BBR12 Thought Leader Q&A: Trina Albus, Magenta Agency – “Bridging Your Beauty Brand’s Online and Offline Presence”

The beauty industry has realized the advantages of social  media and is using this growing platform to market and engage new customers.

That’s why we were SO excited to have Trina Albus as one of our distinguished BBR12 Thought Leaders!

Trina Albus is the founder of Magenta Agency, a beauty-focused social media agency whose client roster includes Dr. Brandt Skincare, Demi Lovato’s new skincare line, Devonne By Demi, GLAMGLOW, and Jouer Cosmetics. Before founding Magenta, Trina worked at Price Waterhouse, Discovery Communications, Time Inc., and BeachMint. Trina balances her time running the agency and teaching social and digital marketing workshops and courses through her agency and at General Assembly.

Trina, please share 3 key points from your BBR12 Roundtable discussion on “Bridging Your Beauty Brand’s Online and Offline Presence.”

My roundtable presentation was about how beauty brands can leverage social media to bridge the gap between online and offline presence. Only 10% of beauty products are purchased online, but 60-80% of all shoppers who buy in-store start their path to purchase online. Having a presence online is more important than ever, and brands can take advantage of advanced targeting on channels including Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to drive shoppers into stores. And new advances in mobile technology, such as Bluetooth-powered beacons, can drive more sales in-store.

Trina at her roundtable presentation: “Bridging Your Beauty Brand’s Online and Offline Presence”

Please tell us about your career path. How did you get started?

I started out 20 years ago as a mainframe computer programmer. As my career progressed, I transitioned into web technologies and ultimately landed on social media. Having a true technology background is crucial for keeping up with the ever-evolving social media industry, especially as data tracking and analytics have become invaluable to brand marketers in the beauty industry and beyond.

Who is today’s beauty consumer? How are they changing?

Research shows that Millennials, aged 18-34, are projected to spend an annual $1.4 trillion by 2020. Since Millennials consume content mostly on mobile devices, beauty brands are shifting to digital marketing where there are more opportunities to use innovative strategies to capture the attention of these young consumers.

What do beauty professionals need to do to continue to connect with today’s beauty consumer?

Across all industries, traditional marketing is losing out to digital. Brands cannot keep doing what they have always been doing and expect to get the same results. They need to be currently adapting and shifting their efforts to where the conversations are taking place. Don’t be afraid to try new technologies or new platforms—established brands like Sephora, Dove, and Allure Magazine are already on Snapchat, for example.

Any other advice/words of wisdom?

Do what makes you happy—you never know where your career might take you. If you stay open to possibilities, you could end up with a career that you didn’t even know existed. I never thought in a million years that I would go from being a computer programmer to running a beauty marketing agency!

Trina has guest lectured at FIT, OTIS, and USC, and taught a workshop at the Lucky Magazine Fashion and Beauty Blogger (FABB) conference in 2014. She is a contributor to Financial Times Press book, 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking and to Damian Ryan’s Understanding Social Media, which was published in April 2015. Trina is a regular speaker at Social Media Week NY and LA, where she’s served on the Advisory Board since 2009. To learn more about Magenta Agency, visit: http://www.magentaagency.com/

About Beauty Biz Roundtable
Hosted by Mazur Group, the Beauty Biz Roundtable (BBR) SERIES brings together 125 Mid to Senior Level Beauty Executives in a roundtable format that fosters networking and idea sharing. This is NOT a lecture or panel discussion. The BBR series is your opportunity to sit down in small group settings with industry peers and executives.