Let’s talk about brand neutrality
and how I will be viewing brands in the foreseeable future.
I want to start by saying this. Brands, you don’t owe me a comment, a follow, a like, or anything. I am not going to tell brands how to run their businesses (because they don’t pay me to do so). But maybe one day you will. I started switching my language from fragrance content creator to beauty content creator to lifestyle content creator to brand strategist in a short time. Why? Because I am a consumer first and a brand representative or ambassador second. You must consider how you treat consumers whether they purchased your product or not the full experience from beginning to end.
I’ve inserted a clip from a brilliant woman thats on Tiktok that said its not just customer service you need to worry about but brand experience. HIRE HER! How you make me feel before I receive a product or service, when I receive a product or service, and after MATTERS.
I’ve been thinking and moving like this for a while now after noticing a few key trends.
Brand ambassadors, influencers, creators, and gifters alike not properly disclosing brand partnerships.
Reviews that are faceless, scripted, and sounds like you’re reading notes straight off Fragrantica
Cult-like followings for brands with no clear distinction of who works for the brands (think W2) , whose a rep for the brand (think W9), and who just genuinely loves the product. Listen, I am apart of several Facebook groups and I can’t diffrenciate who is who and it does become bothersome when everyone loves and receives something one way that you simply don’t and they throw in your face “scent is subjective”. It is but customer service is not.
Receiving, purchasing, or even mentioning brands in PR and having those brands not respond to being tagged. I don’t get it. If I mentioned your name why would you not acknowledge it? I want to give a major shoutout actually to some of my favorite brands that actually do respond such as Josie Maran, Kitsch, KST, and a few others. Notice its the queer and/or BIPOC owned brands responding. Genuine question: Do you only respond when influencers with platforms of thousands of followers receive and review your product? They don’t have no loyalty to you and hot take: they probably shouldn’t. Your consideration for consumers of all types should not be based on positive flashy “paid” for reviews, and yes gifted product IS a paid review.
I could get taken off PR lists for saying this but genuine question. What is the purpose of sending me free product if I review it, positive or negative, you do not respond.
Let me give you some free, unsolicited advice.
If the review is positive, no matter who it comes from, just say “Thank you for using our products. We love when our community tags us and we look forward to being apart of your routine in the future.” or a simple “ Thank you for using ——” or even the common “*insert three hearts emoji” comment.
If the review is negative, NO MATTER who it comes from, just say “Thank you for using our products. We understand this didn’t work for you this time around but we hope you try us again in the future.” See is that hard? Another possibility is “Thank you for trying the honest feedback. We appreciate you and will look at what we can do to better support our community.” You know how long it took me to write these responses? Seconds. You could hire an intern to look at a spreadsheet of responses built into a google word doc for free and hit enter send.
Genuinely it gets underneath my skin but again, Who am I. I am a nobody. But what these brands continue to forget is I am a nobody TODAY. The market is shifting. People want AUTHENTICITY. I don’t have to be the face of content creators it could be I want it to be my next job and life’s work to train content creators, influencers, and how to work with brands and strategize. My first day would be to tell people support the brands who support you! But be neutral. Be a fan, not a stan. Do not continuously hype these brands regardless of how good they are to you and to you only. Be neutral.
I equate it to how I view men in a club setting. I am the fat friend. I am not saying this to downplay how gorgeous I am, HEHE, because I am but I am saying this because if you’ve ever watched any insert pop culture movie or TV show where there is the “ugly fat friend” you see how they are treated. If you’ve ever been the largest or tallest of your friend group you know what I am talking about. Understand and walk with me for a second. I am judging that man based on not the friend who he wants to hook up with or go out on a date with but how he approaches the group. How does he interact with the other women in the circle. Does he offer them drinks? Does he physically shove his way into the circle? Does he ignore the other women? My friend in turn should be judging that exact man based on that and that one. No amount of money, charm, or drink can make me want a man with no manners.
That is how I feel about brands. You MUST have manners not just with me but the entire online and in-person community. That is all. I hope you find this article helpful as both a up and coming brand or an already existing brand. Don’t ride until the wheels fall on. Go on multiple rides, to multiple stops, and destinations. No brand is worth riding for so hard you lose out on other opportunities. Be smart and move with integrity on all sides.