Face of the future - H2E2’s Fady Tawfik on how social media is shaping our industry

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last few years, you are probably by now fully aware of the immense impact of social media on all businesses, especially the beauty and wellbeing industry.

The instant and personal dialogue created between brand and consumer via social media gives brands the power to stay up to date with what is in demand like never before. Social media has also given the buyer the power to hold brands accountable, and it is consumers that are driving product innovations through their demands voiced on social media.

One of these most influential social media channels for our industry is YouTube. With its video tutorials, YouTube has helped bridge the gap between beauty professionals and amateurs. By making techniques such as make-up application and hairstyling accessible to all, YouTube has boosted interest in our industry and, in turn, increased demand for the beauty products that enable everyone to get professional results.

Instagram, the image-led social media channel, has massively influenced the beauty market in the Middle East. For consumers, a blogger or celebrity’s post about a product backed up with images feels more genuine than the message of a million-dollar ad campaign. Consider the example of Kylie Jenner who has 45.4 million Instagram followers and counting. Last year, Jenner posted a selfie with self-tanning brand Cocoa Brown products in the background. The image received over a million likes, fabulous exposure for the brand with minimal financial outlay.

In the past few years, “selfie” has become a household term. As consumers try to obtain the perfect self-snapped image, there has been a rise in demand for products that minimise the amount of editing and filters needed for a photo. In other words, social media has spawned a whole new genre of makeup as people want to look flawless for the camera at all times.

How social media influences our industry in 2017 and beyond we have yet to find out but given that it has already affected demand and the way we market and advertise products, any business that ignores social media does so at its peril.

Fady Tawfik is co-founder and head of business operations at H2E2 and has over 10 years’ experience in e-commerce business development, supply chain management, and operations management across the MENA region. He specialises in establishing new business by developing go-tomarket solutions and preparing B2B alliance strategies.