All through September, Benefit will host a series of events, physical and digital on social media sites, to promote its products with numerous giveaways. Its efforts represent an all-encompassing campaign to promote friendship and all-around beauty tips and trends.

“Brands can especially benefit from social media,” said Esha Shah, manager of mobile strategy at Fetch, San Francisco.  “Consumer-generated visuals help consumers to see products on real people, build trust and peer validation, and ultimately improve conversion rates and revenue for brands.”

Ms. Shah is not affiliated with Benefit Cosmetics but agreed to comment as an industry expert.

Put a wing on it
The Wing Women campaign serves as a play-on-words, being that it promotes Benefit’s signature They’re Real mascara and They’re Real push-up liner but also symbolizes best friends, playing on the “wing girl” term.

Just as best friends can also be called wing girls, the wing is also a current trend in cosmetology, where the wearer creates a wing at the corner of their eyes using eyeliner.

To digitize the campaign, Benefit asks participants to use the hashtag #WingWomen.

National Wing Women weekend is September 26 through September 28.

Benefit has created social media badges, such as Gymfluencer and Selfie Star, to allow fans to post photos and win cosmetics for their friends. Benefit encourages fans to celebrate their own wing women by promoting the slogan, “You’re the They’re Real Mascara to my Push-Up Liner.”

The cosmetic brand plans to continue with events all week long to give fans on-going chances to win prizes and congregate with their best friends.

By uniting women and their best friends, Benefit creates a conversation about its brand and favorite products. Knowing that word-of-mouth advertising and social presence can drive any buzz, Benefit offers free prizes to keep the conversation going.

Dangling the bait
Earlier this year, clothing and accessories retailer Banana Republic conducted a marketing campaign via social media seeking to drive foot traffic by offering goodies such as products from Skinnygirl Cocktails and Benefit Cosmetics to attendees of a special in-store event.

Calling the event Girls Night Out, Banana Republic worked with other brands that share a similar audience to host a grand occasion sure to bring shoppers into its stores. Meanwhile, the other participating brands gained exposure, and sharing samples could often lead to further sales transactions. For an in-store event, attendees received complimentary cocktails and a free sample of Benefit’s They’re Real! Push-Up Liner (see story).

By using giveaway campaigns, Benefit generates talk and business for its brand.

“A great social media campaign positions a brand as a platform for fun online engagement rather than simply a product information resource,” Ms. Shah said. “By launching campaigns in which consumers can develop brand-related social media posts, brands can generate viral buzz and loyal customers who become advocates for the brand.”

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York