BBR8 Thought Leader Q&A: Jen Mathews of MyBeautyBunny.com & Top Tier Media

BBR8 Thought Leader, Jeff Falk, spoke about the importance of consumers “wanting to be part of a conversation, and their voice – as shared through social media, in particular – has become a very powerful brand/future consumer influencer.” 

And what better way to explain the rising importance of social media platforms then fellow BBR8 Thought Leader, Jen Mathews, the President of Top Tier Social Media & Award-Winning Beauty Blogger!

BBR8 Thought Leader, Jen Mathews, the President of Top Tier Social Media & Award-Winning Beauty Blogger

Jen Mathews is a social media strategist and award-winning beauty blogger (www.mybeautybunny.com). As President of Top Tier Media (www.toptiermedia.com), she provides social media strategy, consulting, daily management and blogger outreach for beauty, fashion, health and lifestyle brands. Commonly seen online at all hours of the night. Jen and her team work tirelessly to build and enhance your brand’s online presence so you don’t have to!

Jen had attended one of our BBR events in the past and loved it so much that she asked if she could be a Thought Leader, and of course we said yes!

1. Jen, welcome back to BBR! Since your BBR8 Roundtable topic was on “How to use Pinterest to Increase Market Share and Customer Engagement,” can you please share 3 key points that you hoped your roundtable attendees were able to take away?

1. Pinterest is a relatively new social media website that allows users to organize and share items that spark their interests. It is similar to a vision board or pinboard that you may have on your wall at home. You can pin everything from hairstyles to clothing designs to food and much more on Pinterest.
2. Stay above the law when pinning images that you don’t own – always pin from the original source or permalink, give credit to the content owner, and include a thoughtful pin description. Many publishers have also added “Pin It” buttons to their site, making it easier to identify content that is okay to add to Pinterest.
3. To see who’s pinning images from your website, go to pinterest.com/source/yourdomain.com (but replace yourdomain.com with your website). Bookmark the link so you can check it from time to time. Comment and add the people who pin your photos!

2. Please tell us about your career path/progression. The road to… where you are now? How did you get started? After graduating with a degree in advertising, I worked for in-house marketing departments for 10 years. Since then, I launched Top Tier Media and have now been working for over 2 years as a social media strategist.

3. Why did you choose this career? Why the [beauty] industry? I have always been obsessed with beauty products – since I was 10 years old. When you work in marketing, I think it’s important to be passionate about the products you’re promoting. If you can’t get excited about a product, how are you going to get others excited about it?

4. Who is today’s [beauty] consumer? How are they changing? Consumers have so many access points to learn about and engage with your brand. Long gone are the days of putting out a magazine ad and waiting to see if sales increase. Now, when dealing with social media, you have to be quick on your feet, flexible, honest and maintain a sense of humor. Online marketing requires a live, two-way conversation now, and you have to react accordingly.

BBR8 Thought Leader Jen Mathews speaking at her roundtable

5. What do [beauty] professionals need to do to continue to connect/attract with today’s beauty consumer? A social media presence is no longer optional. However, you don’t have to be on every social media platform out there. Especially if your time and resources are limited. Focus on the 1-2 channels that are most relevant to your brand, and check in daily. If you don’t understand the culture of social media, your brand will suffer. Invest in a Social Media Community Manager or outsource your social media marketing to a company that specializes in your industry.

6. What attributes make a great leader? Tell me about your leadership style. Everything involving social media is fast-paced, and luckily, fast is my default speed! I have a very informal, honest and upfront style. I am more interested in action and results than pomp and circumstance. If you can tell me what you need in a tweet (140 characters), I’m happy!

7. What kinds of qualities do you look for in an employee/when hiring a candidate/someone to join your team? I look for someone who understands the culture of each social media platform, works and thinks quickly, knows (or can learn) what appeals to our clients’ customers and can deal with the fast-paced, often-changing world of social media. The ideal candidate is an early adopter who can keep up with the latest memes, apps, pop culture, and industry news.

8. What is the best way/strategy for someone interested in your company to employ to get a foot in the door? What makes a candidate stand out? We are always looking for great interns. We don’t have any paid positions open at the moment, but we are growing fast, so that could change anytime!

About Top Tier Media & My Beauty Bunny
Top Tier Media provides social media strategy, daily management and blogger outreach for beauty, fashion, health and lifestyle brands. Founder, Jen Mathews, is an award-winning blogger and social media strategist. Jen is also the head writer and Editor-in-Chief for My Beauty Bunny, an award-winning beauty blog for stylish ladies and gents. Jen has a B.A. in advertising from Louisiana State University and has 10 years of traditional and new media marketing experience. Jen spends way too much time on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Foursquare, Yelp and LinkedIn. If there is a support group for media addicts, send help immediately!

My Beauty Bunny is a an award-winning, Los Angeles based top beauty blog written by Jen Mathews and a selection of writers and other beauty product aficionados — all animal lovers. My Beauty Bunny writes about cruelty-free beauty products for guys and gals who can’t get enough hair, skin, makeup and other beauty products not tested on animals. Started in April 2009, My Beauty Bunny has become a huge hit with women (and men) who love beauty products and wish to purchase cruelty free beauty brands.

Click here to read about BBR8 Thought Leader – Jeff Falk, Editor in Chief of GCI and Cosmetics & Toiletries Magazines

Click here to read about BBR Thought Leader – Emily Katz, Celebrity Makeup Artist

Click here to see more photos from BBR

About BBR
Hosted by Mazur Group, the Beauty Biz Roundtable BBR series brings together 100 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.  Past BBR attendees and Thought Leaders have come from every major beauty company here in the West including OPI, Stila, Dermalogica, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Murad, Sexy Hair , Neutrogena, Urban Decay, CND, P&G, Josie Maran, Intelligent Beauty, boscia, Orly International, Smashbox, and  totalbeauty.com

For  more details about BBR, visit: https://mazurgroupla.com/wp/bbr-events/