Rihanna used social media to blow away any notion that an engaged and active audience can’t be motivated and driven to buy products. Granted, she is a top selling artist, but the fact remains, she used social media to sell out her entire line of lipstick product form MAC cosmetics in just 3 hours. Amazing.
On Thursday Rihanna posted this on Facebook for her 70 Million+ fans:
“Rihanna’s Mac Cosmetics RiRi Woo lipstick is now available for purchase!”
She shortly followed that by posting a similar call to action on Instagram for her 7 Million followers there. She completed the social media blast by posting the following message on Twitter for her 29 million followers:
This post is for the MAC girls everywhere!!! My very first, very own, signature red lipstick #RiRiWoo… instagram.com/p/Y0OHixhM-V/
— Rihanna (@rihanna) May 2, 2013
In just three hours, Rihanna drops another tweet letting everyone know that her lipstick line is completely sold out until June!
#SOLDOUT!!!!!!!!!! First shipment sell awf!!! Next shipment isn’t til June!!! Mac girls gone wild!!!… instagram.com/p/Y0kTj_hM6A/
— Rihanna (@rihanna) May 2, 2013
Bam!! Just like that a product line goes gold, simply from a push on social media. Why did it work? Is it because she’s a celebrity? No. As the Huffington Post said, neither “Nicki Minaj’s MAC line or the Kardashians’ Khroma makeup line are flying off the shelves…”
So what’s the difference. That’s easy. An engaged fan base that Rihanna caters to. She has had quite the troubled life with the physical abuse at the hands of her on-again, off again boyfriend Chris Brown. She’s lived her life on stage for a few years now, but her star keeps getting brighter.
Perhaps it’s because she gives her fans value. She gives them access. She’s active on multiple platforms but doesn’t dilute her brand. Most importantly, she comes across as authentic and caring for her fans and followers.
So what’s the takeaway for brands and businesses? Treat your customers as fans. Make sure they know everyday how important they are to you. Maybe if you realize that social isn’t for selling or pushing out ads, you’ll have a raving following that you can activate with the push of a button.
Question…look how these Rihanna fans took to social media to spread the word of her product. Do you have this kind of brand army? Why not?
Read and learn. The model for monetizing social media is seen below:
