Enterprise: The Aussie Man
Social media impact: David has seen a major increase in brand awareness, customer engagement and sales revenue through social media content across different platforms.
The Aussie Man is a natural anti-ageing skincare brand with a mission to make men feel confident and look their best. Founder David Willey was inspired to jumpstart the venture as a response to the complexity and confusion that most men feel when they start to see the signs of ageing, compounded by the lack of viable choices in the market that address these concerns.
“I wanted to create a brand that focused on results but delivered a simple, easy-to-follow routine,” David says.
When the brand was first launched, David turned to Facebook and Instagram as social media marketing channels. Instagram became the primary platform, as the brand is more visual in nature which is apt for Instagram’s aesthetic. Soon enough, The Aussie Man was creating videos that showed men using its products and providing feedback on them, helping grow the brand’s customer base.
“Social media was the natural choice for us because it’s where our target audience spends their time when on their phones. Men often discover new brands and products through these platforms,” David explains.
Social media also offered unparalleled opportunities for the brand to increase its engagement and interaction with its target audience, thereby allowing The Aussie Man to build a community around the brand.
“The ability to use both organic and paid strategies gives us flexibility and control over our marketing efforts, enabling us to respond quickly to trends and customer feedback,” David adds.
While Facebook and Instagram continue to be The Aussie Man’s core social media platforms, the brand has also embraced TikTok.
“The dynamic and discovery nature of TikTok, and its growing user base, presented a new opportunity to reach more customers and create engaging content,” David explains. “You’d be surprised just how many men now factor TikTok into their daily social media ‘doom scroll’.”
The brand, inspired by its success in the US, also established a presence in the TikTok Shop, where creators can promote products on commission, thus broadening their reach without significant upfront costs. “We are getting ahead of the curve, as this channel will go live later in 2024,” David shares.
The Aussie Man also began leveraging Meta’s ad platform. While David admits it is incredibly challenging to navigate and get started on, he still considers it an ideal choice for a new brand looking to build awareness and generate sales at scale. “Our social media presence has allowed us to maintain strong connections with our audience, driving both organic growth and successful paid campaigns, even amid rising CPA costs with Meta ads. This multichannel approach has helped us adapt and thrive in a highly competitive market,” he says.
David considers The Aussie Man’s content-first strategy a crucial element in the brand’s growth. Based on internal data, the brand showed increases in brand awareness, customer engagement and sales revenue through its social media content across different platforms.
David looks forward to The Aussie Man’s launch in the UK and the US later this year and he says social media remains a key component in its future growth plans, focusing on both organic content and continuing to test exciting new content formats with paid campaigns. Building strong relationships with creators and influencers is seen as a future growth driver for the brand, along with its authentic endorsements.
“Our goal is to keep leveraging social media to always create engaging content that resonates with our customers and keeps The Aussie Man at the forefront of men’s skincare,” David concludes.
This article first appeared in issue 45 of the Inside Small Business quarterly magazine
