Here's how Huda Kattan built Huda Beauty

In 2010, this influencer turned her Instagram beauty page into a billion dollar startup.

In the process, she built the fastest growing global cosmetic brand with an initial investment of just $6,000.

Here's how Huda Kattan built Huda Beauty:

Huda Beauty products portray finesse & inclusivity because they are produced by someone who had

— EMBRACED her insecurities and turned them into her STRENGTH.

Huda Kattan, Founder & CEO of Huda Beauty, is an Iraqi-American woman who used to be bullied & felt like an outsider.

After completing her college she joined a finance company, but she was miserable there.

She was often asked to take off her makeup and dress down to fit in, and being a misfit

— she was FIRED.

She saw this major setback as an OPPORTUNITY to pursue her PASSION

Huda joined the Joe Blasco Makeup School in L.A. and became a makeup artist.

While working with big celebrities like Eva Longoria and Nicole Richie

— she started her own YouTube channel and blog:

HUDA  BEAUTY.

Everybody loved her makeup tutorials, so she capitalized on her emerging following

— and invested $6,000 to launch her first product with her sister, Mona:

FAKE EYELASHES.

Finally, her investment reaped rewards.

Her fake eyelashes were praised by big influencers and entrepreneurs like Kim Kardashian.

And that was it.

The next thing she knows, Sephora Dubai picked up her product line and her sales skyrocketed:

— 7000 units sold in a week and 10 million dollars made in 2 years.

That was the turning point in her career.

She grew her brand internationally within 5 years and made it a billion-dollar company.

Now one thing that gave her the kickstart that she needed was

— INFLUENCER MARKETING.

She didn't take the traditional path for marketing and advertising.

And instead, used social media channels to promote her brand and products.

There are several lessons that one can learn from Huda Beauty's marketing strategies.

1️⃣ RECOGNIZE THE MARKET GAP

Huda identified an unmet consumer demand: fake eyelashes.

So she leveraged the opportunity and came up with a high-quality product.

👉 Observe the market discrepancy.

2️⃣ LET YOUR PRODUCT DO THE TALKING

Develop very high-quality products.

Only then you'll be able to get the benefit of word-of-mouth marketing and repeat purchases by customers.

Huda once scrapped her entire line of concealers worth $1.5 million because the product was subpar.

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Assure the quality of your product before releasing it.

Give your customers a reason to believe that the product is worth buying and that you've got their best interest at heart.

👉 Don't ship junk.

3️⃣ RIDE THE DIGITAL WAVE

Huda used only social media marketing to promote her products.

She primarily used Instagram because that's where her target consumers reside.

👉 Observe where your customers are spending most of their time.

4️⃣ CONNECT WITH CONTENT

Content marketing is the key to success for every company.

While big corporations were losing their touch with people, Huda connected with them.

The content reveals the level of authenticity and it helps the brand to connect at a more human level.

The brand daily posts everything from makeup tutorials to funny memes, engage in stories and give shout-outs to their religious followers.

Moreover, their video content has a much higher impact value than anything else, so they stick to it.

👉 Strict content strategy is a must.

5️⃣ CREATE A PERSONALITY FOR THE BRAND

Do you know what's so unique about Huda's marketing strategy?

Well, Huda became the face of her brand and created content herself.

Her audience watches her trying various stuff and talking about different products & thoughts.

When you take time to engage with your customers, it gives a personal touch to the brand & creates a personality for the brand itself.

This makes the brand more authentic & genuine in the eyes of customers. It increases credibility.

👉 Give a personal touch to your content.

6️⃣ COLLABORATE WITH MICRO-INFLUENCERS

Don't underestimate the power of a micro-influencer.

They are very important for social campaigns & network effects.

Huda identified their relevance early on, so she distributed her product among them & promoted various makeup influencers.

Moreover, Huda made products that suit people of diverse ethnic backgrounds & colors.

So, she adopted MULTICULTURAL BEAUTY MARKETING to appeal to western as well as eastern audiences.

👉 Influencers need influencers.

7️⃣ HYPE MARKETING DOES NOT DISAPPOINT

Always hype your products when you can.

Huda Beauty once announce that they were going to scrap Huda Beauty Rose Gold Edition Eyeshadow Palette.

Customers took this warning and thought this might be their last chance to get hands on it.

Result: They ran out of stock even before they realized it.

Even if you have the best-selling product under your sleeve, creating the right kind of hype around it always works.

👉 Creating hype draws massive attention to the product.

And that's a wrap.

There was a time when Huda lost all of her enthusiasm and hope, but it's the result of her perseverance and leadership that today, Huda Beauty is so successful.

She set a precedent for all other beauty brands and her marketing strategies still work today!