy generated mass brand awareness and increase online sales for its new line in Spain, driving:
+40% increase in total complete payments
-29% decrease in CPA 3x increase in ROAS
Let’s talk trends
To tease the launch of Made By Mitchell’s new line, retailer Boots released guerilla-style videos of an “unknown assailant” transforming the storefront of their flagship store.
Why it worked
Boosted viewers’ moods and piqued curiosity.
Engaged audiences by sparking excitement to visit in person.
Drove FOMO amongst newcomers to the brand.
Strategy 2:
Growing market share
TikTok users are not only an engaged audience, they’re also a hugely creative community, so consider the platform a creative ecosystem that can support your commercial goals. By leveraging its collaborative environment, engaging users in the comment sections to drive discussion and encouraging UGC through interactive campaigns, you can achieve maximum market share with minimal effort.
Here’s how we suggest structuring a campaign to grow market share.
Phasing
Pre-seed
Drive and sustain awareness
Excite
Sustain momentum and build purchase intent
12+ weeks
Budget allocations
Without data connections
40% of Budget (Upper-Funnel)
60% of Budget (Upper & Mid-Funnel)
Solutions
Tried & True Tactics
Pulse [Max & Lineups]
Experimental Boosts
R&F TopFeed
Conversion Lift Study
With data connections
40% of Budget (Upper-Funnel)
60% of Budget (Upper/Mid 30%; Lower 30%)
R&F Standard Feed, using Target Frequency Auction, 6s Focused View
Web Traffic - LPV
Web Conversions - Search Ads Campaign
% HH Penetration via Circana, Nielsen Catalina Solutions with an Only-Only-And Decomp And Conversion Lift Study
Find the format
Try these formats to boost your campaign strategy:
Spark Ads
This format helps grow intent to purchase, which translates into sales. We’ve seen 3x higher intent to purchase from users exposed to spark ads, compared to non-spark ads 5 .
Brand spotlight
NYX leveraged Spark Ads for its ‘True ID’ campaign, resulting in its best sales month ever.
Reignited growth
Resonated with a new generation of consumers
+20% sales increase
Driving offline sales for Nivea
Nivea Micellar Water used the power of Smart Bundling and creator collaboration to generate a resounding comeback in offline sales.
+138% VV 6s vs benchmark
+5.9% sales uplift (test v control)
+51.3% sales uplift vs Circana norms
Strategy 3:
Building brand equity
In the CPG space, brand equity is the foundation of long-term success. TikTok, with its ability to shape culture and influence perceptions, is a powerful platform for beauty brands to drive brand equity through a fullfunnel strategy – this builds curiosity that lasts over time and drives purchases, creating a clear path to ROI.
Here’s how we suggest structuring a campaign to build brand equity.
Timings
Pre-seed/Tease
Build curiosity and start to gain share of mind
Post
Sustain momentum and build purchase intent
50% of Budget (Upper-Funnel)
Budget allocations Solutions
Tried & True Tactics
R&F Top Feed
50% of Budget (Upper & Mid-Funnel)
Pulse Auction, Reach Auction, 6s Focused View Branded Mission
Measurement
Brand Lift Study (Multi-Cell)
Nielsen / Kantar Brand Equity Lift
Find the format
Try these formats to boost your campaign strategy:
TikTok & TV
Combine TikTok with TV for the perfect complement to your TV campaign.
Brand spotlight
Rimmel combined TikTok with TV to fuel efficient reach, driving
9.4% 3x 8x
extra reach generated across a broad target audience with TT
TikTok efficiency in incremental reach vs TV
TikTok efficiency in incremental impact vs TV
Time to #GetReadyWithUs
TikTok is built different – it’s built to get results for beauty brands. And, as each brand is unique, each strategy is too; that’s why a test-and-learn mindset is key to success on the platform.
Ready to get started? Follow these steps to identify the best course of action for your brand’s goals.
1.
2.
Leverage a multi-cell test design to compare Business as Usual (BAU) with the addition of a new ad product.
Continue to test different ad solutions to drive better outcomes until you’re leveraging a fullfunnel strategy.
3. Get started!
Continuously refine your full-funnel strategy by testing different budget allocation mix, creative sequencing and targeting to maximise ROI.
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Sources
1. TikTok Marketing Science EUI Beauty Vertical Research 2022 conducted by InSites Consulting
2. TikTok Marketing Science Global Customer Launch New Products Survey via AYTM, March 2024
3. TikTok Internal Data EUI BLS Analysis Q1 2023-Q3 2024
4. A custom analysis of Nielsen Compass benchmarks based on MMM studies
delivered to advertisers in the US in 2021 through 2023 that reported ROAS and Effectiveness for TikTok media, Total Media across all other digital and linear media channels, and Digital Media average across all publishers within CPG, Food & Beverages, Personal Care and Beauty categories.
5. TikTok NA Power Slides analysis, 2021 - 2023. n=5381
