Sustainability as a company value is becoming increasingly more important in today’s market. Consumers are experiencing an oversaturation of choices when making purchase decisions, and they are having to rely on additional criteria to select the best option.

Therefore, it is key for brands today to find the right balance between business and ethics. With that in mind, how can heritage skincare brands become pivotal pillars in this movement?

The Opportunity for Heritage Skincare Brands

According to the latest research, brand ethos and values are one of the things users take into consideration when moving through the purchase decision timeline.

In this moment, heritage skincare brands have a very valuable opportunity before them. To become the leading voices in this shift towards ethical brand positioning and earn the trust of consumers and the loyalty of their customers, sustainability should hold a valuable spot in the brand’s social media marketing strategy. 

In this article, we will explore how heritage skincare brands’ eco-friendly achievements, milestones and ethos can inspire valuable content and elevate your social media marketing strategy.

Heritage Skincare Brands

With a global revenue of over 650 billion dollars, the beauty and skincare industry remains a prominent player in the global market. While some of the key positions in this sector are taken up by billion-dollar corporations and enterprises with hundreds of subsidiaries, many consumers are now turning to smaller, more ethical choices.

It is a well-known fact that the beauty and skincare industry has always presented a great opportunity for small companies and family businesses to also thrive with their unique value offering, strong brand positioning and loyal customer base.

As such, heritage skincare brands have turned into a cornerstone of beauty and skincare, boasting authenticity, trust and a long history – characteristics many corporations can’t demonstrate.

Sustainable Storytelling and Heritage Skincare Brands

One of the biggest advantages of heritage skincare brands is that with said heritage come many stories worth telling. Storytelling, although often misused in the context of marketing, is a valuable tool that can evoke an emotional connection between your audience and your brand if done correctly.

As a heritage skincare brand, your history is your story, and the opportunities are vast. Here are just a few you can tap into.

Share your Legacy and History

As mentioned, heritage brands possess an important unique selling point that many other modern-day brands do not – a long-standing history of growth and a legacy of agility and achievements. It is vital to maximise this and share your story as a way to establish brand differentiation and solidify your position in the market with trust and authenticity.

Create content revolving around your start, your inspiration and the journey your brand took to reach the current point, with all your rises and falls. It may seem unreasonable to share your more challenging moments through the years, but honesty and integrity are a strong combination to earn your audience’s trust and humanise your brand. Even if your journey was not all easy, your followers will appreciate learning about your struggles and the perseverance you demonstrated to get here.

Show Off Your Team

A brand is nothing without the people behind it – this is a well-known statement. In an era filled with automation and AI influence, the human role is becoming more cherished and valuable than ever. Moreover, having people stand at the centre of your content is another powerful strategy to establish a strong connection with your audience, make your social media presence more relatable, and solidify your trustworthiness and individuality.

In addition to the above point, while sharing your story and your legacy, make sure to incorporate the main people behind it. Share stories about the founders, what motivated them to start this business, who offered them the most support through their journey, and how the team grew through the years.

Employee-generated content is another valuable asset to possess and show off on social. Make sure you are nurturing and inspiring your team to share their story and participate in the content creation process by rewarding their creativity and expertise, and making it a focal point in your strategy.

Be Transparent

Another great addition to the above storytelling points is sharing your operations and day-to-day processes. At first glance, it may seem mundane to speak about office culture or supply chain process, but there is real value hidden in those aspects of your business.

Every company has a different organisational method, and the way you stay true to your ESG incentives may vary from other brands. As a heritage skincare brand, consumers will be interested in learning more about your manufacturing process, your packaging, your ingredients, what inspired your latest product line, and how it enables your business to increase its pro-environmental efforts. All of these are a great starting point for telling the story of what goes on behind the scenes with your brand and lifting the curtain to establish trust and transparency.

Sharing Values = Gaining Trust

In order to build upon this trust and transparency, it is crucial to complete the storytelling structure by leading the conversation about brand values. What your brand stands for, what you endorse and what you believe in – this is something your consumers will want to know about as they are moving through the marketing funnel on their journey with your brand.

As previously established, a brand’s ESG agenda is highly important in today’s market. Heritage skincare brands particularly have a great opportunity to utilise their USPs and solidify their stance on this important topic. By demonstrating how they are working towards being more responsible, more ethical and more accountable, they can become leading voices in this sector.

To summarise, as a heritage skincare brand, the above examples demonstrate the numerous advantages of incorporating sustainability storytelling in your social media marketing strategy. It is a solid way to reinstate your brand value system, showcase your dedication to ESG objectives, and earn the trust and create a valuable emotional connection with consumers who seek ethical brands.

How Heritage Skincare Brands Can Lead the Conversation

If your sustainability efforts and milestones have remained more of a background activity, quietly been doing your part towards the environment, it’s never too late to change that and employ some creative tactics to share this story and reach new audiences. Here are some ways you can do that:

Incorporate your History

As a heritage brand, your history is something to be proud of, and your audience will want to learn more about it. Highlight your decades-old experience and the path you took to establish yourself as a leading skincare brand with a carefully curated line of products, and share your ideas, inspirations, and lessons with transparency and authenticity.

Share your Achievements and Certifications

Throughout your sustainability journey, your business will earn different types of accreditations to signify your efforts. While they may appear more technical to some users, others will appreciate learning more about them. Make sure your content strategy includes celebrating these milestones and showing how they make you a better business that can deliver higher value to your customers.

Involve your Audience

In order for your eco-centred activities to be even more impactful, work on some creative and engaging ways to involve your audience. From a business perspective, you can start a return scheme or a loyalty program that encourages the continuation of your product lifecycle.

From a social media standpoint, you can establish a rewards system or regularly showcase appreciation for users creating content related to your brand (UGC) and how they are applying your ethos to their daily routine. UGC can help strengthen your relationship with your community and build trust and brand longevity.

Highlight your Processes

Data can be a great indicator of the impact and truthfulness of your sustainability efforts. It is a good idea to share more technical and factual information about your processes occasionally – from ideation to manufacturing to logistics. Use numbers and reports, as well as employee testimonials, to showcase the behind-the-scenes of how your products come to life and move through their lifecycle. Make sure to highlight all the different systems in place that help you ensure that you are minimising your effects on the planet and keeping your sustainability objectives.

Adopt a Human-First Approach

Throughout every element of this strategy, it is crucial to put your team front and centre. Data and information about your eco-conscious efforts would carry much more meaning when coming from people.

By centralising your team in your content, you are solidifying the message and building trust and long-lasting connections with your community online, extending your legacy and your brand values for years ahead.

BONUS: Want to learn more about human-first marketing? Check out our guide!

Conclusion

As a heritage skincare brand, you can take advantage of the growing importance of ESG objectives for businesses and demonstrate how you are upholding sustainability standards throughout your business.

By including this messaging in your social media content and spotlighting your team, you can become a leading voice in this shift and positively influence your brand reputation and longevity.