Going Viral with Curls: How Mass Communication Drives Hair Trends

In today’s world, everything is online. To share and promote your new brand/company, it’s all shared on media platforms. Mass communications are what make the world go round. How do we know what we know? Who is fueling all of this information on the internet?

We are lucky to live in a world where everything is limited to our cell phones and computers. Any question we could ask can be answered through a web search engine. How much better can it get? Mass communication has played a key role in curly hair marketing because of how it has changed perceptions, informed consumers, and influenced purchasing decisions on a large scale. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are channels of mass communication for creators and business owners to share what they have been working on. On social media applications, curly hair influencers get to share their product recommendations, hairstyle reviews, and many other forms of content. The brands can utilize the creators as a form of marketing to get to another side of their targeted audience. This form of mass communication helps educate women and men about products, curly hair techniques, and the dynamics of curly hair⁠— use it to your advantage. 

Television production has become too expensive to invest in, while social media marketing can be delivered in seconds with a click of a button. A successful viral marketing campaign can lead to long-term brand equity. When I went viral on TikTok for my curly hair routine, I continued to share my content on my other media platforms to get it out there. I also encouraged friends and family to like, comment, share, and repost my content as well to help with ultimate exposure. Creators that have a larger platform struggle with the nonsense information that may be shared about them on media platforms. As a smaller creator, it's easier to handle where and how far your videos go. 

Unfortunately, because of mass communication, consumers are shown thousands of messages daily, making it hard to stand out in your respective market. If you were to see ads for a curly hairline one after another, they just end up being regular hair products in your eyes. This leads brands to fight for consumers' attention in a saturated market. Large networks can spread misinformation and disinformation more easily because of their size. In the realm of hair care marketing, claims can be made that are unrealistic, inaccurate, and affect a brand's image.

Mass communication is an essential feature to be used in all marketing plans. It is key as a marketer or business owner how to swim in skyrocketing moments in your success or how to get out of the negative press that you may face in the media.  You must leverage mass communication not only to promote yourself and your brand but also to empower and inform.