The 5 W's Of Kylie Cosmetics

The first two chapters of Engage! by Brian Solis emphasize the importance of using social media to interact with audiences instead of marketing to them. Traditionally, the audience is viewed as an entity to market to. However, the text argues that this approach is now obsolete. Audiences are no longer receptive to mailing lists, cold calls, and sales pitches. Instead, they are increasingly responsive to empathy and humanization of the customer service process. As an avid makeup enthusiast, I immediately noticed that the first two chapters of the Solis text best explained the reason for the declining success of the makeup brand Kylie Cosmetics. Engage! describes content as a democracy that ensures audiences are heard (Solis, 2011). The metaphorical

However, the brand has the opportunity to rebuild its reputation by addressing the 5 W’s of social media: who, what, when, where, and why. First, Kylie Cosmetics needs to identify the target market she is trying to cater to: makeup enthusiasts, including its customers, makeup influencers, and competitor customers. Influencers are particularly important because, as the Engage! states, early adopters typically get their information from these individuals. While Kylie Cosmetics is known for its widespread endorsement by top beauty influencers, it is known that certain influencers are part of Jenner’s personal network and/or payroll. This has been apparent in previous reviews from respected makeup gurus’ praise of widely failed and disliked products. Next, Kylie Cosmetics must address makeup community concerns immediately, from issues regarding poor customer service and quality control, animal cruelty, and lack of diversity. Addressing these issues before releasing more products will both help Kylie Cosmetics get ahead of any possible controversies and help rebuild the brand’s reputation. This should become apparent on both the brand’s online/pop-stores and on its social media page. Finally, Kylie Cosmetics needs to address the “why” aspect. Skeptics of the brand often question the brand’s sincerity in its actions. However, Kylie Cosmetics needs to adopt Solis’ ideology and focus on evolving its products to create solutions for the makeup community instead of trying to save face ex post-facto. In doing so, it will solve many of the issues that have caused it to decline in popularity amongst the makeup