The Beauty of Social Commerce | Interview with E.L.F’s CMO Ted Rubin

Here’s the video and our top takeouts from today’s interview at Social Media Week with Ted Rubin, CMO of cosmetics company – and self-declared social commerce brand –  E.L.F – entitled “The Beauty of Social Commerce.”

For us, the big takeout is the idea that the real value of social media is in customer service and customer feedback – not messaging.

• For brands, social media should not about talking, but about doing – delivering agile customer service
• Social media is not about engaging with customers, it’s about responding to them
• ELF regards itself as a “social commerce” company; not just e-commerce, but e-commerce with word of mouth built in
• YouTube is often overlooked as a powerful social media platform
• Social media marketing is not about finding word of mouth advocates, but harnessing their advocacy
• Blogger outreach is key, bloggers are perfect advocates – they know how to write (ELF have 500 bloggers – the ELF Elite) – harness their advocacy through Make Up at Home parties, guest blogging, and constructive feedback for the brand