A woman’s personal routine — the method she’s developed over time for getting ready to leave the house and go to work, school, the mall, used to be a very private affair. She would do it alone, or with close friends.
And it still is. Except on YouTube, of course, where creators are sharing these experiences with their online friends, who are used to spending many hours together in a new type of relationship — the YouTuber makes the videos, and their friends (or fans) will comment, ask questions, or make requests for new videos or recommendations. It shows just how different YouTube is from product placement on TV — rather, it’s the pinnacle of earned media.
The #GetReadyWithMe video is a standby format for the beauty guru, and there are an almost infinite number of different themes. Some of the most popular have to do with the morning routine, school, prom, date night, concerts, homecoming, and so on — so clearly this is a trend that tracks very well with millennials. But there are others that cater to young professional women as well, with searches for “Get Ready With Me” paired with keywords like bridesmaid, girls night out, summer day, work, travel, various holidays and special events, and more.
There are several standard formats. Often the makeup routine is combined with some slice-of-life vignette that helps the viewer understand the experience in context. And depending on the video, it may combine a beauty regimen with a modeling of a certain outfit for the occasion. This is one area where YouTubers who generally focus on beauty will sometimes cross over into fashion as well.
In this “Makeup Get Ready With Me!” video by rising YouTuber NapturalElenore (27,000 subscribers), she narrates the experience as she shows us her regimen.
Another rising YouTuber, MakeUpByPang (91,000 subscribers), carefully gives us good product closeups and text descriptions in her music-video-style video “Get Ready With Me: 19th Birthday Makeup Glam.” Of course, both women give detailed links in the description to “love brands” like MAC Fix Plus and Smashbox Photo Finish Primer.
How should brands work with YouTubers on #GetReadyWithMe videos? Here are 5 easy steps:
1) Get associated with a specific event
Try to pick a special occasion that you’d like women to think of you when they get ready for it, then connect with YouTubers to do this kind of video. For young women, that event might be the school dance, class photo, summer job at the mall, a first date, etc.
2) Point them to royalty free music
Music is a big part of #GetReadyWithMe videos, either as background music or the entire audio track. But as the multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Michelle Phan shows, music rights holders don’t like YouTubers using their music. Fortunately, YouTube offers a royalty free music library that beauty gurus can use at no cost. Sadly, videos that use unauthorized music without permission risk being deleted and the YouTuber penalized, a poor result for her and the brand.
3) Encourage narration
While the all-music audio tracks sound good, they don’t work that well for brands. Encourage the YouTubers to describe the experience on a narration track (accompanied by music), talking through the benefits and techniques of each product as they use it.
4) Get closeups
Request that when YouTubers do use your product, that they show it close enough to the camera for the label to be read clearly. Bonus points if there is a duplicate text overlay with the name of the product.
5) Offer support and access
YouTubers appreciate having a direct contact that they can ask questions about the products with quick turnaround. When YouTubers know that brands are accessible to answer questions quickly — even at unusual hours, it makes the process go more smoothly.
Start a movement — connect with your YouTube influencers today. We can help.
