The True (Sales) Power of Social Media

It's an obvious marketing tool. But Glow Recipe has mastered social media strategically to build their K-beauty brand into a $300 million a year business–and they love to share.

- by LIZ BRODY

For most companies, social media is a given. You hire a team, pump out content, try to channel the viral spirits, maybe hire some influencers. It’s a lot. But if that’s all, you may be missing out on social media’s greatest business potential. When you’re fully strategic, your social media can become a virtuous cycle where customers buy, speak, are heard, and see themselves integrated into the product—which they then buy more of, shout louder about, and share like crazy. When that happens, “community” isn’t just an overused buzzword; it becomes the capital that fuels your growth.

Sarah Lee and Christine Chang, founders of Glow Recipe, have pulled that off. Their K-beauty brand has 1.6 million followers on TikTok, who directly fuel their $300 million in annual sales. Social media is “a core part of our business DNA,” as Lee puts it. More than a tool to boost sales, it’s a strategy that defines their road map, marketing, and brand direction. “We’re not just putting out products that look beautiful and hoping for the best,” she says. “And we’re not just having a one-way conversation. We want feedback from our customers—and a lot of it is incorporated into our next steps. We call it our recipe for success.” Here are the ingredients.

TACTIC #1/

Build systems to hear your customers.

Social media’s power can also be its weakness. As a place where people say anything, you can get honest customer feedback. But “anything” also means a lot of noise—and that can drown out valuable voices and insights. That’s why you can’t just rely on employees casually checking the comments. You need systems, and Glow Recipe has two.