Social media: a blessing or a curse? Voice of owners in the beauty and wellness industry

Abstract

Purpose

The rise in the use of Internet technologies and social media has shifted the marketing practices from offline to online. This study aims to determine the pros and cons of social media marketing in the beauty and wellness industry.

Design/methodology/approach

In-depth interviews were conducted with the owners and marketing executives of beauty and wellness centers to understand the use of popular social media platforms in this industry and their pros and cons.

Findings

The researchers identified eight merits and seven demerits of social media in the beauty and wellness industry. Every respondent is happy and satisfied with social media use, particularly Instagram and Facebook. Irrespective of the demerits, they have shown the intention to increase its usage in the future. The merits override demerits; thus, social media is a blessing for this industry from the owners' perspective.

Research limitations/implications

The research is exploratory and is confined to just one industry. Research implication is that the visual nature of social media makes it a powerful tool for the promotion of the beauty and wellness industry.

Practical implications

The study's findings will be beneficial for small-scale businesses as it will push them to take advantage of this low-cost marketing tool.

Social implications

Social media marketing is helpful for communication and marketing purposes for society.

Originality/value

The beauty and wellness industry remained unfocused by researchers because it is highly unorganized, fragmented and not regulated, yet has huge growth potential. This research will provide a closer look at this industry as well as social media marketing.

Citation

Kaur, K. and Kumar, P. (2022), "Social media: a blessing or a curse? Voice of owners in the beauty and wellness industry", The TQM Journal, Vol. 34 No. 5, pp. 1039-1056. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-03-2021-0074