Copy of Maybelline Guide TALL NEW COLOR - Jordan Dockery

By Jordan Dockery

MAYBELLINECOLLEGE

AMBASSADOR INSTAGRAM

GUIDE

CONGRATULATIONS, Being selected as a Maybelline College Ambassador is a huge accomplishment, so go ahead and celebrate! Your love of makeup and passion for social media has made your content stand out amongst the crowd. Maybelline has partnered with Youth Marketing Connection to work with 30 ambassadors across 15 colleges in the United States to promote the Maybelline brand and generate buzz around new products amongst the next generation of beauty lovers. Since its founding in 1914, Maybelline has become a globally recognized brand in the cosmetics industry and has continued to serve its growing customer base by providing trendy, high-quality beauty products at a budget-friendly price.

As a Maybelline College Ambassador, you are asked to create weekly social media content using your Maybelline gifted products. Creating content for a brand as influential as Maybelline can seem a bit intimidating as a micro-influencer, but don't worry, I'm here to help. As a past ambassador myself, I have curated a list of my top tricks and tips to help you make impactful content that Maybelline can use on their social media pages and website.

While this guide was specifically created for creating content on Instagram, much of the information to various social media platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter. So what are you waiting for? Let's get glam!

WELCOME! FROM A PAST AMBASSADOR

Have questions? Find me on Instagram: @jordan_dockery

Before posting anything, I highly recommend changing your Instagram into a creator account.

By changing your Instagram into a business account, you will be able to view the insights of your photo and monitor engagement. You can even track what time of the day your followers are most likely to be checking Instagram. You’ve worked hard on your content, so it’s important to ensure it’s actually getting seen.

Reviewing engagement can be crucial as a creator. You’ll be able to hone in on what types of makeup looks and products you’re audience is more likely to engage with.

CHANGING TO A CREATOR ACCOUNT:

1. Select the menu bar on your profile

2. Go to settings

3. Select account

4. Scroll down and select change to a creator account

INSTAGRAM CREATOR ACCOUNTS

INSTAGRAM CREATOR ACCOUNTS

USE NATURAL LIGHT

Unless you have a decent lighting set-up, you’ll want to utilize natural daylight when taking your photos. Natural lighting will allow for the best color contrast without making your content appear washed out. Try experimenting by taking photos near a window, outside, or during golden hour.

Don’t panic! You can always take photos near a lamp or even invest in a ring-light or box light if you need to take content at night. Using a photo editing program like FaceTune, Lightroom, or Photoshop will also allow you to adjust the brightness and exposure of the photo.

Golden Hour - The hour right after sunrise and the hour right before sunset that offers a soft, warm, diffused light.

Top photo: Taken outside in daylightBottom photo: Taken at night and edited in Lightroom

DAY

NIGHT

Your makeup will pop the most against an uncluttered, subtle pattern or solid color background.

Maybelline is more likely to reshare content on their social media pages with a clean background that allows the makeup to be the center of attention.

BACKGROUNDS Using portrait mode or adding a blur effect to the background of a photo will

ensure the focus of the image is on you.

Hanging a sheet, curtain, or any large piece of fabric can instantly make a custom background. I used a floral pillowcase to achieve this retro look.

ENVIRONMENT

There are two key elements to consider when planning out content: lighting and background. There’s nothing worse than creating the perfect makeup look and then having to spend hours editing your photos due to bad lighting or a distracting environment. Trust me, planning ahead of time to ensure you’ll have bright natural light and a complimentary background will save you time and tears.

GET CLOSE.

Don’t be afraid of zooming in and getting close. Posting selfies from far away or using fashion/lifestyle content won’t showcase your makeup. When creating beauty content, your face should take up most of the frame unless you're doing product demonstrations.

You should aim to create content that allows the product to speak for itself. Minor edits are excellent when used to enhance an image, but overediting will tell your followers that the product isn’t doing the work. Your online community is more likely to trust your opinion on a product if your content accurately showcases its features and color payoff.

AVOID OVER EDITING

BEFORE

AFTER

By slightly adjusting the photo’s contrast and saturation, my eyeshadow could pop and appear less washed out against the blue background. Remember, when adding any airbrushing, less is more. Everyone has pores and imperfections, and they help make your skin beautiful. Don’t feel pressure to erase them, even when making branded content.

WHY IT WORKS

FOCUS ON ONE FEATURE

I love experimenting with bold makeup looks, but it’s essential to remember balance when creating beauty content for a brand. For example, if you’re posting about a new lipstick, make sure your image or video draws attention to that specific product by toning down your eye and face makeup.

INCLUDE THE PRODUCT

Maybelline looks for content that clearly showcases a product. Holding up a product as a prop will allow individuals to know what you used to achieve your finished look without even reading the caption.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

FOCUS ON ONE FEATURE

CHANGE IT UP Whether you’re incredibly talented at detailed eyeliner or known for wearing bright lipsticks, it’s essential to keep in mind your followers all have different likes and dislikes. Switching between glam, natural, and even editorial makeup looks allow you to engage with an even larger audience of beauty lovers and demonstrate a wide range of products.

The online beauty community is constantly experimenting with new trends for you to try out. My favorite places to find inspiration are TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and even the Maybelline website. Make sure to save any looks you want to try in the future!EDITORIAL NATURAL

KEEP A PRODUCT WITHIN REACH

You never know when the opportunity to take a content photos or videos may pop up. Keeping at least one product with you allows you to be able to take content on-the-go whenever you come across a cool background or perfect location for an impromptu photo session.

One of my favorite content hacks is using at least one Maybelline product (usually it’s more) in my everyday makeup routine. Then I toss that product into my purse and go on with my day. I’ve found myself in the perfect spot to take photos on more than one occasion, and I was saved by having my featured product on hand.

CONTENT

vStories, Stories, Stories

● Heightened flexibility with the range of content you post● Ability to directly tag @maybelline and be instantly reshared on their account● Share with your followers when you’ve made a new post ● Directly engage your audience by using polls and asking questions● When followers view your stories, overtime the algorithm prioritizes sharing your

post in their feeds

There’s a lot to love about stories, but let’s cover the basics:

Need story ideas? Try sharing before and afters, tutorials, Q&As, and behind-the-scenes glimpses into your content creation.

CREATING CAPTIONS

Making content is the first step, but captions are crucial to engaging with your audience. When creating a caption, it’s essential to highlight your featured Maybelline products but remain genuine and write in your voice. Being honest with your followers about why you genuinely enjoy the products is always better than a forced caption. Maybelline Ambassadors must always tag @maybelline in your post and use the hashtag #MaybellineCollegeAmbassador in the caption.

STORY EXAMPLES

BEYOND A POST

IG STORIES

Remember, you were selected for this program because of your talent and social media savvy. You can do this. Now it’s time to start creating.