18 Ways To Market Your Makeup Brand [2024]

Updated: January 20th, 2022

Wondering how to market your makeup brand?

Marketing your makeup brand is certainly not easy, but there are many ways to promote and advertise your makeup brand.

We put together a list of the best marketing ideas for your makeup brand, so you can get your small business out there.

Here’s the list:

1. Pay Per Click Advertising: Set Up A Pay Per Click Campaign

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a performance-based marketing method that allows you to show specific ads for services or products oriented to a very defined target, with the goal that the user visits your website or landing page.

  • Topic: Affiliate
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Low - Average is typically $1 per click
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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2. Referral Program: Launch A Referral Program

A referral program is the type of marketing where you state an offer to your existing customers for the act of creating a word-of-mouth referral that converts.

According to SEMrush, word-of-mouth is considered to be one of the top traffic sources for small businesses that practice affiliate marketing.

Launching a referral program is a great marketing strategy for growing a small business. An effective referral program enables startups to increase lead generation and an active audience.

  • Topic: Word Of Mouth
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $10-$100
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on referral program ➜

3. Press Release: Get A Press Release Published

A press release is a marketing strategy that involves sending out a newsworthy bulletin.

Targeting journalists and potential customers, the press release provides a popular approach for getting immediate brand exposure.

For startups, getting more press is an attractive approach to gain traction, so that target customers know who you are, and what you are offering them.

  • Topic: Buzz
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Medium - $0-$2,000
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on press release ➜

4. Product expansion: Expand Your Product Line

Product line expansion simply refers to a way of focusing on your customer's requirements and offering them variants of the current products that they already love.

Before undertaking the product line expansion strategy, consider listening to customers' feedback. Focus on understanding their current pain points and look at ways to make your products appeal to a broader market.

It's important to note that adding new products and diversifying may not be in the cards for you right this moment, and that's okay. You can always consider it down the road.

  • Topic: Buzz
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Medium - $100-$2,000
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on product expansion ➜

5. Competitor analysis: Conduct A Competitor Analysis

Competitor analysis refers to a report analyzing your competitors' strengths and weaknesses relative to those of your own business.

For startups trying to break into the market, a well-researched competition analysis gives you the tools to reach strategic decisions.

A competitor analysis should be included in your marketing plan, your business plan, and all aspects of your high-level business and pricing strategy.

  • Topic: Sales
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Low - $0-$300
  • Result: Product Quality

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Check out our full guide on competitor analysis ➜

6. Pinterest ads: Pinterest Advertising

Pinterest Advertising is a fast-pass ticket to increasing your social media reach by targeting more than 450 million active pinterest users every month.

By running promoted pins, marketers can drive traffic, increase conversions, and boost brand awareness effectively.

For startups, Pinterest Advertising is a great way to boost your business.

  • Topic: Social Media - (Paid)
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $.10-$1.50
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on pinterest ads ➜

7. Networking Event: Attend A Networking Event

Networking event refers to social or economic activity where entrepreneurs meet with intention of forming business relationships, recognizing, creating, or acting upon business opportunities.

As an entrepreneur, creating connections and putting your brand out there is critical to the success of your business.

Attending a networking event you will meet like-minded people, exchange a business idea or two, and leave knowing you brought your brand some exposure.

Networking events could provide you a once in lifetime opportunity or connection that could take your business to the next level.

  • Topic: Events
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $0-$150
  • Result: Brand Awareness

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Check out our full guide on networking event ➜

8. Webinar: Launch A Webinar

A webinar is an event held virtually and attended exclusively by an online audience. Therefore, a webinar can reach a wide range of audiences from different locations.

Webinars are a great way to build your existing audience and create new customers. Webinars can also help with promotions, establishing clout and credibility with customers, and can help build your email list.

Webinars are a particularly effective marketing tool because they allow brands to connect with their customers.

  • Topic: Events
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Medium - $100-$1,500
  • Result: Trust & Credibility

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Check out our full guide on webinar ➜

9. Yelp ads: Create Yelp Ads

Yelp Ads refers to the placement of promotional content on Yelp with the intention to reach more customers who visit Yelp.

The Yelp advertisements will appear in the search results and on business listings.

Through Yelp ads, you can bring more people back to your Yelp business page so that they learn more about your business and ultimately decide to contact you.

  • Topic: Social Media - (Paid)
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $0-$350
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on yelp ads ➜

10. Corporate gifts: Corporate Gifting

Corporate gifting is the practice of creating a touchpoint with your existing clients and prospects through the use of a gift.

Giving gifts is one of the worlds oldest traditions. Why? Because it works.

According to Destination CRM:

Businesses that send highly personalized and modern gifts at key moments in the customer journey see a far better outcome—particularly with small and midsize businesses, whose customer relationships are crucial.

  • Topic: Sales
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $20-$500
  • Result: Brand Loyalty

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Check out our full guide on corporate gifts ➜

11. Geographic Expansion: Develop a Geographic Expansion Strategy

Geographic expansion is a market strategy where an enterprise grows by expanding from its original location to additional geographic regions.

Geographic expansion is one of the preferred business growth strategies.

According to Frost & Sullivan, geographic expansion can help enterprises gain access to new markets and talent pools.

  • Topic: Buzz
  • Level of Difficulty: Hard
  • Cost: High - $5,000-$20,000
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on geographic expansion ➜

12. Product Feedback Emails: Ask For Product Feedback By Email

Product feedback emails are emails used to collect reviews and feedback on a specific product or service.

Your product feedback email should have a clean design and a clear call to action.

  • Topic: Email
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Free - Asking for feedback should not cost you anything.
  • Result: Product Quality

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Check out our full guide on product feedback emails ➜

13. Print Media Marketing: Create A Print Media Marketing Campaign

Print media marketing is a form of advertising that uses physically printed media to reach consumers, business customers, and prospects.

Examples of physically printed media are magazines, newspapers, newsletters, consumer and trade magazines, and direct letters to target customers.

By creating print media marketing campaigns, businesses are able to reach a very wide audience and target different readerships.

  • Topic: Print + Traditional
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Medium - $500-$20,000
  • Result: Brand Awareness

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Check out our full guide on print media marketing ➜

14. User Generated Content (UGC): Increase User-Generated Content (UGC) On Social

UGC is a way to get your customer involved in your marketing process - often times, without them even realizing it!

Any time your customer has an opportunity to share your product/service, they are generating content for your business.

When others see this, they are more likely to become interested in your brand as they saw it from a friend, a colleague, or someone they follow.

  • Topic: Word Of Mouth
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Free - The best part about UGC is that it's completely free. Your users are creating content for you and you get to then share that with the world.
  • Result: Brand Exposure

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Check out our full guide on user generated content (ugc) ➜

15. Trade Show: Attend A Trade Show

Tradeshows refer to an exhibition where companies in a specific industry display and demonstrate their products or services.

Although this tactic may seem traditional, tradeshows remain an effective and important marketing strategy in business today.

With attending a tradeshow, startups can reach their target audienceand also attract new customers.

  • Topic: Events
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Medium - $200-$5,000
  • Result: Lead Generation

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Check out our full guide on trade show ➜

16. Direct Mail Campaign: Design A Successful Direct Mail Campaign

Marketing through direct mail is a process where a business sends print advertising to their customer using the mail system.

Although this may seem like an old school way of doing marketing, it's proven to create brand awareness and convert customers.

This form of marketing can be done through various different methods, such as brochures, letters, postcards, flyers and much more.

  • Topic: Print + Traditional
  • Level of Difficulty: Medium
  • Cost: Low - $.50-$3.00 per piece of mail
  • Result: Brand Awareness

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Check out our full guide on direct mail campaign ➜

17. Caption Contest: Run A Caption Contest

A caption contest giveaway is when brands share an image on social media and ask their audience to come up with a description for it.

Typically, whoever creates the best caption is chosen and rewarded with a gift or prize.

Not only can this engage your audience, but the results are often so clever that they can be used for future marketing material. You could even use the best entries to create a hilarious meme for your business. The opportunities are endless.

  • Topic: Social Media (Organic)
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Low - $10-$500. Depending on the giveaway prize, the cost may vary.
  • Result: Engagement

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Check out our full guide on caption contest ➜

18. Brand Story Email: Create A Brand Story Email Campaign

A brand story email narrates the story of how and why your business was started and expresses how that narrative is still apart of you today.

Emails that explain your brand story can be a very effective way to connect with your customer.

  • Topic: Email
  • Level of Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: Free - -
  • Result: Lead Generation

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Check out our full guide on brand story email ➜

meet the author
Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.