If there is any kind of content that is most likely to become popular on TikTok, hair care and beauty content must be on the list.
Although makeup and beauty Xiang ** have been the traffic lot on TikTok almost all the time, but with#hairtokThe topic was launched, and hairdressing quickly became a hit on TikTok. The label quickly invaded the beauty TikTok scene, and Hairtok already has itMore than 103.6 billion views, numerous high clicks under the tab**.
Which brand has caught this splashing wealth is a huge opportunity, and it has to be mentionedk18
K18 uses biotechnology to reconnect broken keratin chains in the hair and is clinically proven to improve hair damage in less than 4 minutes. At present, K18 Hair has applied for relevant patents worldwide. The brand's flagship product isLeave-in molecular repair ** mask, can be used in place of conditioner, no need to rinse, which is aimed at both professional salons and home care scenes. At present, it can be purchased through online and offline channel brands such as the official website, Amazon, Sephora, etc. New products such as molecular hair oils under the brand are also popular with consumers.
K18 was founded in 2020 by Suveen Sahib and Britta Cox. According to people familiar with the matter, retail sales in K18 reached $300 million in 2023 and are expected to exceed $4 by 2024$100 million.
At the end of 2023, Unilever beat out a number of bidders including L'Oréal and Blackstone to acquire K18 Haircare, with the deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.
It can be seen that this hair care brand, which has been established for just 4 years, has achieved the peak of both new products and traffic sales in a very short period of timeTikTok has been viewed more than 20 billion times, and even a host of celebrity endorsements – such as Rihanna, Hailey Bieber, Pete D**Idson and their stylists.
The success of K18 makes people wonder, as a start-up brand focusing on technology and ruthlessness, what did it do right in marketing to achieve such an excellent brand effect?
According to Forbes, the global revenue of the beauty industry and personal care industry has been reached in 2023$571.1 billion
According to the latest report released by Growth Plus Reports, the global hair care market size is expected to reach 1,447. by 2031$200 million, during which the CAGR reached
A visit to a shampoo for a hair treatment is not cheap, giving rise to more hair care products that can be customized at home, and also reinforcing the positive outlook for the market.
Moreover, the growth of the hair care market is also driven by several factors, especiallySocial ** and celebrity propaganda grass promotion, KOLs' grass planting greatly shapes consumer preferences。Nowadays, people do their homework on social media such as TikTok and research what kind of shampoo, conditioner, hair oil, styling products, hair dyes, hair masks, and dry shampoos are used by KOLs.
And in such a trend, K18 with a new attitude,In 2023, it will already rank first in the sales list of the Sephora category；According to Kline Pro, Olaplex still occupies the first place in sales in the hair care category, but it cannot be ignored that K18's market share continues to increase significantly, jumping from the top 10 to the current top 5 brands in the marketK18's no-wash molecularly repaired ** membrane took the lead in the first quarter of 2023
Behind the amazing growth of K18, it relies on strong product strength and celebrity marketing mix.
K18 was able to quickly sweep the market, and the first thing that impressed it was industry insiders such as stylists. K18 advertises its products as it emphasizes that it softens, smooths frizz and strengthens hair in just four minutes, and is suitable for all hair types.
Those who were initially invited to use the product found that using the K18 product saved a lot of time in taking care of their customers' hair. The effect is obvious, and it is easy to use, just like a conditioner, and it does not need to be washed off, so it has accumulated a good reputation in the industry first.
And compared to the industry's leading product, Olaplex, what makes the K18 different?
First of all, K18 is mainly aimed at hair that is prone to breakage, as it uses patented bioactive peptides to strengthen hair, reduce frizz and effectively prevent and repair existing damage.
In addition, K18 peptide is a high-performance ingredient derived from biology that helps reconnect broken or damaged hair, and is not washed away by water or shampoo as easily as Olaplex for long-lasting results.
It can be seen that K18 quickly fills the gap in the market with its latecomer advantage, precisely because of its differentiated product efficacy and simple and powerful use experience.
According to the Boston Consulting Group, K18 ranks first in terms of stylist and consumer loyalty, and the brand NPS (Net Promoter Score) ranks first in the industry.
So in terms of marketing, how does K18 do it?
K18 is a young brand, so it focuses on amplifying the user funnel and creating a large traffic pool and user base. For K18, it is a matter of giving up advertising to attract people in channels that are already saturated with competitionBy activating creators on Instagram and TikTok to increase brand liking for K18, it is more cost-effective
The reason why K18 has a strong grass planting power in the field of hair care is because it has a strong KOL base, and the number of celebrities who bring goods and grass to it exceeds that of other competing products. It can be seen that in order to explode new products, it is necessary to use celebrity marketing to break the circle of people and expand their minds.
01 Use the TikTok Challenge to detonate the whole network
In 2020, K18 mainly operated a core community of hairstylists, and in 2021, K18 Hair was launched on TikTokK18hairflip challenge, and launch brand original songs, consumers can post with the topic ** to record the changes in hair quality.
Participate in the K18Hairflip Challenge, where TikTok users have a chance to win a K18 Salon service and a $1,000 Sephora Shopping Package, which is currently available on the platformMore than 11 billion times, from KOLs in the professional field to vegans are involved.
At that time, the budget for the event was $600,000, and the final social ** effect had clearly far exceeded the investment. According to Tribe Dynamics, which measures value earned (EMV), K18 Hair's EMV (revenue earned from marketing campaigns) in December of that year was $16.1 millionThe event alone earned $13.1 million
K18 used the TikTok platform to increase brand awareness among young audiences through creative and authentic UGC, from an unknown niche brand to a popular brand on social **.
02 Sign a professional KOL contract to break the circle from the core group
From the very beginning, K18 has attached great importance to linking professionals because of the brandCore communication user groupsThe portrait is clear – that isProfessional hairstylistTherefore, brands often post content related to the hairstylist profession on Instagram (330,000 followers), which can quickly arouse a smile from industry insiders and enhance user stickiness.
K18 works with professional influencersCreate a content matrix of influencers in the field of hair careFirst of all, break through the core user group of professional hairstylists.
TheedgyBeautician is a tail craftsman KOC with just over 2,000 followers, and the account content has a very vertical following, all about hair dye and perm-related content.
Although the account has few followers, butThe content of the cooperation between the two has received 3000+ likes and 910 comments, which is a very amazing interaction ratio。The content of this cooperation** is actually very simple, that is, everyone is invited to guess how many bowls of bleaching dye are needed for celebrities to make a bleaching white gold for customers. Most of the people who interact in the comment area are professional hairstylists, or users who are usually interested in dyeing and perming hair. ConsideredThe cost of lightweight content and influencers such as brand cooperation is actually very low, but it can effectively activate the core users on the account, and the ROI is actually very good
03 Leverage well-known KOLs to expand their influence
K18, which has accumulated core users, naturally needs to continue to reach new users.
So the brand signed up influencer Sofia Richie Grainge, who is both a model and the daughter of singer Lionel Richie, a top influencer with nearly 11 million followers, as a brand ambassadorCovering fans from different circles
Sofia also filmed K18's first national TV commercial, which is also the first time that the K18 brand has officially entered the big screen from social **.
In the 30-second episode, Sofia is shown interacting with stylist Yuichi Ishida, who uses K18 products to shape her hair into two looks: soft big waves and smart coils.
The IG of the brand has also topped this set of endorsements**, currently**The number of likes reached 5882 and there were 305 comments, based on the average likes and ratings of the brand's Instagram account, this interaction data is very good. Many people in the comment area were attracted by Sofia to pay attention to this cooperation.
The fan effect of top Internet celebrities cannot be underestimated. As far as the head Internet celebrity of brand cooperation is concerned, in fact, more often, it isChoosing people who match the tone of the brand and expanding its influence among potential users is also a traffic expansion strategy for new brands to enter the mature stage
The biggest challenge for new brands is that it's hard to quantify the effect after putting in influencers. However, K18 has achieved real results, and no marketing action is wasted, from which we can summarize the following lessons:
A brand is all in before marketing,Start by building your brand's seed user community。It's not enough to find this group of people through social media, you canTake advantage of the traffic mechanism of social media such as TikTok to activate the core group and try to build momentum；The new brand should create a professional image, and in the operation of social media such as Instagram, it can not only publish interesting content in the professional field, but also canCooperate with professional influencers of different magnitudes to improve ROI；If the brand wants to further break the circle, thenIt is necessary to screen the top KOLs that match the brand toneand use its influence to leverage new user potential. No matter what stage your brand is in, you can use the influencer influence and professionalism to drive sales and reach people. If you're not sure how to find the right influencer for a good price, feel free to contact Socialbook. Socialbook has mastered eight regions around the world, including North America, Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East16 million+ celebrity resources, involving technology, e-commerce, games, finance, beauty, fashion, home, social networking, food, tourism and many other industries, to provide professional overseas marketing services for your brand.