Overview:
In the last decade, we’ve seen an increase in lifestyle brands that offer a curated selection of products and services. One such company is Goop, founded by actress Gwyneth Paltrow. When she started the company in 2008, her goal was to provide people with resources and information about living a healthy lifestyle. With over 2 million monthly visitors on their website alone, it seems like they’re achieving this goal.
So What?
This success isn’t just because Paltrow is Hollywood royalty or that she launched the company right before social media became ubiquitous; it’s because of how she built a well-rounded lifestyle brand where readers can find information about everything from food to fashion. Through effective use of social media and clever content strategies, Paltrow built a powerful brand that resonates with its customers on a personal level.
Introduction:
In 2008, Gwyneth Paltrow launched a lifestyle blog she called “Goop.” Later, it expanded from a simple blog into a multi-platform entity offering products and services for people who want to live Paltrow’s type of lifestyle. Today, Goop is one of the fastest-growing lifestyle brands in America, worth an estimated $250 million.
What’s the company’s secret? Their ability to build relationships with consumers while still maintaining a tone that resonates with them is what makes it work. Goop provides value (most often through tips) without pushing an agenda or becoming overly self-promotional.
Here’s how Goop does it and how you can get people talking about your product or service too.
Partner With Celebrities and Influencers
By partnering with celebrities with a large social media following, Goop reaches an audience of millions. The more influential the person, the more attention they tend to attract. For example, when Paltrow was featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2015, it resulted in 1.4 million Instagram interactions.
Goop has partnered with countless celebrities, including Drew Barrymore, Jessica Alba, Beyoncé, and Cameron Diaz, among others. But it’s always done so in a way that adds value for the reader. These celebrity endorsements often take place through social media posts or on their site, which further drives traffic to Goop.
To partner with influencers, find someone (celebrity or otherwise) who resonates with your target market and tap into their existing following to get the word out about your brand/products/service.
Collaborate With Other Brands
By partnering with other brands, you can tap into an entirely new audience that may not already know about your brand. By aligning yourselves with a larger company that’s popular, you may also see an uptick in the amount of traffic coming to your website too.
For example, Paltrow has partnered with brands like Flow Alkaline Spring Water and the close-to-home brand Juice Beauty (founded by her friend). Goop has also worked with brands like Banana Republic, Sephora, Google, Amazon, and more.
Craft a Content Strategy … And Execute On It
While celebrities and brands are great for grabbing attention, the true power of Goop comes from its consistent content strategy. The company knows its audience and how to speak directly to them, often addressing common problems they deal with daily.
Goop creates quality content that’s informative but not overly self-promotional. People come to Goop for information, entertainment, and tips—not ads. For example, the website features recipes because the audience loves both food and trying new things. This gives readers a reason to keep coming back for more.
To do the same, create a content strategy that addresses common problems your audience confronts. What are their concerns? What answers can you provide to ease their pain?
Use Social-Friendly Images and Videos
Goop understands how important it is to use images and videos to engage its audience. Therefore, when it comes to showing off products—and keeping the excitement going—Goop knows how to do that and appeals to a wide range of individuals looking for different things from the brand across its social media channels.
For instance, Goop uses images and videos on Instagram to grab readers’ attention, two formats that see high engagement on most platforms (with Instagram Stories seeing one of the highest). By uploading helpful images, promotional videos, and more, the brand has built a real connection with its audience.
To do the same, use high-quality images or videos to stand out across every platform you’re active on. For example, Instagram Stories are best for visual content, while Pinterest is best for recipes and other content that uses photos.
Present Actionable Insights
Goop’s content focuses on wellness, beauty, and fashion topics that are easy to understand for everyday consumers. It’s information people can act on; for example, there are articles about making your office healthier or how someone who has an eating disorder should approach giving up certain foods.
One way to do this is by giving people actionable tips and tricks that other brands may not. By doing so, you can attract an audience who craves information on topics other companies might not be covering.
Invite Your Customers to Talk … Then Listen
When you buy a particular item from Goop’s website, you get a pop-up box encouraging you to chat with the company on Twitter. That way, Goop can spark interest and engage directly with its followers—two essential things brands need to do on social media.
Goop knows that these chats help grow its audience by giving people more reason to follow along, whether by directly engaging with them or simply broadcasting their thoughts.
To do the same, invite your audience into the conversation through Twitter chats or Facebook Live sessions. By giving followers a way to ask questions and interact with you, they’re more likely to stay engaged with your posts moving forward—and even share your content with their friends.
Use “The Gwyneth Paltrow Approach” to Build Your Brand Today
Goop has built its brand into a powerhouse that’s both educational and entertaining through its strategic use of influencers, collaboration with other brands, consistent content strategy, and high-quality visual content. This combination of factors makes this brand so powerful and explains why it continues to grow even as other retail giants struggle for relevancy.
By focusing on what has worked for Goop over the years, emulate their strategy for success to make your own brand more engaging for your customers. Not sure where to start? We can help!
