Social Media Mistakes Cosmetics Companies are Making

Obviously, makeup is one of my favorite things, and I love that we live in a day and age where we can keep up with our favorite cosmetics and beauty companies via social media. However, I have noticed that beauty giants really haven't gotten the hang of it yet.

Today's post is going in a different direction. I'm going to be talking about some of the biggest mistakes these companies are making on Facebook and other social media.

1. Posting pictures of a product without including the name or color.

This is one of the most common faux pas I've seen. All the beauty companies do it. They post a cute picture of a product with a slogan or a beauty tip, but they leave out a key piece of information.

For example, this photo was posted on the L'Oreal Paris USA Facebook page on September 27, 2013, with the caption "#ProTip: Your pretty fall nails are ripe for the painting. Go matte."

Original source

Wow! This nail polish is beautiful! I would love to have it for my collection!

But wait a minute...this post isn't telling me what the color is. What is the purpose of this photo if it isn't an advertisement? You would think companies would be jumping at the chance to sell more nail polish, but posts like this often prod people to ask for the color name in the comments box.

2. Responding to complaints/criticism with copy-and-paste responses.

One of the most frustrating things is leaving a complaint on a beauty company's Facebook page and receiving a generic response. They generally use the same message for everyone - they give you a customer service phone number if you didn't like a product or offer you a coupon/similar product if your favorite item was discontinued. The only thing unique between messages is the insertion of your name.

Either way, you can tell they didn't really read your post. Which leads me to:

3. Failing to understand the customers' wants and needs.

For the most part, I like Maybelline, but they are making a HUGE mistake with their customers on Facebook. This caught my attention even though I have never tried the product at the center of this debacle.

Floods of people are posting about their disappointment with the discontinuation of the PureStay powder foundation. Maybelline keeps posting the same cut-and-paste response to anyone who voices their disapproval - "Hey name, from time to time we have to discontinue products to make room for new ones. If you loved PureStay, we recommend checking out our new FIT me Foundation. http://www.maybelline.com/FitMe.aspx If you'd like to talk to someone directly please call us at 1-877-456-5287. We hope this helps!"

If the commenter states that they don't like the FIT Me, Maybelline leaves a similar message, but this one begins with "Hey name, sorry to hear that you're upset! From time to time we have to discontinue products to make room for new ones."


Maybelline has also been offering coupons to disgruntled customers. They don't want the coupon. They want their PureStay. Maybelline hasn't addressed the fact that they are being overrun with posts about PureStay. They just continue to offer the generic response.

Obviously, none of this is going to help. Never underestimate the power of a pissed-off woman. People are starting to switch brands and even boycott Maybelline because of their inability to communicate with their customers via Facebook. You would think that it wouldn't be difficult to hire someone who could offer real assistance. For the sake of good customer service, they definitely should.

Have you ever had any problems with cosmetics companies on any social media outlet? Do you notice any other mistakes they're making? Leave your responses in the comments below.

xx Samantha