Birchbox Booms Thanks to Groundswell Energizing

Ladies, we all know how difficult it can be to buy makeup online. Without trying it on in person, how will we know if that lipstick color will make us look washed out or if that blue eyeshadow is too blue? But we all love the convenience of shopping online… so what’s a girl to do?

Birchbox has solved this problem. By listening, talking and energizing within the groundswell, the beauty company has successfully moved the business of buying makeup online.

Birchbox’s business model is centered around sending subscription boxes with sample makeup products every month and then selling full-size products on their website.

As the authors note in Groundswell: A World Transformed By Social Technologies, “Consumers in the groundswell are leaving clues about their opinions, positive and negative, on a daily or hourly basis.” What Birchbox did was make their website a place that encouraged women to leave their opinions on the samples they were paying to receive.

The suggestions made in the book for talking within the groundswell include:

•     Post a viral video.
•     Engage in social networks and user generated content sites.
•     Join the blogosphere.
•     Create a community.

Birchbox has followed several of these suggestions.

First, they’ve posted viral videos – or, at least, videos with widespread appeal. One YouTube video by Birchbox entitled “How to Apply Liquid Eyeliner for Beginners” has more than 5.7 million views.

The company also cultivates a strong social media presence, especially on sites where their customers have heavy participation. Birchbox has more than 2.7 million followers on Facebook and another 600,000 on Instagram.

Another suggestion they followed was entering the blogosphere. According to Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, “The prerequisite for starting a blog is to want to engage in dialogue with your customers.” On their website, Birchbox has a section called “The Mag.” Appropriate because, after all, historically women have turned to magazines for beauty tips and advice. The posts range from how to guides to more personal blogs like this one:

Finally, Birchbox has taken several steps to energize their customer base. They’ve successfully tapped into customers’ enthusiasm with ratings and reviews, as suggested in Groundswell. The products on their website feature thousands and thousands of ratings and reviews.

The company’s business model is perfect for this kind of engagement. Since women are trying new beauty products every month, it’s natural that they would then want to share what they’ve found. Similar to the eBags example noted in the book, there are both positive and negative reviews equally shared – making the reviews more believable.

What do you think of the ways Birchbox talked with and energized the groundswell? Can you think of other companies who have done this well?