Social media usage in Indian beauty and wellness industry: a qualitative study

Abstract

Purpose

Advancement in technology has increased the use of social media among Internet users. People are on social media all day and brands cannot miss this opportunity to turn these users into potential customers. The purpose of this research paper is to identify the prominent social media platforms in Indian beauty and wellness industry and to establish dimensions of social media activities.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a qualitative study in which in-depth interviews were conducted with owners and managers of beauty and wellness centres, who use social media for promotion of their business.

Findings

This study establishes 5M's of social media activities (Motives, Media, Management, Merits and Metrics) that play a major role in social media promotion. It also identifies that Facebook and Instagram are prominent social media platforms for this industry, followed by Snapchat, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Research limitations/implications

Being a qualitative study, it is exploratory in nature and confined to beauty and wellness centres only, thus, findings cannot be generalised. Research implication is that social media still preserves its popularity over traditional media for marketing purposes.

Practical implications

The results of the study are useful for business owners, promoters and marketers, who are struggling to effectively use this low-cost marketing tool.

Social implications

The result of the study are useful in providing awareness and the importance of social media in promoting benefits to the society.

Originality/value

Social media is extensively used for promotion of beauty services but there are very few theoretical studies on the same. This paper provides rich understanding about how to use social media effectively using 5M's.

Citation

Kaur, K. and Kumar, P. (2021), "Social media usage in Indian beauty and wellness industry: a qualitative study", The TQM Journal, Vol. 33 No. 1, pp. 17-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-09-2019-0216