Benefit cosmetics learns that trending doesn’t always mean popular
Blending in might seem like a counter-intuitive marketing tactic but when you’re talking social media; fitting in is a good thing. You want other users to see you as a trusted friend, not an advertising machine. This is especially true if you’re marketing to a young, social savvy audience.
The best way to do this is to participate in the same trending conversations as all the rest of the hip kids. On Twitter, this means adding your thoughts to the daily trending hashtags. For example: #MakeASongAboutRealLife, #VacationAMovie, or #MakeAMovieAFatty.
That last one. . . maybe not. Benefit UK, the cosmetics company tried it and it didn’t go over very well. Twitter followers snapped back, slamming the brand for body shaming, some even asking for order refunds.
The US brand of the company started apologizing one-by-one but that wasn’t going to fly.
@amihyphenmarie We are SO sorry for the tweets from our UK sisters earlier today. In no way does this represent our brand or values—we love
— Benefit Cosmetics US (@BenefitBeauty) July 7, 2015
Apologizing on behalf of their sister company? Sounds like a whole lot of shaming was going on.
Benefit UK removed their Tweets and then ran this halfhearted, non-apology.
Lovely Benebabes. We always get involved in hashtags that are trending. We are not poking fun at anybody. #laughteristhebestcosmetic xx
— Benefit Cosmetics UK (@BenefitUK) July 6, 2015
On top of the insults, we now have two branches of the same company who clearly disagree. Twitter is a global community, which means that the Benefit US is going to feel the heat from standing too close to their UK sister. So much for Independence Day!
A few hours later, Benefit UK tried to make it right.
We made a big mistake. We joined a hashtag in bad taste. We truly believe beauty comes in all shapes & sizes. Please accept our apology.
— Benefit Cosmetics UK (@BenefitUK) July 6, 2015
As one Tweeter put it; damage done.
A few understanding souls said they wouldn’t condemn an entire brand for a bad decision made by the person running the social media account. But others said the second Tweet, the one where the brand said it was all in fun, was the one that did them in.
Will Benefit bounce back from this? Of course. It was an embarrassing slip from a social media manager who was struggling to keep the brand fresh and friendly. At this point, both the US and the UK accounts need to drop it and move on with business as usual.
I think Jacey summed up the situation best when she said:
Maybe Benefit should think about hiring Jacey to run their account from now on.
