Marketing

Sofia Barberio

TikTok Marketing Strategies: How Beauty Brands Use Trends to Increase Engagement and Influence Consumer Decisions

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I am a fourth-year Communication student at Toronto Metropolitan University with a focus on digital media and marketing. My work explores how emerging platforms, particularly TikTok, are reshaping brand communication strategies and audience engagement. I am especially interested in social media marketing, branding, and how digital culture influences the way brands connect with consumers.

This research examines how beauty brands use TikTok trends, memes, and trending audio as marketing communication strategies. Through a qualitative content analysis of posts from brands such as e.l.f. Cosmetics, NYX Cosmetics, and Charlotte Tilbury, the study identifies key patterns in how brands create engaging and relatable content. Findings show that humour, trending audio, and short-form video styles are the most effective strategies for increasing audience engagement, while traditional product-focused advertising performs less effectively. This research highlights how TikTok is reshaping digital marketing by prioritizing authenticity, entertainment, and cultural relevance.

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A close-up headshot of a young woman with dark, wavy hair parted in the middle, smiling gently. She has fair skin, prominent eyelashes, defined eyebrows, and reddish-brown lipstick. She is wearing a black blazer and a delicate gold chain with a small cross pendant around her neck. The background is a soft, neutral grey.

Shaelyn Digos

Manufacturing Belonging: Brand Voice and Implicit Communication in Fashion Branding
A detailed portrait of a young Black woman with clear dark skin, looking directly at the camera with a gentle smile and glossy pink lips. She has long, dark box braids, a black scoop-neck top, and two silver necklaces. The background is a smooth, light grey.

Sienna Scott Barrow

Entrepreneurship and Intersectionality: Instagram's Role in Promoting Magazines Owned by Women of Colour
A close-up portrait of a young woman with brown eyes, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a black disposable face mask. Her dark hair is pulled back, and she wears gold hoop earrings and a delicate gold sun pendant necklace over a light grey off-the-shoulder top. The background is softly blurred.

Farianny Gonzalez-Sanchez

Beyond Choice: Power, Colonialism, and the Making of Dominican Migration
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