Social media strategies to evolve to keep Middle East beauty industry relevant in ‘new normal’

The Middle East beauty industry is facing up to an online ‘reality check’ as it moves to remain relevant in the post-Covid-19 ‘new normal’.

According to experts in a webinar staged by Beautyworld Middle East, the region’s largest international trade fair for the sector, trust, authenticity and transparency are now consumer engagement essentials across social media. The webinar was titled: ‘The growth of e-commerce and how it is reshaping the beauty industry’.

Delegates heard how social channels are now considered mainstream media among the region’s hyper-connected populations with the highly visual Instagram being the sector’s highest performer, but with the tone of consumer engagement morphing to meet new realities.

Noor Al Tamimi, CEO of Bedashing Holding, UAE operator of contemporary, award-winning hair and nail salons, beauty lounges and spas, said the pandemic had forced a complete company rethink on its social media approach.

“Before Covid-19, we used to strive for pitch perfect imagery but we realised that would not be relevant given what people have been going through, so we shifted to seeking more interaction with our audience taking a more realistic tone, running surveys to discover what people want and there’s no going back now,” Noor Al Tamimi commented.

This approach was backed by Leon Rego, CEO and Chief Strategist of Eleven777 Advertising who advised that Gen Z’s 16-24-year-olds were among the most demanding of reality checkers. “They are extremely critical when seeking transparency and authenticity,” he explained.

A report from Euromonitor International, Beautyworld Middle East‘s official partner for strategic market research solutions, says region-wide consumer comfort levels towards digital are rising. The report states: “As an increased number of e-commerce platforms emerge, consumers’ preferences will lie towards sites they can relate to. Hence, communicating effectively digitally will remain imperative.”

The report also suggests that an uptick in virtual conversations, augmented reality and chatbots with virtual ‘try on’ options being incorporated by beauty players. “A seamless customer experience will remain vital, especially to engage Millenials and Gen-Z in the region,” the report concludes.

More information is available at www.beautyworldme.com