Tarte Cosmetics is a makeup and skincare brand that has grown wildly popular since its start in 1999. All products made by the company are cruelty-free and made with quality products that the brand has termed ‘good-for-you-products’. Founded in New York by Maureen Kelly, Tarte has grown into a well-known makeup and skincare staple that shoppers can find in stores across the world. Kelly grew the company from her one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan to an iconic company with a product line present across the world.
Aside from the amazing products that makeup gurus have come to love, Tarte’s marketing campaigns and approach to product launches have become a marketing strategy that companies across the nation are trying to replicate. With extravagant brand trips to exclusive locations like The Four Seasons in Bora-Bora, influencers flock to store shelves to purchase the brand’s items and post their own unpaid promotions in hopes of being sponsored or taken on one of the glamorous brand trips. I want to interview with Tarte Cosmetics because of the company’s wild approach to marketing and advertising. I have been a user of Tarte products as well as a consumer of the influencer content that their brand promotes. I feel like I would be a great asset to the Marketing team as I am well educated on the brand and have great ideas for marketing and advertising new products.
Tarte Cosmetics’ brand voice mimics that of its audience. The brand has a bright and youthful tone that they use to add a sense of relatability to that of their users. Overall, Tarte’s content is feminine and fun to watch. They frequently show off their new and existing products in tutorials or fun trends. Tarte has a community online that is excited and enthusiastic. Tarte frequently interacts with the social media users who engage with their content, enhancing the sense of community. On the company’s TikTok page, you will see videos of influencers using their products all over the feed. Sometimes, the employees even get in on the fun and post videos to trending sounds.
Strengths:
Consistent Brand Identity: Tarte has multiple strengths when it comes to their social media campaigns. A huge strength that Tarte Cosmetics has is that the brand has historically always targeted young women and teens. They have a great understanding of who their target audience is. For years, Tarte has chosen specific influencers for brand trips that are already positioned in front of their target audience.
Influencer Marketing Strategy: The brand trips that Tarte takes influencers on are a huge part of the brand staying relevant and in front of their target audience. Grace Thone explains in her LinkedIn article titled “Tarte Cosmetics Has Mastered Influencer Marketing” that Tarte has a stellar strategy when it comes to their social media-centered influencer brand trips (Thone, 2023).
Content Creation Consistency: Tarte does an amazing job of posting content consistently. Throughout their social media pages, you will see the brand posting content regularly with trending sounds or challenges. This is a strength because it allows the company to engage with its community more frequently and is more likely to show up in front of potential users, creating brand awareness.
Trend Participation: Tarte has a pulse on what is trending within social media platforms. This allows them to stay active and relevant to the customers they want to target.
Community Building: Stephanie Saltzman explains in her Fashionista article that there have been real products created due to the community engagement online. Users engaging with Tarte content were asking for alternative versions of new products, and Tarte engaged with those users and launched new varieties of products based on those requests. (Saltzman, 2022).
Weaknesses:
Negative Feedback Management: Tarte is a huge company with a large following on social media platforms. It is inevitable that a user will post something negative about the brand online. The CEO has been known to post public video responses to feedback (Flora, 2023). This strategy is chaotic and should be more planned out by their Public Relations team.
Content Fatigue: Looking through Tarte’s TikTok, it is clear that the brand has found a video format that they favor with makeup tutorials. The brand uses this format quite frequently and causing their profile to be very repetitive and resulting in content fatigue.
Lack of Relatability on Brand Trips: In 2023, Tarte took multiple TikTok-famous influencers to Dubai on a brand trip. These influencers were tasked with posting content, specifically on TikTok, about the trio and the new products launching. After posting, creators on the brand trip started facing backlash, and users on the app claimed that those on the trip were “tone-deaf” for displaying such luxury while others were struggling economically (Mendez, Espada, 2023).
Community Limited to TikTok and Instagram: Tarte’s social media efforts are more successful on TikTok and Instagram rather than on platforms like Facebook. While Tarte does post consistently on Facebook, it comes up short on their sense of community. On TikTok, you will see someone from Tarte commenting back to users. While on Facebook, there are posts with comment chains filled with people voicing their concerns about products, and there is no response from the brand.
Lack of Content on X (formerly known as Twitter): When you search for Tarte on X, you are first brought to an abandoned page with almost 900,000 followers, with the last post being in 2020. I believe this is a weakness because there are huge makeup and skincare communities on X. Utilizing this platform would be a great way to tap into those potential customers.
Opportunities:
Livestream Events: Stores livestreaming while packaging products or even just talking about the products they are selling do well on TikTok, where users can purchase products directly. I think that this would be a great way to continue engaging with the community and spreading awareness. TikTok also allows companies to create polls or challenges during the live stream that viewers can interact with (TikTok, 2023).
Founder Story Time: The founder of Tarte, Maureen Kelly, has a tragic yet inspiring story. The history of Tarte Cosmetics is a tale of grief after 9/11 and determination to see the business through (Brezazinski, 2022). I think telling her story on all platforms would enhance the sense of community and relatability.
Facebook Engagement/Community: It is clear that the content on Tarte’s Facebook page is specifically geared towards more mature women. I think that the content does a great job of using Facebook to get the attention of the correct demographic, but there is an opportunity to engage with those users and create a community of mature Tarte lovers.
Brand Advocacy Through Relatable Influencers: Due to Tarte’s Public Relations Crisis centered around their brand trip to Dubai, I think there is an opportunity to look for more relatable influencers to advocate for their brand. I also think that instead of having wildly outlandish brand trips, they could hold them in more relatable environments that are more productive than a beach trip.
Company-Wide Public Relations Training: With the company’s CEO being very active on TikTok and Instagram, I think there should be a company-wide public relations training. In this training, employees would learn about acceptable responses on social media and a plan of action when there is a PR crisis.
Threats:
Social Media Algorithm: Social media algorithms have been known to cause a downward spiral for brands and influencers (Bielski, 2017). Social media managers must constantly be up to date on algorithm changes.
Outdated Content: Not keeping up with trends related to each platform could cause creators to publish videos and posts that have outdated tactics, thus causing viewers to lose interest.
Not Acknowledging Data: Most social media platforms allow for users registered as a business to view data about their content and user engagement. It is important to make data-driven decisions and learn from the data and trends (LinkedIn, 2024)
Ignoring Negative Feedback: The data of brands and influencers could potentially plummet if they do not review and respond to negative feedback on social media. Ignoring that feedback gives off the impression that the brand does not care about its customers/viewers.
Platform Censorship: Platforms, like TikTok, are known to have strict restrictions that, if violated, could result in shadow bans or account suspensions.
Visual Summary:
Strategic Implications:
Adaptability: The social media landscape is constantly evolving, with new trends, platforms, and challenges emerging frequently. Tarte needs to prioritize adaptability and agility in their social media strategy. This means staying informed about current trends, being willing to experiment with new platforms and formats, and having the ability to adjust their content strategy quickly in response to changes in algorithms or audience preferences.
Relatable Brand Advocacy and Brand Trips: Tarte needs to seek out more realistic brand advocates who produce relatable content. Taking creators and influencers like these on more relatable, less extravagant trips will provide a sense of relatability and connection between Tarte and the users.
